Leaning Tower of Pisa and sculpure of Romulus and Remus being nursed by the she-wolf, Italy. The campanile, or bell tower, of the cathedral complex at Pisa was begun in 1173. Unfortunately, after construction was under way uneven settling of the foundations caused the tower to lean. Work was suspended several times as solutions were sought, but eventually the leaning tower we see today was completed in the 14th century. The lean contiued to increase at the rate of 1.2mm a year until, by 1990, the tower was in danger of collapsing. The campanile was closed while engineers undertook strengthening work which reduced the lean by 44cm, a project that was completed in 2001.