the leaning tower of Pisa in Italy was begun in 1174 as a bell tower for the nearby cathedral the foundations were laid in sand and only three of the eight storeys were finished before it began to lean the plans were altered to compensate for the problem and the building was eventually completed in 1350 the 54.5 m tower continued to lean a little more each century until 1990 when engineers did work to help correct the problem the work cost $25m but the tower should now survive for another 200 years at least