TIMELINES: On August 9, 1173, construction began on what flawed Italian bell tower?

On August 9, 1173, construction began on what flawed Italian bell tower?
TIMELINES: On August 9, 1173, construction began on what flawed Italian bell tower?
8/8/2011
Updated:
9/29/2015

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

THEN

On August 9, 1173, construction of a bell tower in Pisa, Italy begins. Due to a series of interruptions—including wars, attempts to correct structural errors, and debt—the Tower of Pisa is eventually completed in the mid-1300s. The Tower’s initial design is attributed to two architects, Bonanno Pisano and Gherardo din Gherardo. Within a year, the tower, not intentionally designed to lean, begins to shift in the soft soil it is built on. Over the span of 800 years, the slant becomes more and more pronounced. Today, the Leaning Tower of Pisa tilts more than 15 feet off perpendicular and ranks as one of the most popular tourist attractions in Italy.

NOW

Last week, the British think tank, Center for Economics and Business Research (CEBR), published a report indicating a grim economic outlook for Italy and a high likelihood that the European country will default on its debt. Italy’s economy grew by a miniscule 0.1 percent in the first quarter of 2011 and projected future growth is expected to remain slow. According to CEBR, Italy’s debt is expected to rise from 128 percent of the county’s annual output to 150 percent by 2017, if bond yields remain above the current 6 percent and growth continues to be stagnant. With the threat of debt paralysis loudly knocking at Italy’s door, some experts are claiming that the necessary economic growth needed to stimulate the Italian economy is currently being held hostage by the country’s red tape, political bureaucracy. For example, in recent years Swedish retail giant, IKEA, had to scrap plans to build a 60 million euro (US$85 million) megastore just a few miles from the Leaning Tower of Pisa, due to the endless bureaucratic red tape that made the process of obtaining the requisite government permits virtually impossible.