How engineers straightened the Leaning Tower of Pisa [video] | Hacker News Reader

How engineers straightened the Leaning Tower of Pisa [video]

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90 pointsgeox46 comments

We visited Pisa, briefly. One thing to note is that everything in the plaza, including the surrounding walls, is leaning. Everything. The ground must be like mud.

Another thing to note is there is pretty much nothing to do or see in Pisa besides the tower. Probably better to spend an extra day in Florence if you're in the area rather than take the trip to Pisa. Or, if you must, go to Pisa, but then pop over to Tirrenia and enjoy a half day at the beach if weather permits.

Seeing the leaning tower in person was one of the funniest things I've ever seen in real life, I can't believe how hard it made me laugh.

It was cathartic to see it and think of all the projects I've worked on in the past that were poorly run.

Also while Pisa isn't much to see you can also walk the quite long Tunnel Di Pini and it makes for quite a lovely day of picnics and nature.

Though to be fair, Florence in general is hard to beat.

It survived for quite a few centuries so maybe that says something about projects that live on despite severe flaws.

San Francisco has its own leaning tower that's costing hundreds of millions in repairs and continues to discover new problems despite being only a little over a decade old, so it's a reminder that even today we sometimes screw things up.

Coincidentally I'm taking a train to Pisa a few hours from now so it'll be nice to see it for myself.

Uninspired comment. The tower is worth the trip. It's absurd! I didn't think i'd be into it that much, i've seen the pictures. It's leaning. I get it.

It's unbelievable in real life. It's hilarious, it's fun, it's simple. Everyone is having a good time.

One of my favorite memories in Italy, and i've been to all the heavy hitter stuff in Rome.

It's its own thing. Please don't let this comment discourage anyone.

Well, Rome is a whole other can of worms. World class historical sites, but the crowds can be extremely off putting (for me at least).

But really, my comment was targeted at the typical English speaking Italian vacationer, who might have to prioritize the whole country for a 7 day travel period.

Always visit historical sites b in bad weather

I think North American might be better here. As for UK there is certainly enough options to visit multiple times even on extended weekends.

I agree. I was originally totally confused why people would drive out to see something you can see in photos.

The moment I saw it while driving there, I gasped out loud. It was leaning. It was bright white. It stood tall above everything else.

We dropped by on our way from Florence to Cinque Terre. It’s worth a visit.

I also stopped there for the afternoon on a train between Florence and Cinque Terra. Was super convenient.

Standing under the leaning tower I legitimately felt like it was going to fall on me. It's a one of a kind experience. Well worth breaking up a train ride to see it and grab a meal.

Don't spend more than the bare minimum in crowded tourist traps Florence and Pisa. Say, no longer than two days and half a day, respectively. Rather, wind down in places like Lucca and Siena. Except the latter for a few days in July and August, when it becomes one of the craziest places on the planet. That's one of the few times when it might be actually ok to chase loud crowds that are totally losing their minds. (That's for an ancient and, from the outside, rather bizarre horse race. You won't get it until you're there.)

Florence is absolutely not a tourist trap. It is a beautiful city that was one of the wealthiest republics in Renaissance Italy. Great art (Uffizi Gallery is amazing) and architecture (i.e. Duomo) abounds. It is an essential visit in Italy alongside Rome in my opinion, though Rome deserves more time.

I'm from Italy and used to live in Tuscany (mostly Pisa, but also the "mountains" outside Florence). I might have been a bit unfair, "downtown" Florence is probably only 0.75 Venices, my unit of measure for tourist traps. Although Venetians and especially Florentines are kinda infamous for always wanting to brag about their glorious past, there's nothing wrong with either city per se, they're just victims of their own success. Rome, by virtue of its scale, is only 0.5 Venices. I tell people that you could walk past all the main sites in three-four hours, but it would be kinda pointless and you really want to spend five days there.

Florence isn't just about the museums and bridges dotted with tourist stalls. It has a beautiful countryside, and still has a large population of locals, who would be happy to treat you nicely if you act as the nice and appreciative tourist to them as your hosts.

Although I must say, I also had the world's worst McD's burger at the train station (we were in a rush, what can I say...)

You're kinda making my case against "downtown" Florence. I should have been clearer. The countryside and most of the rest of Tuscany is more pleasant and doesn't trap heat in the summer like the city does. Even there, though, some places like San Gimignano can get too touristy. See the baffling trend of torture museums as an example...

You went to Florence and didn’t have Bistecca?

Go back and try again!

A huge Yes for Lucca! I can't recommend it enough. What a beautiful town! We stayed there years ago in hotel universe, which was a beauty of its own, but is no more... Also the olive oil from the area is outstanding.

