Leaning+Tower+of+Pisa

=History= The construction began on August 9, 1173. It was designed to be a bell tower. It stood straight for 5 years, but when they finished the third floor in 1778 it began to lean. It was built on a dense clay mixture, but it wasn´t strong enough to hold the tower straight, after this the construction was stopped for 100 years. After this 100 years Giovanni di Simone added four more floors on 1272, in 1248 they stopped again beacuse of the battle of Meloria. In 1319 the seventh floor was finished. The bell-chamber was added in 1372 and then didn't do anything until the 19th century. In 1838 Alessandro Della Gherardesca dug a pathway near the base of the tower so people could see it but it leaned even more. In 1964 a leaden counterweight was installed (800 tonnes). In 1987 was declared a UNESCO world heritage site. In 1990 was closed, the bells were removed and the tower was anchored. It reopened in 2001 for tourists. the tower is finally strong and safe.

=Characteristics= It is located in the complex of Pisa, Italy. It has 207 columns ranged around eight stories. Was designed as a circular bell tower that would stand 185 ft. high. Constructed of white marble, has eight stories including the chamber for the bells. The bottom story has 15 arches. The next six stories have 30 arches, and the final has 16 arches. It has a 297 step spiral staircase inside to get to the top. The top of the tower is about 17 feet off the vertical. =People and places= Giovanni di Simone, architect. Tommaso di Andrea built the seventh floor, Martes Gerardo, a worker. Dona Berta di Bernardo Giorgia Varau indicates that Tommaso di Andrea was the designer, Benenato, son of Gerardo Bottici on 1233 oversaw the continuation of the construction of the Belltower.

=Renovations and changes= Built on the shifting sands of a former estuary,the leaning tower of Pisa probably began tilting not long after medieval labrers laid its first foundation stones. Architects, engineers, and self-appointed problem-solvers have bent over backwards trying to slow, halt, or idealy reverse lean. all efforts have failed. They wanted to fix with cables and trucks pulling and pulling until it was fixed. =Floor plan= =Illustrations= =Links= [|www.towerofpisa.info.com] en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leaning_tower_of_pisa_ [|www.italyguides.it/TowerofPisa] [|www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/pisa/interventions.html]

=Group members= Carlos Calderon Juanse Ramos Domenica Maselli