![]() There’s a legend related to the tower and the famous Italian astronomer, physicist, and engineer Galileo Galilei. The shorter of the Two Towers of Bologna leans farther than the Tower of Pisa. Two towers in Germany have “out-leaned” the Pisani tower: the Leaning Tower of Surhuusen, dating back to the 14th century, and the tower of the 14th-century church Oberkirche. The Tower has some serious competitors around the world. But could it also be attributed to the lack of expertise of the Pisani architects? Among the leaning structures, you’ll see San Nicola, a 12th-century church located less than a kilometer from the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and San Michele degli Scalzi, an 11th-century church about three kilometers to the east. This is certainly caused by the city’s soft ground. The Leaning Tower of Pisa on Square of Miracles It’s Not the Only Structure in Pisa That Leansīelieve it or not, the Tower of Pisa is not the only structure in this Italian city that has an unusual posture. However, the ground isn’t fixed for good, so the tower might start tilting again in the early 23rd century - at least that is their prediction. Unfortunately, this didn’t last long, so engineers tried fixing it again in 2008, and successfully stopped the tipping of the tower. This stabilized the tower and reduced its tilt to 3.97 degrees. So in the 1990s, engineers tried to fix the tower’s lean by leveling the ground beneath it using anchoring mechanisms. The Leaning Tower of Pisa is Still Standing… For NowĪs the years (and centuries) passed by, the ground beneath the tower kept sinking and the lean got worse: from the initial 0.2 degrees, it increased to a 5.5 degree lean towards the south. So, instead of fixing the building’s posture, they caused the lean to switch its directions - it started to lean south instead of north, which was originally the case. The Leaning Tower of Pisa The Lean Switched DirectionsĪs the construction workers kept going with adding additional stories on the structure that had already started to lean, they confused its gravity center. Who would have thought that exactly this mistake would make the tower as famous as it is today? However, this didn’t stop them from finishing the tower. It just couldn’t support the weight of the tower after building its second floor, the builders noticed that it started to tilt. The architects working on this project made the foundations too shallow and didn’t take into calculation the softness of the ground which consists of sand, clay, and deposits from the Arno and Serchio rivers. But because of the poor planning that was done prior to building the tower, it eventually started to lean. Without its signature lean, the Tower of Pisa would probably be just another tower in just another European city. The Pisa Tower Got Famous Because of a Mistake Yes, it took two centuries to build this tower! But you have to keep in mind that the work had to be paused twice - for over a century in total - because of military conflicts among Italian republics at the time. Square of Miracles Building the Tower for CenturiesĬonstruction work started at the end of the 12th century and was finally finished at the end of the 14th. Before the tower was finished, the cemetery, Campo Santo, completed the complex.Īs the signature piece of this complex, this tower was surely a miracle at the time it was built, not just because of its signature lean, but because it was the tallest bell tower in Europe. The baptistery was added next, after which the work on the tower began. The impressive Romanesque cathedral, Duomo di Pisa, was built first. ![]() This famous tower is only one of the four buildings that form the cathedral complex in this square. The Leaning Tower of Pisa is a bell tower or campanile located on the Square of Miracles ( Campo dei Miracoli or Piazza dei Miracoli) in the city of Pisa. If you are wondering now what makes this tower special and why it is tilted, keep on reading! It is also the most famous tourist backdrop in Pisa, and visitors really keep getting creative when it comes to posing in front of it (we have gathered our favorite snapshots on our Instagram for you). With more than 5 million visitors each year, the Leaning Tower of Pisa ( Torre Pendente) is one of the best-known landmarks in Italy.
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