NVN Saturday: THE LEANING TOWER OF PISA
by William Marr
In the 1990s, the Italian authorities had to close the bell tower to the public and launched a competition for ideas to reinforce its structure and prevent it from collapsing, as the situation was critical. The first intervention, which consisted of adding lead counterweights to the structure, did not solve the problem, so it was finally decided to excavate the earth to reduce the slope of the tower and ensure its preservation. "The rescue of the bell tower allows us to celebrate the 850th anniversary and to appreciate the efforts of our ancestors in the arrangement of the monuments in the Duomo square," the president of the Opera Primaziale, the monument's managing body, Andrea Maestrelli, told the local press. —Euronews, August 8, 2023
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descending from the tour bus we knew right away that the earth was gaining in its wrestling match with the sky to help maintain the balance we all raised our hands in front of the lenses strenuously trying to prop up the tower but the local guide shouted at us our exertion threatened his Money Tree— it must neither be allowed to fall nor be straightened up
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William Marr, a Chinese American poet, has published over 30 collections of poetry and several translations. His recent bilingual (Chinese/English) books of poetry, A Dreamless Night and Every Day a Blue Sky, are available on Amazon.