Falling off the Tower of Pisa: A travel adventure
Once while touring Italy by bus, I stopped – along with the rest of the group on the bus – at the leaning tower in Pisa, long enough to climb its winding stairwell and view the agricultural landscape surrounding the ancient and world famous tower (that many foreigners think is name Pizza, thanks to the fact that Italy is home to both Pisa and Pizza). There was a light rain falling and the well-worn marble and stone walkways used for centuries by people who came before me to circumambulate the tower were wet from rain. The railing consisted of one small black iron pipe, fashioned into a railing waist high, and that was all I had to cling to, to keep from falling several stories through space to the ground below.
Once I got to the top, the rain was coming steadily, and although it was a light rain, the walkway was extremely slippery. At one point I did slip, and had to grab the two-inch diameter pipe railing to keep from plummeting to my death. I felt a bit embarrassed to have almost fallen off the leaning tower, until I got home and saw the news headlines. An article announced that “the Leaning Tower of Pisa will be closed for an indefinite length of time” because it had become hazardous, due to pronounced leaning. Architects and engineers from around the world were brought in to stabilize the tower, and eventually it was reopened to the public.