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.

I expressed my astonishment. I said that I was there to spend tourist money on transportation, hotel and lodging for one reason: their tower leaned. Take away that lean and the tower was, generally, like any number of towers I had already seen in Europe. I wouldn't have made the trip. How much of the economy of Pisa, I asked, centered around tourists coming to see the leaning tower? He didn't care; that meant little to him. The shame of the engineering overcame all of that.

Well, he had his way. And, apparently I was wrong because "his way" has not dented tourism for Pisa.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/07/world/europe/with-leaning-tower-of-pis...