‘There were 14 egos at work and little common ground between people from such different disciplines,’ says Burland. ‘As opposed to rational, British-style discussion, meetings were emotional, with polemical speeches in Italian for hours on end. Often my translators struggled to keep up and I hadn’t a clue what was going on.’Broadly speaking, the structural engineers disagreed with the geotechnical engineers over whether the key lay in the tower itself or in the earth beneath it, while both were at odds with the art historians, who feared intervention of any kind and demanded the belfry’s ‘character and integrity’ be observed. A permanent prop, for instance, was a definite no-no.
‘It was a constant impasse. I often doubted we’d ever reach a resolution,’ recalls Burland, one of only two non-Italians on the committee. The other, an American geotechnical engineer, died of a heart attack in 1996, partly brought on by the stresses of working in Pisa.
Daffy, I must disagree that this article has *eyes glazing over* content. It is both informative and funny. Everyone should read the whole article. Members of this secret committee should receive Italy's highest honor for working diligently for more than 10 years to solve this problem. Read the article.
Certainly the Leaning Tower of Pisa is one of Italy’s major attractions. Too bad. The cathedral and the baptistry are two of the most impressive structures of their type in Europe, but they’re overshadowed by the architectural anomoly next door.
Oh, I agree ...but it isn’t exactly *6th* grade reading level either...and in addition has that inimitable Brit wit.