The Leaning Tower of Pisa

     

     This is the monument that, among the others of the "Piazza dei Miracoli",stirs the imagination of everybody, from the old to the young. Firstly we like to give you some information and events regarding its long history.

     The construction of this imposing mass was started in the year 1174 by Bonanno Pisano. When the tower had reached its third storey the works ceased because it had started sinking into the ground. The tower remained thus for 90 years. It was completed by Giovanni di Simone, Tommano Simone (son of Andreo Pisano), crowned the tower with the belfry at half of 14th century.

     The top of the Leaning Tower can be reached by mounting the 294 stepswhich rise in the form of a spiral on the inner side of the tower walls.

     This very famous work is of Romanesque style, and as already stated dates back to the year 1174. Cylindrical in shape it is supplied whit six open galleries. A cornice separates these galleries one from the other and each presents a series of small arches fitted on the capitals of the slender columns. In the base there is a series of big blind arcades with geometrical decorations. In the belfry there is the same design of arcades as that of the base, with the difference that here, there are, apart from the reduced proportions, the housings of the bells.

     Although stately, this monument is not lacking in elegance and lightness due to the arcades and open galleries between one storey and another. Although it can be considered a real masterpiece of architecture, this monument ismostly famous for its strong inclination. Regarding this inclination it can be safely stated that it is undoubtedly due to a sinking of the ground right from the time of its construction. Therefore, the assumption of those who desire to imagine that great tower was built inclined is entirely without foundation.

     Unfortunately, even today the great mass continues to sink very slowly. It is a question of about 1 mm. every year. Since nobody can state withmathematical security that this sinking will continue in the future at the present yearly rate, without its ceasing, remedies by means of adequate measures, based on scientific studies and projects, are under consideration. In the meantime supervision with instruments of very high precision iscontinuously being carried out.

The Eiffel Tower, 1889

     The Eiffel Tower was designed by the French engineer and bridge builder Alexandre Gustave Eiffel (1832-1923) for the Paris Exposition of 1889. The tower is 300 m (984 ft) high and consists of an open iron framework making it the highest manmade structure in the world at the time. It was the largest attraction at the Exposition and today it remains the most recognized structure in all of Europe. 

It was nearly never built.  

     After being awarded the contract to build the tower, Eiffel discovered that the Exposition Committee would only grant about a fourth of the monies needed to construct it. Eiffel himself would have to finance the balance. He struck a deal that would make him a very rich man. He agreed to independently find the funders for his tower but he wanted sole control of the tower and its profits for twenty years. They agreed. In a surprise to everyone, including Eiffel, the tower was paid off in the first year. 

     The deal that Eiffle hammered out is probably what saved the tower from destruction. Many in the arts and civic leaders felt the tower was an abomination. "They have only erected the framework of this monument, It has no skin" The whole idea that iron -- just iron -- could be beautiful, flew in the face of architectural history. Everyone knew that the great cathedrals and palaces had all been built of stone with the careful craft of ornamentation which adorned them. Sure, iron can play a part in an unseen, underlying structure such had been done with the Statue of Liberty, but to leave it exposed was just poor taste. It was like showing your dirty laundry. 

     A Committee of Three Hundred was formed and they petitioned for its demise: 
     Honored compatriot, we come, writers, painters, sculptors, architects, passionate lovers of the beauty of Paris -- a beauty until now unspoiled -- to protest with all our might, with all our outrage, in the name of slighted French taste, in the name of threatened French art and history, against the erection, in the heart of our capital, of the useless and monstrous Eiffel Tower. 

Are we going to allow all this beauty and tradition to be profaned? Is Paris now to be associated with the grotesque and mercantile imagination of a machine builder, to be defaced and disgraced? Even the commercial Americans would not want this Eiffel Tower which is, without any doubt, a dishonor to Paris. We all know this, everyone says it, everyone is deeply troubled by it. We, the Committee, are but a faint echo of universal sentiment, which is so legitimately outraged. When foreign visitors come to our universal exposition, they will cry out in astonishment," What!? Is this the atrocity that the French present to us as the representative of their vaunted national taste?" And they will be right to laugh at us, because the Paris of the sublime Gothic, the Paris of Jean Goujon, of Germain Pilon, Puget, Rude, Barye, etc. will have become the Paris of Monsieur Eiffel. 

