ROME, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Work began in Venice this
week to fit a titanium belt to one of the city's most famous landmarks, the
bell-tower in St Mark's Square, Italian News Agency ANSA reported on Thursday.
Experts were called in after a survey revealed the
99-meter bell-tower is sloping by seven centimeters, a sign that its foundations
- thousands of wooden posts driven into unstable ground - are failing to provide
adequate support.
Surveyors also reckon the foundations of the tower
are cracking by a millimeter a year.
To prevent the tower from toppling over, the titanium
belt will be wrapped around its foundations two meters below ground and will be
invisible from the outside.
Consorzio Venezia Nuova (CVN), the conservation group
in charge of the restoration, has warned that the picturesque square - a must on
Italy's tourist trail - will be covered in scaffolding for the next two years
while the belt is fitted.
Work will also be carried out on the Ducal Palace and
the Pontedella Paglia in the square, CVN said.
Affectionately nicknamed El Paron de Casa (The
Gaffer), the bell-tower, or "campanile," was first built in 1156-73 on the site
of an older tower dating back to around 900 AD.
After suffering structural damage, the tower was rebuilt
in the 16th century, but the campanile collapsed completely in 1902.
The much-photographed current tower was built in
1912.
