Leaning Tower of Pisa located in the Italian town of Pisa also known as Torre Pendente di Pisa in the Italian language. It is within the confines of the wonderful medieval siege, known as the Campo Dei Miracoli or Miracle Field of Pisa.
👉 Leaning Tower of Pisa history
The construction of the Tower started in 1173.
Originally built to be a bell tower, it stood erect for 5 years, but began to tilt when the third floor was completed in 1178. The Italians were shocked by the incident, as the tower leans slightly.
The thing is the base of the tower, which is only 3-meters deep, built on a mixture of thick clay. This mixture affected the soil and in addition, the soil was not potent enough to hold the tower. As an outcome, the weight of the tower started to disperse downwards until it reached a weak point.
Because of this problem, construction was halted for 100 years. The government decided to focus on its war with Genoa and hoped that in the meantime the land would stabilize.
👉 Was the Leaning Tower of Pisa a mistake?
The Tower of Pisa was actually the outcome of a human error. Just a small miscalculation made in the 11th century gave us an amazing 14,500-ton leaning tower.
100 years later construction stop, engineer Giovanni di Simone stepped forward and began adding more floors to the tower. He tried to compensate for the native lean by creating one side taller than the other. This is why the tower tilted more and more.
Unconcerned about the tilt, the tower was added to the 7th floor as well as the Bell Tower in the second half of the 14th century, and the tower remained on its own until the 19th century.
In 1838, architect Alessandro Della Gherardesca dug a path to the base of the tower to make people appreciate the intricately constructed base. This made the tower lean more, probably due to digging its foundations.
👉 Interesting facts about the leaning tower of Pisa
1. It took 2 centuries to build the tower
Construction started on Campanile or Bell Tower in 1173 but it started to lean slightly to the north as the third story had completed by workers in 1178.
Because of this incident, progress on the tower was stopped for 100 years. Construction resumes in 1272, but this time, construction lasted only 12 years, as work was stopped again by the War.
With the establishment of the bell-chamber in 1372, the final wave of construction resumed in the early 14th century.
2. The identity of the original Pisa Tower architect is unknown.
Bonanno Pisano is generally believed as the original architect, but Gherardo di Gherado is another likelihood.
The second was Giovanni de Simon, a Pisa tower architect, who took over in 1272. He built the upper stories. The tower was eventually finished by Tommaso di Andrea Pisano, who build Gothicbelfry. The tower was constructed in the Romanesque style.
3. The tower was built to show off
The 12th century was great for Pisa; The military, political, and commercial of the city increased as one of their small seaports became a regional powerhouse. Pisa started investment of its new wealth in the construction of large buildings.
After Palermo was sacked in 1063, the government of the city needed a spot to display all the treasures that adventurers had brought back from Sicily, so they decided to create a "miracle field", which would later be a place for a cemetery, Cathedral, Baptistery, and bell tower.
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4. You can go to the top
The Tower of Pisa is open to visitors. The integrity of the structure is constantly monitored and the building hosts a large number of visitors daily. You should book tickets in advance if you want to get to the top.
5. The seven bells at the top have not rung since the last century
Restorers and engineers worry that bell movements will make the tower lean even more. Each giant bells (the largest weighing about 8,000 pounds) states a musical note from the major scale. You can see them even if you go to the top of the tower, but they haven't been toll since the 20th century.
6. The tower could still resume tilting
Excluding additional efforts to prevent future tilting, the tower is predicted to remain steady for the next 200 years. If everything else remains stable, then at the beginning of the 23rd century, the land should begin to give way again, allowing for the tilt to slowly re-emerge.
7. There are several leaning towers in Pisa
A number of other Pisani constructions suffer from basic instability due to the weak ground of the river city.
A 12th-century church, San Nicola is located about half a mile south of the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and about two miles east of the pair is the 11th-century church, San Michele Degli Scalzi. While San Nicola, whose foundation is rooted under the earth, is tilted only lightly, San Michele Degli Scalzi has a significant 5-degree tilt.
👉 Leaning Tower of Pisa inside
The inside look of Pisa’s tower is quite awesome with its sculpted marble exterior contrasting. It is mostly hollow with simple marble walls and a narrow staircase. However, you can only go to the top from inside the Tower.
Once you set foot inside the Tower of Pisa, the outer appearance of the tower looks like a distant memory, quite different from the inside.
Since there is no artificial light inside, it takes a few seconds for your eyes to adjust to the darkness in broad daylight. No matter how hot it is exterior, it is cool inside thanks to the simple flat marble walls. There are 7 stories and 294 slightly slanting stairs. After watching terrific views of Florence city, come down carefully as the stairs are slippery and spend the rest of your day traveling the other attractions on Piazza Dei Miracoli.
👉 How Tall is the Leaning Tower of Pisa?
The Leaning Tower of Pisa measures 55.9 meters at its short point and 58.36 meters at its highest point. However, most people find it 57m for ease of recall.
👉 What is the leaning tower of Pisa made of?
The Leaning Tower of Pisa is mostly made up of white marble. This, along with the intricate pattern of its columns, gives the tower its characteristic and different look.
The stones used to construct the towers came from several different places on the Mediterranean sea, including Greece, Africa, and Turkey. Due to the abundance of this foreign material, local marble was rarely used.
Carrara’s white marble (the nearest town in Tuscany) is an exception because of its stunning pure white color.
The white marble was costly also at the time when the tower was built. So they used limestone to make all the parts that were not visible.
👉 Will the Leaning Tower of Pisa Ever Fall?
The tower now leans at an angle of 3.99 degrees. Noticing the weight and height of the tower, Scientists say the maximum angle before the tower falls will be 5.44 degrees (at its worst, the tower once tilted briefly at 5.5 degrees. Everyone is still surprised it didn't collapse).
Engineers now believe the tower could last another 200 years. Until then, advanced technology can extend further his life. If you think of the billions of euros that it brings to Italy in tourism income and swag, the payoff is obvious.
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