Listen to our plea! Imagine now a ridiculous tall tower dominating Paris like a gigantic black factory smokestack, crushing with its barbaric mass Notre Dame, Sainte Chapelle, the  Tour Saint-Jacques, the Louvre, the dome of Les Invalides, the Arc de Triomphe, all our humiliated monuments, all our dwarfed architecture, which will be annihilated by Eiffel's hideous fantasy. For twenty years, over the city of Paris still vibrant with the genius of so many centuries, we shall see, spreading out like a blot of ink, the shadow of this disgusting column of bolted tin.9

     It may have taken every bit of those twenty years to change some people's minds. All of the other iron buildings built for the Exposition were torn down shortly after (a shame). Today we look upon  Eiffel's tower as anything but hideous. Mary Louis King calls it "a monument to nineteenth century architectural engineering and a frank display of structure and material."  

Although built of iron, it is an inherently inferior material and a single beam is unable to withstand large stresses. That is why the tower appears over engineered by today's standards. Though, from this very weakness its' simple beauty is found. If you look at the tower, the tight lattice work of beams sort of mimic the biological cellular structure of a plant.  

     In 1855, Sir Henry Bessmer discovered a process of converting iron into steel thereby making it much stronger and lighter, but the evolution from invention to practical use and mass production took many years. Steel would eventually replace iron and would bring the "sky scraper" to the city skylines of America and in 1885 (actually four years prior to the Eiffel's tower), William LeBaron Jenney built the Home Insurance Building in Chicago -- the first sky scraper. 
(Mary Louis King, "A History of Western Architecture" pp.175-195) 

Dynamic Tower, Dubai

     

     A giant  project, the first in the world that Dubai is a project to build a new architecture is based on The Rotating Tower Building, which can rotate freely rotating direction according to their needs.

     The building is a craft, design and construction of the DYNAMIC GROUP and ARCHTCT architect Italians known as David Fisher, sure enough, the building has 80 floors and a height of up to 420 meters higher than the Building Empire State lose.more

     For a single rotation of the building that many people have become confused and worried that This building can be rotated freely in the top layer. G in the direction of rotation can be controlled by itself. The motion would be moved calmly. The stability of equilibrium. And reduce the risk in various fields. At the same time so that people can view it mildly. And dizziness or panic with the rotation of the building as well. The speed of rotation around an average, it takes approximately 3 hours.

     This is a building block for the first rotation of the Earth (The World's First Building in Motion) started construction. Starting with the first project in Dubai and continue with the style and concept is the same. Created by the Moscow and closely followed by New York, which then pop in a building around the world.

7 Wonders of the World.(New) 07/07/07

7. Taj Mahal, India

     Built between 1632 and 1653, the Taj Mahal is a mausoleum ordered by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan to commemorate his wife, Mumtaz Mahal, who died giving birth to their 14th child. Considering this and the reports depicting the emperor’s grief, the Taj Mahal is often seen as a beautiful symbol of love. After his death, Shah Jahan was buried here also, next to his wife and the Taj was neglected, the whole complex being damaged, especially after the British raids during the Indian rebellion of 1857. However, at the start of the 20th century, British viceroy Lord Curzon supervised major restoration process which brought back the Taj Mahal glamor.

     Today, the complex is stunning, featuring the beautiful mausoleum made of white marble, reflecting pools, other buildings, magnificent ornamental gardens and attracting between 2 and 4 million visitors every year. Unfortunately, problems showed up in recent years, due to pollution, acid rain making the Taj Mahal turn yellow, the Indian authorities taking strict measures trying to stop this.

     How to get to Taj Mahal: The mausoleum is located in the city of Agra, which is very easy accessible by plane or by train from Delhi, Mumbai or Chennai (Google Maps.)

     Pretty amazing list, right? And besides these seven extraordinary landmarks, The Great Pyramid of Giza, the only surviving wonder of the original Seven Wonders of the World was granted an honorary site.

