Wanderlust World Wanderlust World Since 1990, public access to the Leaning Tower of Pisa's summit has been prohibited due to structural instability. The 55.86-meter (183-foot) tower's famous 3.97-degree lean—caused by inadequate foundations on compressible clay—had worsened to a critical 5.5 degrees by 1990, risking collapse.
A decade-long, £20 million stabilization project (1990-2001) reduced the lean to 3.97 degrees by extracting soil from the raised side and adding counterweights. The tower reopened in 2001, but engineers determined the summit's narrow staircase and limited egress posed unacceptable evacuation risks in emergencies. Current access allows climbing 251 steps to the seventh-floor gallery (about 45 meters up), offering panoramic views without summit exposure.
This restriction balances preservation with public access. The tower—a UNESCO World Heritage Site within Pisa's Piazza dei Miracoli—receives over 1 million annual visitors. While the absolute top remains off-limits, the partial climb provides the iconic tilted perspective and architectural appreciation that define the Pisa experience. The tower's lean, once a structural failure, now ensures its fame—and its survival through careful conservation.