Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Leaning Tower of Pisa is Leaning Less Than Before, Say Experts (theguardian.com)

Posted by msmash on from the stranger-things dept.

Italy's famously Leaning Tower of Pisa is a little less off-kilter. Nearly two decades after engineers completed consolidation work to keep the tower from toppling over, officials monitoring the monument said recently that its famed tilt had been further reduced by 4 centimeters, or 1.5 inches. From a report: The tower, which has leaned to one side ever since it began to take shape in 1173, has lost 4cm of its tilt over the past two decades, according to a report from the surveillance group that meets every three months to give updates on the monument's condition. "Since restorative work began, the tower is leaning about half a degree less," said Nunziante Squeglia, a geotechnics professor at the University of Pisa who works with the group. "But what counts is the stability of the tower, which is better than initially predicted." The structure, which was badly damaged during the second world war, was closed to the public in 1990 over safety fears and did not reopen for 11 years.

36 of 77 comments (clear)

  1. good by helllllllloooo · · Score: 1

    Awesome news. This is an archaeological treasure and irreplaceable.

    1. Re:good by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Awesome news. This is an archaeological treasure and irreplaceable.

      Well, it's a historical treasure, less so an archaeological treasure. In a place where it has been for hundreds of years surround by a city, it's just another old thing.

      But, really, The Slightly Less Leaning Tower of Pisa is a terrible name for a tourist attraction, which I'm pretty sure if the only real function of the tower these days.

    2. Re: good by houghi · · Score: 1

      Besides it is leaning, what is so unique about it?

      --
      Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
    3. Re: good by Calydor · · Score: 1

      There are very few buildings still standing after ~850 years.

      You could of course ask what is so special about any building - they are just stacked pieces of stone and wood, after all. But after a while they become local landmarks, then regional, then cultural heritage.

      You could also ask what is so special about the Eiffel Tower, or the White House, or the Great Wall of China.

      --
      -=This sig has nothing to do with my comment. Move along now=-
    4. Re: good by helllllllloooo · · Score: 1

      "Slightly Less leaning", didn't you read? Slightly less is slightly more, at least to some schoolchildren.

    5. Re: good by guruevi · · Score: 1

      That's pretty much the only reason it's famous, because it started leaning pretty much upon construction. Otherwise it would be an interesting, but by no means unique historical artifact in Europe.

      --
      Custom electronics and digital signage for your business: www.evcircuits.com
    6. Re: good by whoever57 · · Score: 1

      There are very few buildings still standing after ~850 years.

      That's a US-centric view. Around the world, there are many buildings that are over ~850 years old. The Leaning Tower isn't even the oldest building in the Field of Miracles.

      --
      The real "Libtards" are the Libertarians!
    7. Re: good by olsmeister · · Score: 1

      San Francisco is working on it.

    8. Re: good by Calydor · · Score: 1

      First, I'm from Europe. Second, I didn't say that buildings never get that old - but let's be honest, there AREN'T many buildings left that are approaching a thousand years old and are still in such good repair that they get renovated rather than finally torn down.

      --
      -=This sig has nothing to do with my comment. Move along now=-
    9. Re: good by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 1

      There are very few buildings still standing after ~850 years.

      That's a US-centric view. Around the world, there are many buildings that are over ~850 years old. The Leaning Tower isn't even the oldest building in the Field of Miracles.

      You are trolling today aint ya? Chillaxe, my dude.

      Even a gratuitous USA shot - I gotta hand credit where it's due, working that in on a story about the LToP.

      It's an old tower building that has a remarkable history, and while there are other buildings might be older, I think even you would have to admit that there aren't that many that are leaning to that extent - and still surviving.

      --
      The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
    10. Re: good by ClickOnThis · · Score: 1

      - Eiffel Tower: nobody really knows, it's ugly as f..k, and for decades even the french wanted to tear it down

      Built as an entrance for the 1889 World's Fair. Yes, it's rusty and ugly when you get up close to it. But it's a quintessential Paris landmark because of its distinctive design.

      - The White House: nobody ever claimed there's anything "special" about it

      Being the home and workplace of the POTUS qualifies as somewhat "special." There's a story that it was painted white after the British (from the land later known as Canada) burned it in 1814, but actually it was first whitewashed to protect it from freezing water damage in 1798. Later it was painted white and the name stuck, made official by Teddy R.