7 Wonders of the World.(New) 07/07/07

6. Petra, Jordan

     Jordan’s most visited site, Petra (Greek for “rock”) is an ancient settlement in the Ma’an Governorate famous for being carved directly into rock. Apparently, a sanctuary existed in the area long before the 16th century BC, but the actual city was founded around the 6th century BC and became the capital of the Nabataeansa, ancient people from that part of Asia. Benefiting from an advanced water management system, the city quickly flourished and became one of the most important trade centers in the area. In 106 AD, Petra became the capital of the Roman Empire province Arabia Petraea. It was then when the city started to decline, mostly because Romans reorganized trade routes and Petra lost its importance, the final kick being the 363 AD earthquake that destroyed a lot of buildings and seriously damaged the water conduits system

     Petra came back into popular culture after Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt visited the ruins in 1812. But it was only a century later that proper archaeological work started on the site, in 1929, with local tourism exploding after the site was featured in the Steven Spielberg’s 1989 movie “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade”, after in 1985 it was declared a World Heritage Site. Today, according to reports, more than 400,000 tourists visit Petra every year.

     How to get to Petra: For about $35 you can take the bus from Amman, Aqaba or Eilat or you can choose the taxi, which costs around $70 (round trip) if you take it from Amman (Google Maps)

7 Wonders of the World.(New) 07/07/07

5. Machu Picchu, Peru

     Also called “The Lost City of the Incas”, Machu Picchu is a historical site located on a mountain above the Urubamba Valley in Peru. Built at an altitude of 7,970 ft (2,430 meters) is considered one of the most significant cultural site because it was never discovered by Spanish conquistadors, so it remained almost intact.

     According to archaeologists, the settlement was built around 1450, during the reign of Inca emperor Pachacuti and even though there are theories claiming it was built as a prison or as an agricultural testing station, most probably it was designed to be a religious site. Founded at the height of the Inca Empire, Machu Pichu was abandoned in 1572, during the Spanish Conquest, the cause being unknown, most probably from diseases introduced by foreign travelers before the conquistadors arrival. The city was discovered in 1911 by Hiram Bingham who was searching for another Inca settlement, Vilcabamba and was led to Machu Pichu by a local boy. In 1981 Peru declared the area a “Historical Sanctuary” and in 1983 the site was included on the World Heritage Site list by UNESCO.

     How to get to Machu Picchu: The closest largest city is Cuzco (a World Heritage Site also) and from there you can take one-day trips to Machu Picchu. You’ll have to make a stop in Aguas Calientes from where you can take the bus (round trip for $16) or go on a multiple-day hiking trip on the famous Inca Trail which ends in Machu Picchu (Google Maps)

7 Wonders of the World.(New) 07/07/07

4. Great Wall of China

     Located in Northern China, the Great Wall measures more than 5,500 miles, of which the actual wall is around 3,900 miles, the rest being made up of trenches and natural barriers like rivers and hills. Construction on the wall was started as early as the 5th century BC as a way of protecting different areas from invasions and raids. Over the years, following dynasties made changes to the wall, either repairing or expanding it. But the most important dyansty in the wall’s history was the Ming Dynasty, which, starting with the 16th century, rebuilt most of the wall using more advanced techniques and materials such as bricks and stone, most of the parts visible today dating from this period.

     Unfortunately, the only sections in good shape are the ones from tourist areas, because a large part of the wall is in extremely bad shape: due to erosion from sandstorms hundreds of miles of the wall disappeared or its height was severely reduced from 16 feet to less than 6 feet, while large parts were taken down for the stone or to make room for other buildings

     For many years, the Great Wall of China was considered to be the only man-made structure visible from space but recent research and reports from astronauts reported that this is completely false. While advanced cameras are able to photograph it from low Earth orbit, the human eye can’t see the wall, even from low orbit 7.7 times better than normal visual acuity being required.

     How to get to the Great Wall of China: Being such a long structure, the Great Wall of China can be visited from many location, one-day trips being easy to find in Beijing, Hebei, Tianjin, Liaoning, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Ningxia and Gansu.

7 Wonders of the World.(New) 07/07/07

3. Colosseum, Rome, Italy

     The Roman Empire’s greatest architecture and engineering work, the Colosseum’s construction started between 70 and 72 AD, under the rule of Emperor Vespasian. The arena was remodeled and restored several times and during the Roman Empire’s existence it was mainly used for gladiator and animal fights (for example, Dio Cassius reported more than 9,000 animals killed during the inauguration ceremony). After the Roman Empire’s fall, the Colosseum’s use was changed several times, by the 12th century being a cemetery, after that used as a castle by the Frangipani family. In 1349, a major earthquake caused the South side to collapse and no important restoration process has been made since, most of the stone being used for other buildings in the area

     In modern history, the Colosseum was restored, the arena substructure was excavated and the largest restoration effort was made between 1993 and 2000, at an estimated cost of $20 million. Today the Colosseum is probably Rome and Italy’s most famous landmarks, being visited by millions of tourists every year. An interesting fact about the arena is that it become a symbol of fight against the capital punishment, several demonstrations being held here, all culminating with the Italian government’s decision to change the night-time illumination from white to gold every time someone with the death penalty is being released or commuted.

