Mark Twain once called the Leaning Tower of Pisa "the strangest structure the world has any knowledge of." For more than a decade, experts from across the globe have been working to keep it that way.  | | The leaning tower and the Duomo, both of creamy marble, attest to Pisa's once powerful standing. |
Officials closed the tower in 1990, when it leaned by a dangerous 13 feet off the perpendicular. In June, Italian and foreign engineers completed an 11-year, million restoration project to reduce its tilt by 16 inches. "It will take another 300 years for the lean to get back to where it was in 1990," predicts John Burland, an engineering professor at London's Imperial College. Last month, Pisans toasted the reopening of their beloved landmark with a celebration. Gone are the support suspenders and gaudy steel rings that strangled the tower for much of the last decade. Still, visitors must wait until November to make the dizzying climb to the top, as experts continue to study the structure's stability. In the past, tourist groups filled the eight-story tower's staircase. This time around, however, only 30 individuals will be allowed inside at a time. Construction on the famed bell tower began in 1173, when Pisa was a powerful maritime republic. But it was a monument built on shifting soil. The tower's south side began to sink before workers completed its third level. The tower was finished in 1360, still stubbornly tilting -- and all the more famous for it. Galileo is said to have conducted his revolutionary experiments with falling objects from the off-kilter belfry. As one of Europe's oldest university towns, Pisa has a strong intellectual tradition. The cafe-lined Borgo Stretto and the Piazza dei Cavalieri often teem with students. Pisa is on the coast of Tuscany, a region famed for its food, wine and beautiful hill towns. Many people visit Pisa as a day trip from Florence, about an hour away by train. (Agencies) | 馬克-吐溫曾將比薩斜塔稱為"呈現于世人面前最奇特的建筑結構。"在過去的10多年間，來自世界各地的專家一直致力于保持斜塔的奇特建筑結構。 1990年比薩官方關閉了斜塔，當時塔身偏離垂線13英尺。今年六月，意大利工程師和國外同行完成了一項修復工程，這項修復工程耗時11年，耗資27，000，000美元，將斜塔距離垂線的距離矯正了16英寸。 來自倫敦帝國學院的工程學教授約翰-伯蘭德預測說："（經過這次修復，）斜塔在未來300年不會傾斜到1990年關閉時的危險狀態。" 上個月，比薩人舉行了一場盛大的慶典活動，為象征這座城市的比薩斜塔重新開放干杯慶賀。 過去十幾年間斜塔四周起支撐作用的吊桿和繞在塔身上的華而不實的鋼圈現已蕩然無存。鑒于專家還在對斜塔穩定性進行研究，游客要等到今年11月才能開始令人頭暈目眩的登塔活動。從前，8層高的斜塔樓梯上總是擠滿了游客，而這次開放后，每次只會允許30名游客同時進入斜塔。 這座聞名遐邇的鐘塔于1173年開始建造，當時比薩城是一個強大的沿海城市共和國。由于斜塔的地基有位移的發生，塔身的第三層還沒建完的時候，斜塔的南側就開始下沉。 斜塔于1360年完工，竣工時塔身依舊傾斜，并因此而聞名。伽利略曾在這個失去平衡的傾斜的鐘樓上做過具有劃時代意義的自由落體實驗。 作為歐洲久負盛名的大學城之一，比薩有著悠久的學術傳統。不管是在咖啡館密集的伯爾格-斯特萊托大街還是在迪-卡瓦列瑞廣場，總能看到熙熙攘攘的學生的身影。 比薩位于托斯卡納(意大利一行政區)海岸。這一帶以美食、美酒和美景而聞名。很多人選擇從佛羅倫薩乘一個小時的火車來此做一日游。 (中國日報網站譯) |
Updated: 2001-07-25 01:00
