![]() Photo by AFP photo/Getty Images/Fabio Muzzi. Article content A combination of two pictures shows Pisa’s leaning tower before the stabilization works in 1992 (L) and at the end of the works in 2010 (R) showing a slightly different level of tilt. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The tower is hollow inside, with almost 300 stairs required to climb to the top of the 56-metre-high structure.Experts now say the tower will be stable for about 200 years.To reduce the tilt of the tower, about 70 metric tons of dirt was removed from under the side of the tower that sat higher than the other.Homes in the path of a potential fall were also evacuated, in case of an accidental collapse. The bells were removed to take some weight away from the tower as restructuring work began in 1990.A bell chamber had been added in the year 1372 seven bells were installed, with each bell representing a note of a major musical scale.That meant the actual measurement of the tilt was reduced by 45 centimetres. Restoration work changed that tilt to 3.97 degrees. When the tower closed for restoration, its tilt had reached the potentially dangerous level of 5.5 degrees.Scientists says the surrounding soft soil influences the vibration of quakes and reduces tremors. Four earthquakes have shaken this part of Italy, but none toppled the tower.Experts say the tower leaned because of soft ground that couldn’t support the weight of the structure.It was built in three stages over a period of almost 200 years. ![]() The tower started to lean shortly after it was built in 1173. ![]()
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