Years ago on a trip around the world I took a train up from Rome to Pisa. Why? To see and to ascend the Leaning Tower of Pisa. I enjoyed the experience and smiled at one odd feature: the keepers of the tower had installed protective rails on several levels of the tower on the *high* side (no danger), but on the low side where I felt a frisson of fear that I might actually fall, no bars. I stayed close to the tower wall, hoping not to become a news story. Odd, but overall it was a wonderful experience.

Afterwards I fell into conversation with a native citizen who expressed his anger and shame at this leaning tower. To him the lean was a scandal for Pisa and Italy, he exclaimed hotly. He was part of a group that was studying the feasibility of a massive effort to remedy partially the problem. I say partially because the tower had been built in stages, the latter ones attempting to correct the lean that had already begun. Read more