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A safe future for the leaning Tower of Pisa
Bonfiglioli Trasmital contributes to setting the leaning tower straight
17 January 2008
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The leaning tower of Pisa is one of the most famous monuments in the world, jostling with the Pyramids, the Colosseum and Venice to rank as Most Photographed Site with unique Italian style and flair.
Bonanno Pisano's celebrated bell tower is over 800 years old, constructed over the period from 1173 to 1370 in a number of separate phases. Construction reached the fourth level by 1173, halted for 94 years, reached the eighth level by 1272, came to a standstill again for a further 82 years, and the tower was completed in all its present glory in 1370.
The tower started to lean in 1360 and since then it has been famous for this unique feature.
Over the centuries the lean has gradually increased, to the point that it was no longer considered safe for the thousands of tourists who visit it every year; in the last 60 years over 18 million people have climbed the tower. On 7 January 1990 the tower was closed to the public to start the task of consolidation of its foundations and correction of its lean.
This extraordinary project took 4015 days of closure, but after 11 years of work the tower was finally opened to the public again on December 15th 2001.
The job involved the use of belts, ropes, lead ballast and injections of concrete into the ground beneath the tower, at a cost of 26 million euro, and will ensure the tower's stability for a further 300 years. The lean has been corrected by 40 cm to the angle of 1838. Bonfiglioli was also involved in this extraordinary project: the sophisticated machine used for the preliminary surveys of the ground and the base of the tower is driven by Bonfiglioli Trasmital 810 and 706 gear units.
The machine, a SOILMEC SM 405/8, was also used for stabilising the terrain and installing the rods inside the anchor beams which bear the weight of the tower.
Our gear unit applications reflect our capacity to provide a vast range of products combined with custom solutions which meet our highly specialised clientele's requirements; in this case we are especially proud that we have had a small part to play in this historic project, in recognition of the commitment we dedicate to all of the challenges we face. |
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