      - The Great Wall of China: it carries historical value (not architectural)

      It is arguably the oldest (but not the only) man-made object visible from space.

      It turns out the Tower of Pisa is by far the most "special" of these buildings.

      Special yes, but most special? That's in the eye of the beholder.

      --
      If it weren't for deadlines, nothing would be late.
    11. Re: good by ClickOnThis · · Score: 1

      "Slightly Less leaning", didn't you read? Slightly less is slightly more, at least to some schoolchildren.

      Found the geometry pendant. So if it's upside-down, then it's not leaning at all? :-p

      --
      If it weren't for deadlines, nothing would be late.
    12. Re: good by whoever57 · · Score: 1

      there AREN'T many buildings left that are approaching a thousand years old and are still in such good repair

      Perhaps it's a case of YMMV. I spent some of my childhood living about 1/2 mile from a magnificent cathedral that is about 700-800 years old, along with other churches of a similar age in the same small town, all in good repair.

      --
      The real "Libtards" are the Libertarians!
    13. Re: good by whoever57 · · Score: 1

      I think even you would have to admit that there aren't that many that are leaning to that extent - and still surviving.

      So you agree with me. It's not the age of the building that makes it interesting and famous, but the lean.

      --
      The real "Libtards" are the Libertarians!
    14. Re: good by lazarus · · Score: 4, Informative

      Great question. Pisa was the very last thing on my list of things to see in Tuscany because it is a tourist trap. But I went anyway and it was my favorite place. Awesome things about the cathedral at Piza:

      1. Fibonacci is buried there. I turned around and there was his grave. I nearly cried.
      2. The tower is a bell tower. It has very narrow stairs that wind up and down the tower and are made of marble. So many people have climbed the tower that all of the stairs are worn down in the middle from peoples shoes. I would say the middle of the steps has been worn off by 2-3 inches.
      3. The "baptismal" is a third building on the site and is a feat of sound engineering. Every 30 minutes a person will go into the baptismal and "sing a chord". This is possible because a note that is sung in the building echoes around the interior so long it is possible to get three notes out and hear them all interact with each other.
      4. The Italians at Pisa are friendly. That is not true of all Italians in Italy...

      When I was there they had a sort of scaffolding at the base of the tower which was clearly designed to slowly straighten it over many years. I'm glad it worked. I asked if they would straighten it completely and I was told: "That would make it less famous".

      Highly recommended if you ever get the chance to go.

      --
      I am not interested in articles about life extension advancements.
    15. Re: good by vux984 · · Score: 1

      "So you agree with me. It's not the age of the building that makes it interesting and famous, but the lean."

      If someone identified a building in Detroit built in the 70s that was was now leaning that much, it would be torn down; and nobody would care.

      The lean certainly makes it MORE interesting and elevates it from a world heritage site worth preserving to a world famous landmark; but its definitely not the whole story. It's age and history are a big deal; along with the fact that its been leaning for pretty much the whole time.

    16. Re: good by Type44Q · · Score: 1

      I'll tell you what's special: the fucking thing had no guardrails. I wanted my money back but my parents pointed out that I hadn't been the one who'd paid (my dad even had to walk around the outside just to freak me out).

    17. Re: good by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Not with the naked eye https://www.nasa.gov/vision/space/workinginspace/great_wall.html

    18. Re: good by Cochonou · · Score: 1

      The El in Chicago is rusty, and is still a recognized landmark of the city. However, there is almost nothing rusty about the Eiffel tower when you get up close. It is painted over every 7 years...

    19. Re: good by houghi · · Score: 1

      I live in Europe. I have met nice and not so nice people. The French are nice. The Parisians are assholes. But then they hate everybody, even other Parisians.
      They can be compared to New Yorkers.

      And people in rural areas are all very nice as well. Just more closed to people from outside their comfort zone. I can see how some might think they are unpolite, because they do not go and chit chat with everybody. To me that is more polite than walking up to me and start a conversation.

      --
      Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
  2. Now that is some bad engineering... by SuperKendall · · Score: 3, Funny

    I had head Italian engineering was unreliable; now I read this. They can't even build stuff that stays unstable reliably!

