Name: NOVA
Genre: Documentary

NOVA Episode 27.01 Fall of the Leaning Tower

NOVA Episode 27.01 Fall of the Leaning Tower

Episode Premiere

October 5, 1999

Genre

Documentary

Production Company

GBH

Official Site

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/

Information

Episode Premiere

October 5, 1999

Genre

Documentary

Period

1974 -

Production Co

GBH

Distributor

PBS

Official Site

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/

Cast and Crew

Director

Simon Nashi, Marco Visalberghi

Screenwriter

Chris Durlacher

Additional Cast

Hal Linden

Synopsis

Even before it was finished 800 years ago, the Leaning Tower of Pisa - a masterpiece of medieval architecture - began to topple, shaken by earthquakes and sinking slowly into the unstable soil. Today, the top hangs just 16 feet over the base and collapse seems imminent. NOVA follows a decade-long search for a solution to correct the lean and save the unique building. State-of-the-art computer models, ingenious experiments with models and a string of near-disasters eventually push an international committee of prominent engineers and architects into an 11th-hour decision. A suspenseful tale of engineering hopes and frustrations, the program is both high comedy and a hands-on engineering adventure, guiding viewers into the minds of daring medieval architects and their ingenious modern successors.