Officially the campanile, or bell tower, of the Cathedral in Pisa, the famous Leaning Tower began leaning soon after its construction was completed in 1173. Scientists now know that the tower began to lean because of a poorly laid foundation and loose substrate that shifted unevenly under the tremendous weight of the tower. It continued to gradually tilt until 1964 when the Italian government called for a group of engineers to solve the problem, lest its famous tilt might topple the tower completely. Their measures, however, were mostly uneffective and the tower began to tilt at an increasing rate until reaching 5.55 degrees. In 1990 it was closed to the public, several of its massive bells were removed, a cable around the third level was anchored to the ground, and 38 cubic meters of soil were carefully removed from underneath the raised end - this strategy worked and the tower returned to a'safer' tilt of 3.99 degrees. It reopened to the public in 2001.
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