Concrete crumbling from Venice St Mark's bell tower

(ANSA) - ROME, APR 24 - Pieces of reinforced concrete have started to crumble away from the top of the bell tower of St Mark's Basilica in Venice, local newspaper Il Gazzettino reported on Wednesday.
    The material that has come loose dates back to 1902, when work started on rebuilding the structure after the previous tower collapsed.
    The material was considered revolutionary for the time.
    "There are no immediate or medium-term dangers," said Mario Piana, an architect who is in charge of conservation work at the basilica.
    "But we want to gather all the necessary information to plan a consolidation operation that will make that reinforced concrete, built at the beginning of the 20th century, safe for another 100 years". (ANSA).