Scientists stop the fall of the Leaning Tower of Pisa

2024 Author: James Gerald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 14:00

In the near future, one of the most famous sights of Italy may return to its original form. According to media reports, scientists have managed to solve a problem over which tens of generations of architects have been struggling. The fall of the famous bell tower of the Cathedral of Santa Maria Maggiore in Pisa, better known as the Leaning Tower of Pisa, has been stopped.

The construction of the famous tower began in 1173, but then it turned out that the foundation was laid unevenly. Construction was stopped and resumed only 100 years later. Only later did it become clear that the Leaning Tower of Pisa was "falling", leaning towards the south. The architects tried to rectify the situation, but this only allowed to slightly align the silhouette of the building.

From the time that continuous measurements of the tower began in 1911, it has been recorded that the summit is tilted by 1.2 millimeters per year. In 1990, the tower was closed to visitors, as the Italian authorities feared that it could finally fall.

However, over the past ten years, the architectural monument has straightened by 28 millimeters. The success was achieved by the professor of engineering geology at the Polytechnic University in Turin, Michele Jamiolkovsky, who has been saving the architectural monument for almost twenty years.

After the successful work of Dzhamiolkovsky in 2008, the tower was reopened for tourists.

Initially, under a layer of lawn in the square where the tower stands, he installed a system of micro galleries and counterweights. Thanks to these measures, the angle of incidence of the main attraction of Pisa was reduced by 50 centimeters.

In 2001, the counterweights were removed, the microchannels were filled, and motion sensors were installed. This was done with a view to continuing to straighten the tower. The greatest success was noted in 2001-2002, when the architectural monument was straightened by almost 15 millimeters.

In May 2008, the scientist reported that the tilt of the tower is only 3.99 meters. Then he said that the best forecasts regarding the state of the architectural monument are coming true and that in this form the tower will stand for another 300 years, the portal “Italy in Russian” writes.

Now Dzhamiolkovsky believes that the straightening of the building will stop within the next three years. His critics are confident that it will end much earlier, but they do not deny the positive effect of the measures taken.