The leaning tower of Pisa is reported to have stopped moving for the first time in its 800-year history, according to engineering experts.
A team of engineers have been working on a project to stabilise the famous tourist site for more than a decade.
The man in charge of co-ordinating the project has now said that the tower should remain stable for at least another 200
years.
Engineer Michele Jamiol-kowski said: “All of our best hopes have been confirmed.”
The project, which has cost 26 million euros (£20 million), has involved extracting some 70 tonnes of earth from the north side of the tower, in a bid to encourage the structure to right itself.
Built in 1173, the 183-foot tower was leaning nearly 15 feet when the restoration work began in 1999.
When the work was initially completed the tower continued to move towards a more upright position.
Several years on, hi-tech monitors embedded in the soil beneath the tower’s foundations show that the building has become stationary.
The structure is now 19 inches straighter and off centre by 13 feet.
Finishing ceremonies for the current work are scheduled to take place in late summer.
During completion of the work the leaning tower of Pisa lost its title as the world’s wonkiest piece of architecture to the steeple of a small church in Germany.
