Introduction:

Tourist Tower of Pisa is one of the wonders of the world that is very unique. Why Unique? Because the leaning of Tower of Pisa. The slope of the Tower of Pisa was not meant when it was planned. At first this building was built up vertically, but due to internal and external factors, it caused the tower to be leant. The tower of Pisa is famous simply because it leans! The tower was closed to the public in 1990, after fears that an entire busload of tourists at the top would be enough to make it fall down. Eleven years later, the lean has been corrected a little, but not entirely. But I am sure that nobody knows the reason of leaning unless he or she visited it. For visitors to Italy, the Leaning Tower of Pisa is practically a major stop. This is a well known and generally accepted fact. This has a great affect the local economy of Pisa but, for the visitor this lends to a very touristy place. To put you in the picture, Ill tell you about the Construction of the tower. And after that, Ill let you know the reason of leaning and why it hasnt fallen over.

Body:
y Construction: Construction of the tower occurred in three stages across 177 to 199 years. Work on the first floor of the white marble campanile began on August 8, 1173, during a period of military success and prosperity. The tower began to sink after construction had progressed to the third floor in 1178. This was due to a mere three-metre foundation, set in weak, unstable subsoil, a design that was defective from the beginning. In 1198 clocks were temporarily installed on the third floor of the unfinished construction. In 1272 construction resumed and the engineers built upper floors with one side taller than the other. Construction was paused again in 1284. The seventh floor was completed in 1319. It was built by Tommaso di Andrea Pisano, who succeeded in combine the Gothic elements of the bellchamber with the Romanesque style of the tower. There are seven bells, one

for each note of the musical major scale. The largest one was installed in 1655. The bell-chamber was finally added in 1372.

y The leaning reason: Construction was subsequently stopped for almost a century, because the Republic of Pisa was almost continually engaged in battles with Genoa, Lucca and Florence. During this long pause, the soil continued to settle. Otherwise, the tower would almost certainly have toppled. Rather than cancelling the project, builders corrected the slope by adding extra height to the upper stories on one side of the Tower. The extra weight caused the upper part of the Tower to lean in the opposite direction. Over the centuries there have been many attempts to remove or reduce the slope. In 1990, the Italian government determined that the tower was no longer safe for tourists, closed it off, and started finding ways to make the tower safer. John Burland, a British professor of soil mechanics, came up with the system of removing soil from the north side in order to make the building settle back into the ground and thus reduce the slope. This worked and the tower was reopened to tourism in 2001.

y Why hasn't it fallen over? In the engineers opinion, the fact that it took such a long time to build may be the main reason because of it hasn't fallen over. Between the periods of construction the ground had time to settle and become compacted, making the foundations stronger. Another important factor is the material it is built from; the limestone and lime mortar are able to bend and resist the forces that would make other, more dry rocks.

y Construction:

Construction of the tower occurred in three stages across 177 years. Work on the first floor of the white marble campanile began on August 8, 1173, during a period of military success and prosperity. This first floor is a blind arcade articulated by engaged columns with classical Corinthian capitals. The tower began to sink after construction had progressed to the third floor in 1178. This was due to a mere three-metre foundation, set in weak, unstable subsoil, a design that was flawed from the beginning. In 1198 clocks were temporarily installed on the third floor of the unfinished construction. In 1272 construction resumed and the engineers built upper floors with one side taller than the other. Construction was halted again in 1284. The seventh floor was completed in 1319. It was built by Tommaso di Andrea Pisano, who succeeded in harmonizing the Gothic elements of the bell-chamber with the Romanesque style of the tower. There are seven bells, one for each note of the musical major scale. The largest one was installed in 1655. The bell-chamber was finally added in 1372.

y The leaning reason: Construction was subsequently halted for almost a century, because the Republic of Pisa was almost continually engaged in battles with Genoa, Lucca and Florence. During this long pause, the soil continued to settle. Otherwise, the tower would almost certainly have toppled. Rather than abandon the project, builders accommodated the tilt by adding extra height to the upper stories on one side of the Tower. The extra weight caused the upper part of the Tower to lean in the opposite direction. Over the centuries there have been many attempts to remove or reduce the tilt. In 1990, an Italian government-appointed special commission determined that the tower was no longer safe for tourists, closed it off, and started devising ways to make the building safer. John Burland, a British professor of soil mechanics, came up with the system of removing soil from the north side in order to make the building settle back into the ground and thus reduce the tilt. This worked and the tower was reopened to tourism in 2001.

y Why hasn't it fallen over? In the engineers opinion, the fact that it took such a long time to build may be the main reason it hasn't fallen. Between the periods of construction the ground had time to settle and become compacted, making the foundations stronger. Another important factor is the material it is built from; the limestone and lime mortar are able to bend and resist the forces that would make other, more brittle rocks, crack.

Central Idea: The tower in Pisa, Italy, is famous simply because it leans. Or The Tower of Pisa was designed as a bell tower but its main purpose was to promote the town of Pisa. The reason of listening:
The tower was closed to the public in 1990, after fears that an entire busload of tourists at the top would be enough to make it fall down. Eleven years later, the lean has been corrected a little, but not entirely. But I am sure that nobody knows the reason of leaning unless he or she visited it.

Hook:
Tourist Tower of Pisa is one of the wonders of the world that is very unique. Why Unique? Because the leaning of Tower of Pisa. The slope of the Tower of Pisa was not meant when it was planned. At first this building was built up vertically, but due to internal and external factors, it caused the tower to be leant.

Credibility:
For visitors to Italy, the Leaning Tower of Pisa is practically a major stop. This is a well known and generally accepted fact. This has a great affect the local economy of Pisa but, for the visitor this lends to a very touristy place.

Overview:

To put you in the picture, Ill tell you about the Construction

of the tower. And after that, Ill let you know the reason of leaning and why it hasnt fallen over.