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Something Extra: Wilting Wonders

MIAMI (CBS4) - Another of the world's wonders is leaning and that got to make you wonder what's going on with the ground in Italy.

Recent reports say Venice, one of the most beautiful places on earth, is sinking five times faster than previously thought.

The Leaning Tower of Pisa started tilting soon after it was started eight hundred fifty years ago.  It had to be closed not long ago for more than a decade to stabilize its foundation.

Now, tourists may be able to take the same kind of silly picture they all take in Pisa at the ancient Colosseum of Rome.

It's leaning too, dipping about sixteen inches on one side.

The symbol of the Roman Empire has gone through rough times.  Much of the original structure has vanished.

And now, if the concrete slab under the Colosseum has developed a crack, as some believe, it may have to close while it's stabilized.

Ironically, modern architects are designing intentionally leaning towers including the three Frank Gehry-designed Neuer Zollhof buildings in Dusseldorf, Germany and the new Capital Gate in Abu Dhabi.  That's the tower that leans more than any other.

The Capital Gate includes a hotel, but I won't be staying there any time soon.

I don't even like balconies, so I'll pass on sleeping in a leaning bedroom.

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