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The leaning tower of Pisa in Italy has slowly begun to defy its name by losing 4 centimeters of slope over the past 17 years.
The movement, of about 1.5 inches, follows important consolidation work carried out between 1993 and 2001, which was necessary to reverse its subsidence and keep the tower upright.
This means that the building in Tuscany, which attracts thousands of tourists every day, is back in the early 19th century, according to Professor Salvatore Settis, who heads the monument's watch group.
"The tilt reduction will not last forever – but it's very important and we now have good reasons to hope that the tower can last for at least another 200 years," Settis said. CNN.
When corrective work began on the tower, it was tilted 6 degrees from the perpendicular on the south side. The soil was removed from the opposite side to reverse its trajectory.
"Technically, the work has been incredibly complex, but the concept of the project is easy to understand," said Settis. "The tower is inclined to the south, part of the ground under the north side, essentially sand and clay, has therefore been eliminated, creating cavities that the weight of the tower now closes".
In good health
The operation forced the closure of the tower to visitors for nearly a decade. It was reopened at the end of 2001.
The most famous tourist monument of Pisa began to sink into the surroundings almost immediately after its erection.
The construction of the tower began in 1173 in the maritime republic of Pisa, which was then maritime, but the sandy soil allowed him to start quickly to rock.
This last measure shows the good health of the monument, according to Gianluca De Felice, director of the Opera della Primaziale Pisana, the institution in charge of the complex of monuments on the Square of Miracles.
"We can express cautious optimism," De Felice said.
The tower is continuously monitored and the data is reviewed by a monitoring committee that meets every three months.
