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Leaning Tower of Pisa, The

noun
  1. a round, marble campanile in Pisa, Italy, begun in 1174 and now 17 feet (5.2 meters) out of the perpendicular in its height of 179 feet (54 meters).
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
leaning tower of pisa in Culture

Leaning Tower of Pisa

A dramatically leaning tower in the city of Pisa in Italy, built as a bell tower for the cathedral (see also cathedral) of the city; the tower dates from the twelfth century. Soon after its construction, the foundation sank, causing the tower to lean.

Note

Closed to the public in 1990, the tower was reopened in the early twenty-first century after engineers reduced the rate of inclination by about sixteen inches.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.