Pisa airport takes cheap flights and there's a train station and hotels at walking distance. It can be a good base to start your adventures!

I have to disagree, there's plenty to do and see in Pisa. While it can't compete with Florence, right next to the leaning tower the cathedral and the baptistery contain some of the earliest examples of renaissance sculpture, and the sinopia museum gives insight into the technology of fresco painting. There are also several other museums and churches scattered around the city center and the riverbank, worth to pop in even if you're just trying to escape the summer heat.

And as others mentioned, its airport and train station make it a convenient hub to explore the surrounding area, including Calci, Lucca, Cinque Terre, and Livorno.

Volterra is another great place, albeit a little drive away but a beautiful one - taking you through winding mountain roads with fabulous views. One of my favourite ever drives (and done in a Fiat 500 for extra Italian-ness!)

I would disagree. The Piazza dei miracoli (where the tower is) is genuinely amazing[1]. The duomo is really beautiful. You can see the actual incense lamp that inspired Galileo to formulate the theory about the motion of pendulums. The church of san stefano[2] is pretty cool. There are some great restaurants (one of the best restaurants I've ever been to in Italy is in Pisa). etc etc

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piazza_dei_Miracoli

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santo_Stefano_dei_Cavalieri,_P...

What are some restaurants you’d recommend?

It was a very long time ago I traveled there so my memory is struggling, but looking at tripadvisor photos the real standout was (I think) La Cantina di Tipi. Either that or it's not there any more.

Thank you! My family is travelling soon, so if they make it there, I'll update with their review of it :)

For people who like exploring, know the leaning tower of Pisa is absolutely _not_ a once-in-a-lifetime experience. There are over 100 leaning towers around the world!

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_leaning_towers

I went there two month ago. Did not notice anything but the tower leaning.

I build a lot of walls, so I might be sensitive to this. I went back to my photo album (which, to my family's great frustration is about 1/3rd wall pics), most are out 1–2°; the exterior wall of the plaza is wavy, my pictures have a hard time capturing this. Most of the buildings in the plaza are out 1/2–1°, or more. Buildings are built plumb, because it is safe & easy. These buildings are straight but not plumb.

Some of Grady's videos scratch that "didn't know this would be that interesting" itch.

His other channel, Practical Construction, did an in depth step-by-step of installing a sewage pump station.

I wonder if the same procedure will have to be repeated a hundred years later. After all the soil under the leaning part of the tower will continue to be softer than the soil on the opposite side....

Two hundred years before it starts moving again according to the engineers themselves.

From Wikipedia:

> In May 2008, engineers announced that the tower had been stabilized such that it had stopped moving for the first time in its history. They stated that it would be stable for at least 200 years.

@dang — this is just a thin wrapper around a great engineering-related YouTube channel.

The direct link is:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZhHoyqQEhA

Also Practical Engineering also publishes their content as blogposts for those who like reading better than watching: https://practical.engineering/blog/2023/12/19/how-engineers-...

@dang doesn't do anything, but he'll respond to emails to hn@ycombinator.com

Ok, I've changed the link from https://www.openculture.com/2024/03/how-engineers-straighten....

openculture.com is usually pretty good and has been the source of a lot of good HN submissions but I agree that this one was a thin wrapper.

p.s. cwillu is right - i saw this because someone emailed, and @dang in comments is a no-op...just so people know.

Why not make @dang in comments actually notify you? I constantly see people attempting to use it and having to be corrected.

They failed as it's still leaning. They need to try again and make it actually straight this time. It could be interesting to try and also straighten the upper portions too since it wasn't built totally straight.

I'm pretty sure they don't want to actually straighten it due to the immense cost of renaming it

If they'd use static typing, the IDE could easily rename it with one command, though. /S

I think in this case "fix" means more like "prevent further changes." They don't actually want it to topple either.

No, they actually succeeded because it's still leaning. The tower was known for leaning and they wanted to preserve that famous lean while still increasing safety, which they increased.

I don't think many people would visit a straight tower.

"The Upright Towers of Pisa: quietly celebrating competence."

(From this T-shirt: https://topatoco.com/products/og-upright)

Not bad, but I feel like a single tower would have been funnier.

A single tower sounds like they fixed it. I think clearly highlighting all the other towers works better for this joke.

Superman straightened the leaning tower in the third movie in 1983.

That action wouldn't be well received in Italy in real life. We have a zillion of straight towers but everybody talks about and goes to see the odd leaning one.

Superman eventually restored the original leaning angle.

It was built leaning, it can't actually be straightened completely.

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