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(EMAILWIRE.COM, May 01, 2009 ) One of Italy’s most famous landmarks, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, is undergoing a major restoration operation to recondition its marble and stonework – and the good news is it’s here to stay – with experts pronouncing it safe to stand for the next 300 years…
The 56-metre tower in Pisa in western Tuscany dates back to 1174, when Bonanno Pisano started constructing it. He hit a problem when he reached the third storey as the tower started sinking into the ground, so work was halted.
Amazingly, the tower remained unfinished and sinking for 90 years until it was completed completed by Giovanni di Simone in the middle of the 14th Century. Back then, its tilt was about half of what it is today.
Today, its unique lean makes it one of the most famous landmarks in the world. Millions of tourist flock to the ancient maritime republic of Pisa, which dates from the 1st Century BC, to climb the towerÂ’s 294 spiral steps.
The tower was saved from toppling in a decade-long engineering project in the 1990Â’s. A whopping 53 billion lire was spent on strengthening and straightening the tower by 40cm, which was the position it had been in the mid 19th Century.
Steel girdles and lead weights were used to haul the tower to its former position. It reopened to the public in December 2001.
Now, the tower is once again enjoying a brand new look, with a major clean-up job to restore the marble and stonework of the rings of arches. The lowest ring has just been finished after five months of cleaning and the rest of the column will now be given the treatment.
Visitors are still able to climb to the top of the 56-metre tower despite the ongoing work.
The Leaning Tower of Pisa may have a tilt of 4.5 metres from vertical, but experts have said that it will happily stand for another 300 years without toppling over.
For more information on properties in Italy and the property market in general, please visit http://italy.themovechannel.com/
-ENDS-
Notes to editors:
TheMoveChannel.com is a property website that was founded in 1999 as an online resource for buying, selling and learning about property. It now receives as many as 300,000 visits per month and advertises over 50,000 properties in nearly 90 countries, which are listed by over 500 partner organisations.
For further information, please contact:
Dan Johnson
Managing Director
www.themovechannel.com
0207 952 7650
TheMoveChannel.com
Dan Johnson
020 7952 7650
dj@themovechannel.com 
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