Pages

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Tower of Pisa (Italy)

Tower of Pisa is one of the seven wonders of the world which was built in 1178. Construction is skewed but still sturdy stand, despite being more than 8 centuries stood with unusual conditions make the bell tower at the peak of this special. If anyone asks, "Is the tower whose slope increases each year could collapse?" The answer is "Yes". Tower of Pisa had nearly collapsed on January 7th, 1990. The management decided to close the tower of Pisa to the public because the slope of the tower is already in the alarming level and is predicted to collapse at any time.

Intensive reconstruction was done immediately to preserve historic monuments that are part of the cathedral in the city of Pisa. The entire population living around the tower were evacuated to prevent the fall, the bells atop the tower was temporarily moved to reduce the burden of the tower. Steel cables were used to maintain the stability of the tower. Reconstruction focused on the overhaul of the foundation which is becoming a major problem. Finally, after a period of intensive reconstruction, the Tower of Pisa reopened to the public on December 15, 2001. In May 2008, the engineers ensure that the conditions of the Tower of Pisa will be safe (the slope will not increase) at least for 300 years into the future.

 

History of the Tower of Pisa itself is actually quite unique. The tower was built in four phases and take two centuries. The slope is the main attraction is actually a calculation error, because the foundation is too small and the tower was built on sandy soil. So when the construction reaches the 3rd floor partially collapsed towers and tower tilts. After delayed for 100 years, eventually building the Tower of Pisa was continued by adding 4 more floors built in the direction "toward the perpendicular" to compensate for the slope. So actually the Tower of Pisa is not only skewed, but also curved.

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...