Ah, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, one of Europe’s most iconic selfie destinations.
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Well, it turns out it’s not so crooked anymore, making iconic images such as the below a little less impactful.
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According to the BBC, after more than 20 years of efforts, engineers have managed to recover four centimetres giving it much better structural health than predicted.
Roberto Cela, who works for the organisation responsible for the maintenance of the tower said his team “positioned a series of pipes with drills which took away soil from the opposite side of the leaning side of the tower” according to the ABC.
“With the missing soil under its base, the tower has reacted by straightening up, recovering the tilt and thus rejuvenating after all the years that caused it to lean and to reach a critical position, which was becoming worrisome,” he said.
The tower was closed in 1990 for the first time in 800 years, after it’s 4.5m tilt from the vertical sparked fears it may have been on the verge of falling over.
But with the help of Polish expert, Prof Michele Jamiolkowski and a cold $300 million, the tilt was corrected by 45cm by 2001 and tourist were once again permitted to enter.
We suggest you get in quick if you want to take a selfie, before the Leaning Tower becomes… well, a tower.
