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22nd Nov 2018

The Leaning Tower of Pisa is now “leaning less”

Alan Loughnane

leaning tower of pisa

Works on the tower have had an affect.

The Leaning Tower of Pisa is leaning a little bit less thanks to years of remedial engineering works, experts have revealed.

The tower, which has leaned to one side since 1173, has lost 4cm of its tilt over the past 17 years, according to a report from the Surveillance Group that meets every three months to give updates on the monument’s condition.

“Since remedial work began, the bell tower is leaning by about half a degree less,” said Professor Nunziante Squeglia, a professor of geotechnics from Pisa University who works with the Surveillance Group.

The tower reached the peak of its tilt in the 1990s, when it was closed to the public and urgent restorative works were carried out on it, including the earth being replaced underneath and braces placed around the tower to anchor it to the ground.

The works were successful and had corrected the lean on the tower by 45cm when the works were finished in 2001 at a cost of over €200 million.

In the 17 years since, the lean has been further corrected by 4cm, and is “stable” according to experts.

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