Italian translation
The committee appointed for the protection and conservation of the Tower of Pisa met in mid-June. Since no definitive action had been taken since it was first instituted a year ago, many were expecting some kind of resolution.
The committee---whose term expires at the end of this year---once again postponed any major course of action.
Despite this stalling, yet a third "temporary" measure was agreed upon. Two steel supports will be harnessed the tower up to the height of the second loggia. The experimental excavations have been postponed until the beginning of 1999. From the results of these excavations, it will then be decided whether or not this measure is indeed the best means of correcting the inclination of the tower. If not, a new course of action will have to be determined. The scientific conference, which had been tentatively scheduled to take place at the end of this year, was pushed back until the 12th, 13th, and 14th of April, 1999. By this time, the committee hopes (rather optimistically) to present a definitive project. In light of these developments, which were divulged in a press conference rather than through an official press release, the following can be surmised:
1.This latest deferment only temporarily (and perhaps only apparently) resolves the fierce conflicts within the committee which for over a year have impeded the approval of corrective measures for the tower.
Additionally, a new law will have to be passed in order to extend the mandate of this eighteenth commission beyond 1998.
2. The so-called "temporary" measures have resulted in considerable damage to the Campanile. It is now recognized that the removal 1,000 metric tons of lead bearing down upon the circular foundation is entirely unfeasible
3. This fourth and most recent deferment of an international scientific conference confirms the tendency of the committee only to inform the scientific community of their decisions, and to exclude them from the decision-making process, thus avoiding any kind of confrontation or exchange of opinions. From 1990 until today, not a single round table has been sponsored for the expression and discussion of opinions held by those outside the committee. A similar authoritarian stance prevailed when the perilous measures of 1934-35 were undertaken. At that time, the government in power was not that of Prime Minister Prodi but that of Mussolini.
4. After eight years of projects at a total cost of around 40 billion lira, not a single viable plan for the permanent stabilization of the tower (this being the only requirement of the law) has resulted. It is inexplicable why the Italian government still refuses to acknowledge the utter inadequacy of the methodology adopted by the last two committees. It is also not clear why the government has failed to initiate an investigation to determine responsibility for "Black Saturday".
With good reason one suspects that the parties responsible for that potentially disastrous event were never denounced during the eighteenth commission, and that these same individuals are still in charge of operations today.
