Festa loves to build things. They've had a recreated Italian piazza, a giant Pinocchio, a Venetian bell tower and more over the years. But this year, the carpentry whizzes at Festa can put down their hammers, because the Milwaukee School of Engineering student chapter of the Architectural Engineering Institute is on the scene.

The AEI students are working to build a five-foot leaning tower of LEGO.

The recreated "torre pendente" – the bell tower of the duomo located in Pisa's "Piazza dei Miracoli" (Plaza of Miracles) – will require about 18,000 LEGO blocks and about 130 man-hours and 90 days to complete.

The students, led by Justin Cosgrove, began working on the project early in February and were putting the finishing touches on it last week.

The tower will be transported to the Maier Festival Park for Festa Italiana and will be on view at the festival, alongside MSOE alumnus Tim Kaebisch's LEGO Miller Park, all four days, July 21-24.