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    1. Re:Now that is some bad engineering... by SvnLyrBrto · · Score: 1

      Well, on the plus side, now my uncle will know it will only take another 817 years for Fiat to fix the smoking and randomly-stalling engine and rusted-out floorboards in his X19.

      --
      Imagine all the people...
    2. Re:Now that is some bad engineering... by SuperKendall · · Score: 2

      You cannot even speak English correctly, I can hardly imagine you judging other people's

      I see what you did there (even if you don't). :-)

      --
      "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
  3. The martians are starting the tower of Pisa by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 1

    The martians are starting the tower of Pisa!

  4. Who measures tilt in cm/inches? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I admit, I'm not architect or mathematician, but offering a measure of tilt in units of length makes no sense to me. Shouldn't the units be in degrees? Otherwise, at what point on the building has it lost 4cm of tilt? 1cm off the ground? 1m? 10m? At the very top?

    From TFA: "It is half a degree straighter after restorative work".

    1. Re: Who measures tilt in cm/inches? by evenmoreconfused · · Score: 1

      Actually a depressingly large number of construction/carpentry/HVAC people. Theyâ(TM)re always talking about a half inch of slope (in a deck) or somewhat.

      In fact, the reason we had to be sure to use âoeCelsiusâ rather than the older âoecentigradeâ is because the civil engineering crowd already used the latter for a unit of slope â" calculated as rise over run times 100, IIRC.

      --
      No. Well...maybe. Actually, yes. It really just depends.
    2. Re: Who measures tilt in cm/inches? by evenmoreconfused · · Score: 1

      Ps: Why canâ(TM)t /. properly handle basic default double-quotes typed on an iPad keyboard?

      --
      No. Well...maybe. Actually, yes. It really just depends.
    3. Re: Who measures tilt in cm/inches? by aaarrrgggh · · Score: 1

      Slope makes more sense in many things than angles-- it is much easier to measure and mark directly with common tools when you are looking at small angles.

      It is also helpful when thinking in physics terms without worrying about the trigonometry.

    4. Re: Who measures tilt in cm/inches? by Desler · · Score: 1

      Because Slashcode is a steaming pile of shit. It's basically at the same level of quality as the competence of the so-called "editors."

    5. Re:Who measures tilt in cm/inches? by wisnoskij · · Score: 1

      Because the degrees are microscopic, but rise over run is a reasonable, understandable metric.

      If the article had simply stated that it had moved .00825 degrees towards vertical we the audience would of needed ten minutes of mathematical calculations to figure out what that meant. But instead of needlessly trying to confuse people to try and make themselves seem like experts to try and justify some unimaginable salary, they provided the correct units.

      --
      Troll is not a replacement for I disagree.
  5. Re:Italian Construction Quality by fph+il+quozientatore · · Score: 3, Interesting

    There are lots of skew towers in Italy. Many around Venice. Clearly, judging by all the ruins around Italy, you should not hire Italians to build you anything more than a dog house.

    Survivor bias --- if you can still see those leaning towers, it's because they didn't fall down in the past 850 years.

    --
    My first program:

    Hell Segmentation fault

  6. Re:Tilt is measured in degrees! by DontBeAMoran · · Score: 1

    1.5 celsius inches.

    --
    #DeleteFacebook
  7. Doesn't add up by Solandri · · Score: 1

    degrees = tan ( x / y )
    arctan (deg) = x / y
    y = x / arctan (deg)
    y = 4 cm / arctan (0.5 deg)
    y = 458 cm

    The leaning tower of Pisa is just 4.6 meters tall?

  8. Mud jacking by Latent+Heat · · Score: 1

    I know a contractor who could straighten out the lean in that tower in no time, flat!

  9. But it needs to lean by aglider · · Score: 1

    Remember, Pisa's tower is banana-shaped and thus needs to be leaning.

    Otherwise it will collapse.

    --
    Sent as ripples into the electromagnetic field. No single photon has been harmed in the process.
  10. Damage? Wot Damage? by Toad-san · · Score: 1

    I see nothing, in any of the links to the Tower of Pisa, that even hint of it being damaged during WW II. It was in danger, no question, given bombing in the city, and the well-known incident of an American Army artillery spotter deciding not to bring fire on it when it was (maybe) being used as a German observation post.

    But no damaqe.