L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2021 www.italoamericano.org 22 L'Italo-Americano " Evviva la Torre di Pisa che pende, che pende ma sem- pre sta su. Evviva la Torre di Pisa che pende, che pende e mai non vien giù:" this was the famous refrain of a 1950s song by popular crooner Gino Latilla, dedicated to one of Italy's symbols, the leaning Tower of Pisa. Just like the song says, the stunning gothic belfry keeps on leaning, but doe- sn't have any intention to collapse, also thanks to modern technologies, as we shall see. Perhaps, howe- ver, we common people with little knowledge and understanding of the fasci- nating complexities of engineering find the rea- sons why it leans even more interesting than what keeps this 900 years old building up. Before delving into the mystery, let's get to know the monument better. The tower of Pisa is the free standing bell tower of Santa Maria Assunta Cathedral, and it is part of the famous architectural complex of Piazza dei Miracoli, along with a baptistery and the Cimite- ro Monumentale. It is 57 meters high (around 187 feet) and its estimated wei- ght is of 14.453 tons. It was built between the 12th and the 14th century, and har- moniously completes the cathedral, thanks to the sinuous lines defining its 6- story structure. Of course, it leans, of 3.9 degrees to be precise. A bit of history for you. Initially, the tower was believed to be the work of local architect Diotisalvi — what a name, by the way: it means "may God save you"— who also idea- ted the baptistery, but later archaeological findings demonstrated Giorgio Vasari's theory that attribu- ted it to Bonanno Pisano was correct. According to records, works began on the 9th of August 1173 and, by the time masons had sta- ted working on its third story, the ground under- neath the tower began col- lapsing, forcing them to stop. That the whole area was geologically fragile is not a secret: the ground under- neath beautiful Piazza dei Miracoli is very unstable and that's the main reason why the Torre has been sinking for the past 9 cen- turies. As a matter of fact, all buildings in the square are, although it is barely noticeable to the naked eye. So, the tower leans because the ground underneath it is not compact enough to stand its weight: it's as simple that. In any case, works star- ted again in 1175, when architects Giovanni di Simone and Giovanni Pisa- no added an extra three sto- ries which, in an attempt to balance the tilt of the first three, were constructed sli- ghtly curving in the opposi- te direction. A century later, the tower was finally completed with the addi- tion of its bell cell. As many of you may have read or heard, the tower has been sinking since and even had to be closed to the public at times in order to secure its structure; but there have also been long periods of stability and even some when its incline dimini- shed. The last part of the 20th century was particularly eventful: geological stu- dies discovered the presen- ce of water underground, which contributed to the instability of Piazza dei Miracoli's subsoil. In order to protect the area, great amounts of it were drained with dewatering pumps, with a consequent lowering of the ground level due to the compacting of the sub- soil itself. Result? The tower sank further, with its inclination reaching a whopping 4.5 degrees (or 4.47 meters) in 1993. Those were hard times for the Leaning Tower of Pisa, during which the risk of collapse increased expo- nentially. However, thanks to the clever use of lead weights, steel tie-beams, targeted excavations and the reinforcement of its foun- dations, the leaning of the tower was reverted to 3.97 degrees. Since then, the iconic belfry is no longer at risk of collapsing and should remain so for at least another three centu- ries. S fogliatella (sfoh- lleeah-tehl-lah) sounds as sweet as it taste. The word is the dimi- nutive of sfogliata (a type of cake), which in turn comes from sfoglia, the Italian for puff pastry. Sfoglia means "thin layer," as the pastry is made with many stacked leaves of it. Indeed, sfogliatella is usually a delicious parcel of puff pastry filled with a cream made of semolina, ricotta, sugar, candied fruit, vanilla and cinnamon. This type of sfogliatella is known as sfogliatella riccia ("curly" sfogliatella), but there is another one, the sfo- gliatella liscia ("straight" sfogliatella) made with shortcrust pastry instead. Lovingly known as 'a sfugliatèlla in Neapolitan, our sweet little gem is a tra- ditional pastry of Campania, and of Naples in particular, even though it was created in the 18th century by the nuns of the Conservtorio di Santa Rosa da Lima, near Amalfi. In the early 19th century though, Neapolitan pastry chef Pasquale Pin- tauro got the recipe from the nuns and began produ- cing sfogliatelle in his own pastry shop. Of course, it was a success and the legend was born. With its aromatic, deca- dent filling and its crumbly shell, sfogliatelle are just like the city they became of symbol of: beautiful to look at, rich and special. Perfect for a nice breakfast and rigorously served with a good caffé Napoletano, sfo- gliatelle are something you can't find everywhere. Just like it happens for other tra- ditional southern desserts like cassata or cannoli from Sicily, those you find in bakeries and cafés in other regions of Italy may be nice, but they are not the same thing, as every single Nea- politan will tell you. Sfogliatelle are not only good to eat, they are also beautiful to look at: sfoglia- telle ricce, with their many thin layers of delicate good- ness look like shells made with gold leaves and scen- ted like a summer Mediter- ranean garden. Sfogliatelle liscie are round and perfect like a pearl, with the warm deep colors of amber. Se vai a Napoli, prova • una sfogliatella con il tuo caffé If you go to Naples, • try a sfogliatella with your coffee Vorrei fare le sfoglia- • telle a casa, ma ho paura che sia troppo dif- ficile I'd like to make sfo- • gliatelle at home, but I'm afraid it's too difficult. Cosa preferisci, la sfo- • gliatella riccia o quella liscia? What's your favorite, • sfogliatella riccia or sfo- gliatella liscia? LA VITA ITALIANA TRADITIONS HISTORY CULTURE Word of the day: sfogliatella, the sweetest part of Naples Italian Curiosities: the Leaning Tower of Pisa, che pende e mai non vien giù! The iconic leaning tower of Pisa (Photo: © Photofires | Dreamstime.com) A delicious sfogliatella riccia (Photo: © Massimo Lama | Dreamstime.com)

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