Europe News
Italy moves to save Venice bell tower from leaning
Feb 1, 2007, 11:37 GMT
Venice, Italy - Experts plan to wrap a titanium belt around Venice's St. Mark's bell tower to prevent it from becoming the 'leaning tower of Venice,' the on-line edition of Corriere della Sera reported Thursday.
Engineers decided to reinforce the tower's foundations to stop small fissures first discovered in 1939 from spreading and compromising its stability.
The belt will be placed underground and will therefore be invisible to tourists.
The 6 million euros (7.8 million dollars) project is expected to start in June and should be completed by 2008, Corriere reported.
The 16th century campanile dominates Venice's St. Mark Square. The 100-metres tall structure was rebuilt in 1912 after it collapsed in 1902.
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-AgenturCOMMENT
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