Pisa’s straightened circumstances

Going by publicity alone, people can be forgiven for thinking that the Leaning Tower of Pisa is the leader in its tilted genre and, hence, any straightening can affect its primacy. But the fact that the famous photogenic tower behind the 11th-century Cathedral of Pisa is now 44 cm more upright than it has been in the last 800 years is actually not going to affect the line-up. The scales are tilted firmly — 18° to be precise — in favour of the 2010 Capital Gate tower in Abu Dhabi, with the 13.8°-angled Altair building in Colombo in second place. Indeed, Pisa’s pride, after stabilisation at 3.97°, is even less tilted now than a tower of near-similar vintage, the 13th-century leaning steeple of Suurhusen in northern Germany, veering 5.19° off-centre.

What should alarm the tourism authorities, however, is the news that the tower has pulled back 4 cm on its own, rather than by human effort. Pisa’s campanile can be cited as the inspiration for modern architects to mimic its spontaneous gravity-defying allure on ever-larger scales. But no matter how many examples of marvellous engineering results in permanently skewed buildings, none offer a better photo-op than Pisa’s teetering tower seemingly bolstered by outstretched tourist hands, feet or backs. Even the tower itself should not be allowed to spoil that USP!