Pisa. An engineering miracle?

The Leaning Tower of Pisa An engineering phenomena. How does it stand stable. Live loads too. People climbing it add to the weight. A true miracle if ever. The whole park complex houses a cathedral, cemetery and the baptistery. The community see it as the stages of life. Birth, Marriage, life is never straight ( the tower ), and death. The tower actually curves now from an engineering restructure. On the side where the tower is lower because of the lean it stands at 187.27 feet. On the high side of the tower it stands at 186 feet. Nearly a 15" pitch over the size of a patio !

The tower weighs about 14,500 tons and has been leaning since it was built. There are approximately 294 steps on the north side and 296 steps on the south side of the tower. The Leaning Tower of Pisa took 344 years to build, beginning in August 1173. It began to lean in 1178 once construction on the second floor had begun. The lean was due to one side sinking into the soft ground. The lean became worse as construction continued for several decades. Between 1990 and 2001 it was stabilized and the lean was partially fixed.

The construction was stopped twice, the first time for 100 years, the second time in 1284. Both times it was due to wars. Inside the tower there are seven bells. Each bell represents one note of the musical major scale. During World War II, the Allies heard that Germans were using the Leaning Tower of Pisa as an observation post. Once the Allies saw how beautiful the tower was they refrained from destroying it. Destroying historical art and buildings during war time is a whole new topic. Watch the movie Monuments Men. The Leaning Tower of Pisa became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987. Also included in this designation were the cathedral, cemetery and the baptistery. In 1989 another tower called the Civic Tower of Pavia collapsed. This sped up the restoration efforts for the Leaning Tower of Pisa. The tower was closed to the public from 1989 until 2001, after the restoration was complete. It is thought that the restoration will keep the Leaning Tower of Pisa stable for at least 300 years more. In 2008 engineers stated that the Tower had stopped moving. This is the first time in its history that it has not been slowly leaning further to one side. If the construction of the tower had not been halted the first time due to war it would have toppled over. The hundred years it had to sit helped to let it settle (compact).