Italy Smiles Again National Geographic June 1949

... The great city of Pisa is still lying in her ruins, but the stones of those ruins have been cleared away to a great extent. Along the Arno one must still sorrow at war’s toll of Italy’s art. But the Cathedral, the Baptistery, and the Campanile (Leaning Tower) are all in perfect repair now, for their slight damages were healed before the Allies left. So great was General Clark’s solicitude for the Leaning Tower (for all that the German radio said that he was going to have his engineers try to straighten it!) that he would not allow soldiers to climb to the top lest the enemy, who had observation, would destroy the tower by shellfire and claim we were using it as an observation post. When AMG first reached Pisa, they found similar notices posted by the Germans. While the great frescoes in the Campo­santo (cemetery), such as the “Map of the World” (1390) and the “Triumph of Death” (1350) were being restored, we found, under the plaster that had broken away, the orig­inal brown chalk drawings which had served the painters who completed the frescoes. These marks had not been seen for some six centuries. Pages 719-723 Leaning Tower of Pisa Information Leaning Tower of Pisa History Leaning Tower of Pisa News Leaning Tower of Pisa Web Links Leaning Tower of Pisa Humor Leaning Tower of Pisa Gallery This page maintained by Gary Feuerstein Posted: 9 May 2006