     How to get to the Colosseum: The site is easy to get, being located in the very popular Colosseo tourist area with most of the Roman Empire ruins (Google Maps)

7 Wonders of the World.(New) 07/07/07

2. Christ the Redeemer, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

     At a height of 130 ft (39.6 meters) and a width of 98 ft (30 meters), Christ the Redeemer (“Cristo Redentor” in Portuguese) is one of the largest Art Deco statues in the world and is Rio de Janeiro’s iconic landmark. The statue is located in the Tijuca Forest National Park, on top of 2,300 ft (700 meters) Corcovado mountain, overlooking Rio and depicting Jesus with its arms stretched (a symbol of peace).

     Though around 1850 Princess Isabel dismissed the first project of building a large statue on the Corcovado mountain the Catholic Circle of Rio didn’t abandon the idea and 70 years later, in 1922, the construction began. The statue was designed by Brazilian engineer Heitor da Silva Costa and was executed by French sculptor Paul Landowski, using reinforced concrete for the core structure and soapstone for the outer layer. The construction was finished in 1931 at an estimated cost of $250,000 (around $3 million today, considering the inflation).

     Over the years, the statue faced several problems that required restoration work. First, in 2008, it was struck by lighting, the local government being forced to replace some parts of the fingers, head and eyebrows and installing new lightning rods. And in 2010 the statues was vandalized, graffiti being sprayed on the right arm and head. Beside these, the statues needs permanent restoration due to exposure to strong winds and rain.

     How to get to Christ Redeemer: A ride on the Trem de Corcovado takes 20 minutes and costs about $23 (train information here and Google Maps location of the statue)

7 Wonders of the World.(New) 07/07/07

1. Chichen Itza

    Chichen Itza was one of the greatest Mayan centers of the Peninsula of Yucatan. Throughout its nearly 1,000 years history, different peoples have left their mark on this city. The Maya and Toltec vision of the world and the universe is revealed in their artistic works and stone monuments. Several buildings have survived.


    In the northern region of the Yucatan peninsula, on a limestone plateau lie the relics of Chichen Itza, once one of the most powerful cities of the Maya. Ruins of the temples of this ancient civilization spread from the Guatemala jungles to the Yucatan. Today, Chichen Itza attracts millions of visitors who come to marvel at the spectacular remains.


    Chichen Itza is a large archaeological site built by the Maya in Mesoamerica American culture. Located in the Yucatan peninsula of Yucatan in the southeast of Mexico. She Itza is part of the city, many of which were an illusion created to commemorate the god who thirst for blood.


    The nature of the species Itza. Made to reduce the polygon layer on an area of ​​approximately 6.4 square kilometers with a central staircase with a big temple. Temple of Warriors. Built in the 12th century after the creation of the old chapel was a mole. Castle Square in the center of a higher opacity. Used as a ritual sacrifice to the gods threw down his girl around divine as it is released into the market the same way, each justice of the Roman presence. The center of the public and the inclusion of the crowd.


    The Maya of Mexico, descended from the first people from Asia into North America via the Straits Ebring. The cultural development in both the wild and ruthless intelligence and noble at the same time.    The Mayan practice of human sacrifice. I pay tribute to those who worship God. Meanwhile, it has developed knowledge of astronomy. The art of architecture. The Arts. The author notes with special characters. 0, and the discovery of mathematics. It seems odd that they have discovered the benefits arising from the wheel.


    Center of the civilization of these people that she Itza. In the Yucatan peninsula, civilization discovered these treasures to the world public to know, Mr. Thompson, the American people to travel among the Maya Sakson with great interest to study the various mysteries.
  
    It can be said that Maya is the origin of their peace offerings to the religious violence that had defeated them after a bloody stump in Tribal Tek. Located in central Mexico, in the end, they would fall under the illusion of popular violence prevail. In a bloody winner. Grabbing the gold and treasures of the Maya fully.


    7 July 2550 she Itza was selected as one of the seven wonders of the world. Of the voting around the world through the Internet and mobile phones.