My article of July 1999 ended with the following statement: After ten years of work the first positive step has been taken, but there is a long tense journey still ahead for the Tower – and for the Commission. ![]() There can be no doubt about the importance of such an operation to Pisa, to Italy and to World Heritage. In 1990 the Tower was closed to the public because of fears for its safety and in the same year a Commission was established by the Italian Prime Minister to implement stabilisation measures. Standing in the Piazza dei Miracoli, it is part of the complex of four major gleaming white medieval buildings comprising: the Cathedral (Duomo), its bell tower (the Leaning Tower), its Baptistry and the Cemetery (Camposanto).Īs with the other buildings in the Piazza, the bell tower was intended to represent the civic pride and glory of the wealthy city state of Pisa and as such it is beautiful, unique and enigmatic. It is an architectural gem and would be one of the most important monuments of medieval Europe even if it were not leaning. The Leaning Tower of Pisa is not just some cranky Disneyland tourist attraction. At the time of writing the previous article the stabilisation measures had just commenced. ![]() In the July 1999 issue of Ingenia Professor John Burland described the history of construction of the Tower, its behaviour during and after construction and the work leading up to the implementation of the permanent stabilisation measures. Eleven years later, in June 2001, the Tower was handed back to the civic authorities in Pisa after the delicate task of stabilising the foundations had been successfully completed. In 1990 the Leaning Tower of Pisa was closed to the public because its foundations were on the point of becoming unstable.
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