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![](pisa01.jpg)
The
Tower of Pisa is the bell tower of the Cathedral. Its construction
began in the august of 1173 and continued (with two long interruptions)
for about two hundred years, in full fidelity to the original project,
whose architect is still uncertain.
In the past
it was widely believed that the inclination of the Tower was part
of the project ever since its beginning, but now we know that it is
not so. The Tower was designed to be "vertical" (and even
if it did not lean it would still be one of the most remarkable bell
towers in Europe), and started to incline during its construction.
Both because
of its inclination, and its beauty, from 1173 up to the present the
Tower has been the object of very special attention. During its construction
efforts were made to halt the incipient inclination through the use
of special construction devices; later colums and other damaged parts
were substituted in more than one occasion; today, interventions are
being carried out within the sub-soil in order to significantly reduce
the inclination and to make sure that Tower will have a long life.
In all
this story it is possible to find a meaningful constant, the "genetic
code" of the Tower: its continual interaction with the soil on
which it was built. Today's (1999) works for the safeguard and the
conservation of the Tower with very advanced methodologies are designed
to fully respect this constant.![](cute08.gif)
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