For the first time in almost 12 years, the Leaning Tower of Pisa's faded green doors have been thrown open and dozens of delighted tourists are climbed the 293 time-worn marble steps to the top.
Bells chimed and guards dressed in mediaeval pantaloons ushered the randomly chosen visitors into the tower this morning, more than a decade after the famous monument was closed for fear it was about to topple over.
"I am so lucky, I was just here by chance and they invited me to be the first tourist to climb the Leaning Tower of Pisa," enthused Ms Montse Vinardell, a 37-year-old Spanish fashion designer, as she looked out over the tiled rooftops of Pisa.
Another visitor called friends from her cell phone after climbing the winding, narrow staircase.
"I'm at the top of the Leaning Tower of Pisa! I can't believe it!" she cried.
After closing the monument in 1990, a group of 14 archaeologists, architects and soil experts struggled to find a way to take some of the tilt out of the tower without completely straightening it - tourists like to see it leaning, and the top layers, built when the tower was already out of true, are at a slightly different angle from the base.
A first attempt to reduce the lean almost sent the monument keeling over in 1994, but the committee finally decided to excavate under the higher end of the tower and remove soil through bore holes.
They slowly straightened the monument by 40.6 centimetres - leaving it keeled over a mere four metres -- and stopped it from increasing its tilt.
"All the technical problems are solved, the tower has at least 300 years ahead," Mr Michele Jamiolkowski, the president of the international commission of experts, declared at the reopening ceremony today.
"Now local officials must establish how the tower can be visited in order to maintain it," he added.
They already have a pretty good idea. For starters, only 30 visitors at a time will be allowed to climb the tower steps. After paying a hefty 30,000 lire entrance fee, they will get a 35-minute guided tour which can be reserved ahead of time over the Internet.
The Tower of Pisa started to lean shortly after construction began in 1173 on shifting, sandy soil and its tilt increased over the years.
By 1990, with the lean at 4.5-metres, experts said it should have already collapsed. But after almost 12 years of work and $25 million, they say the 14,000-tonne structure has been secured.