If your house started slumping to one side there’s no doubt you would be more than a little cross, but for one building, the unreliable builders were nothing more than a godsend as they made it into one of Italy’s most famous landmarks.
Contrary to popular belief, the leaning tower of Pisa was actually designed to stand vertically and serve as the freestanding bell tower of the Cathedral of the Italian city of Pisa, however, as plans most often do, that went out of the window and the tower became a national icon.
There really is more to Italy than meets the eye
The tower began leaning to the southeast soon after construction began in 1173 as a result of poorly laid foundations and today the 56 metre high tower leans at an angle of 3.97 degrees, which means that the top of the tower is actually 3.9 meters from where it would stand if the tower were perfectly vertical.
In 1934 Benito Mussolini ordered that the tower be returned to a vertical position, so concrete was poured into the foundations, however, this actually caused the tower to sink further still.
Despite the fact that there is the potential to rectify the tilt, the Italian government choose only to have the structure stabilised, as they believe the lean is a vital element in the Pisa tourism industry.
So on 7 January 1990, the tower was closed to the public as a huge stabilisation project began, and after a decade of corrective reconstruction and stabilization efforts, the tower was reopened to the public on 15 December 2001 and has been declared stable for at least another 300 years.
So jump on a plane, grab a slice of pizza and your Italian phrase book and pretend you’re in a real optical illusion as you gaze up at this baffling construction, because there really is more to Italy than meets the eye.
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