The Leaning Tower of Pisa is a medieval building in Pisa, Italy, that gained notoriety in the late 20th century when its base began to settle and caused it to tilt 5.5 degrees, or roughly 15 feet (4.5 meters), from the perpendicular. After then, a lot of work was done to straighten the tower, and in the end, its lean was less than 4.0 degrees. The bell tower was built of white marble and was intended to rise 185 feet (56 meters) high. It was started in 1173 as the third and last building on the city’s cathedral complex. When the irregular sinking of the building’s foundation in the soft ground became apparent, three of its eight floors had been constructed.
The Italian city-states went to war at that point, and buildings were put on hold for about a century. This delay probably stopped the tower from collapsing too soon by allowing the foundation to stabilize. When work on the project began, Giovanni di Simone, the engineer in command, tried to make up for the lean by slightly raising the height of the new storeys on the short side, but the additional masonry made the building sink even more. Although there were many setbacks in the project while engineers worked to find a solution for the leaning issue, the tower was finally completed in the fourteenth century. The inside of the tower was adorned with two spiral staircases that led 294 steps from the ground to the bell chamber (one staircase had two extra steps added to it to account for the lean of the tower).
The tower’s seven bells were installed throughout the course of the following four centuries, with the heaviest weighing over 3,600 kg (almost 8,000 pounds). However, the heavier bells were muted by the early 20th century because it was thought that their movement might exacerbate the lean of the tower. Although numerous forms of bracing and strengthening, as well as the injection of cement grout, have stabilized the foundations, the structure was still at risk of collapsing in the late 20th century due to its 0.05 inch (1.2 mm) annual subsidence. While engineers worked on a significant straightening project, the tower was shuttered, and all of the bells were silenced in 1990. Engineers expected the tower to remain stable for at least 200 years. Below are a few interesting facts about this odd structure that you might not have known before.
01. It was among the world’s seven wonders.
One-of-a-kind ancient structures are typically chosen to be named among the “Wonders of the World.” The Leaning Tower of Pisa was named one of the Seven Wonders of the World despite being a replica of the Middle Ages because of its remarkable Romanesque construction, immense scale, and ability to tilt while remaining motionless.
02. The lean did not happen overnight.
Having given the tower a rather heavy and shallow foundation, they had doomed it from the start. However, the tower didn’t start to sink on one side until the second level was constructed. Sadly, it was too late to go back to that point. In an attempt to correct their error, the builders added more towering columns and arches to the south side of the tower as work went on. However, the tower was still leaning when they got to the fourth floor, and they had to raise the arches on the south side by a full two inches in comparison to the north. For nearly a century, the builders put a stop to their work, unsure of what to do next.
03. Because it was built on marshy land, the Leaning Tower tilts.
The Leaning Tower of Pisa has an intriguing backstory that explains its inclination. The name Pisa actually derives from a Greek phrase that means “marshy land” because of the geography of the region. The primary material is clay. Remarkably, the cathedral’s designers chose to ignore this reality and proceed with the construction of this incredibly tall building on marshy ground, with foundations only three meters deep!
04. Pisa has several leaning towers besides this one.
The entire region has soft subsoil, which explains why there are multiple leaning towers in Pisa. Two more are seen in Pisa’s Borgo Stretto. After the official Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Church of St. Nicola’s bell tower is arguably the most well-known. Constructed approximately concurrently with the tower, around 1170, this octagonal bell tower similarly exhibits a subtle yet noticeable sag. Additionally, there is the bell tower at the St. Michele dei Scalzi church, which is situated on Viale delle Piagge. In actuality, the word “Piagge” means “low plains prone to flooding” in Latin. Despite their intellectual prowess, the medieval Pisans were not very adept at paying attention to past warnings.
05. The tower has leaned in various directions.
For hundreds of years, numerous engineers attempted to rectify the well-known lean. Engineers attempted to reverse the tilt by constructing straight upwards when work on the third story resumed in the thirteenth century, but this just caused the tower to tilt in a new direction due to an imbalanced center of gravity. The tower gradually returned to its southerly tilt as the building progressed, and it has remained there ever since.
06. The cathedral and the Baptistery are also sinking.
The baptistery and the cathedral are sinking as a result of the swampy terrain. This is true even though the Campo Santo cemetery was constructed on earthen sods that were brought from Jerusalem to Pisa.
07. The financial crisis and wars might have preserved the tower.
In general, debt and conflict have not been good for large-scale building projects in Italy; nevertheless, in the case of the Leaning Tower of Pisa, they might have been the saving grace. According to some structural engineers, the tower’s minor lean may have been prevented from falling to the ground by the soil beneath it gradually compressing over a 200-year period of unbroken building delays.
08. Mussolini disliked the tower and made it worse.
Benito Mussolini, the dictator of Italy in the 20th century, was embarrassed by the Leaning Tower of Pisa. He viewed its incorrect construction and ensuing lean as a national humiliation and a disgrace to Italy. Like with many other things he felt were flawed about Italy, he set out to correct them. It didn’t work out as successfully as some of his other endeavors, like emptying Sicily’s wetlands. The plan was to use grout and mortar to fill in hundreds of holes drilled in the tower’s foundation, thereby ballasting and straightening the entire structure. In actuality, all that was achieved was an even heavier base, which increased the tower’s lean beyond its previous limits.
09. Right now, the leaning tower is stable.
The Leaning Tower of Pisa has undergone multiple well-meaning but ultimately unsuccessful attempts to correct its tilt. But in order to give the tower a more stable foundation, a group of engineers leveled the ground underneath it in 2001 and added anchoring devices. By far the most effective idea, this one officially declares the tower stable for the next two centuries, if not longer. For the first time since the tower’s construction, engineers discovered in 2008 that it was officially stationary.
10. Since the 20th century, the tower’s bells have not rung authentically.
As a bell tower, the Leaning Tower of Pisa features seven enormous bells atop it. They are all named properly and relate to the seven musical notes. The bells were originally rung by swinging them around on ropes. Due to the possibility of vibrations that could impact the tower and cause it to lean even further, this practice is currently prohibited. These days, electronic hammers are used to operate the bells.
Known for its combination of beauty and insanity, the Leaning Tower of Pisa is one of the most iconic structures on Earth. However, the fascinating history behind that well-known tilt includes centuries of architectural errors, hazardous subsurfaces, pillaged treasure, and a gloating Italian dictator. Thus, we really hope that you found the intriguing facts about the Leaning Tower of Pisa interesting. Do not hesitate to share this with your friends.
