The
Iconic Pisa Bell Tower returns to 18th-century angle. For
first time in its history, the tower is not falling over, and is now safe
for 300 years.
Leaning Tower of Pisa
No Longer in Danger
CORRIERE DELLA SERA.it
Marco Gasperetti
giovedl 29 maggio 2008
Iconic bell tower returns to
18th-century angle. For the first time in its history, the tower is not falling
over. Expert in charge of operation says tower now safe for 300 years.
PISA January
was cold and dangerous in 1990 when the Leaning Tower of Pisa was closed
because of structural risks. Eighteen years later, the newly restored monument
celebrates its coming of age with some excellent news. For the first time since
the 18th century, the Tower
of Pisa is leaning, but
no longer falling over. Of course, Bonanno
Pisanos bell tower still leans. If you see it from Via
Santa Maria or from the gardens in Piazza dei Miracoli, its still the same odd-looking, immortal
monument and uniquely elegant example of Pisan
Romanesque architecture. The news is that now, after 18 years of
closures, interventions and projects verging on science fiction, the
towers inclination and the counter weights have stabilised.
The risk is over. No longer is the tower falling down, as was until 1993 when
it reached its maximum overhang of 4.47 metres, or
inching back up as it had been until today, thanks to the ministrations of
engineers, technicians and scientists led by Michele Jamiolkowski,
an emeritus professor from Turin Polytechnic. The latest measurements from
sensors under the grass in Piazza dei Miracoli and in the towers seven orders of columns are
unequivocal: the overhang has stopped at 3.99 metres.
All the most optimistic
forecasts have been confirmed, says Professor Jamiolkowski.
We can now say that the Leaning
Tower is safe for at
least 300 years. But there is more good news. For the first time in 73
years, the tower will reveal a secret that Pisans and
tourists had forgotten all about. In two or perhaps three months time, you
will be able to enter through the small door and look up at the sky through the
belly of the tower and all seven of its loggias. It is a spectacle that until
1935 had entranced those privileged to see it, including so they say Pisa-born Galileo Galilei.
The magic of the view is best savoured on moonless
nights when the stars shine brighter. Looking at the heavens from the bottom of
the tower is stargazing through an enormous telescope. Until today, the
view was obstructed by a floor on which were mounted various devices to gauge
the monuments stability, explains Nunziante
Squeglia, an engineer and teacher at the University
of Pisa, but now the floor and scaffolding have been removed. The view is
the same as it used to be. With its great celestial eye
restored, the tower will also get a makeover for over the years, weather and
pollution have blackened the marble on the exterior. This, too, is a delicate
operation because the capitals of the seven loggias and the belfry are the
towers exquisitely carved white marble Sunday best.
Yesterday, stage two of the
makeover got under way with a team of experts led by Gisella
Capponi from the central institute for restoration.
We built cantilever scaffolding for the external restoration work,
explains Giuseppe Bentivoglio, the engineer who is
also technical director of the Opera del Duomo, the
body that supervises the monuments in Piazza dei Miracoli. The scaffolding was built with special aluminium alloys, similar to those used for racing
bicycles, to avoid damage to the structures. This will ensure an excellent job
on the capitals, arches and colonnades. Work will take three months and
the inauguration is scheduled for late summer.