posted by Travel Cat on Jun 16
What is all the fuss about the leaning tower of Pisa? It’s just a leaning tower after all!!
Why are we all so fascinated with the leaning tower of Pisa when in theory it’s just a very crooked piece of architecture? Why does it lean and who made it lean?
All these questions will be answered below - so just read on…….
Why Does The Leaning Tower Of Pisa Lean?
Lets start with the most popular question of why does it lean in the first place and why hasn’t it just fallen over?
Well, when constructed in the 12th century to complement the neighboring cathedral - it’s foundations were not strong enough to support it and so it started to list to one side very soon after completion of just 3 layers. It is suggested that had the town not gone to war and left the tower to ’settle’ for the next 50 or so years the whole thing would have toppled over when they added the higher levels!
So after the very unsuitable and shallow foundations had naturally reached a compromise with gravity, they started to build up again. However to compensate, they actually built the tower with lower arcades on the back side to try to straighten it back up - leaving the tower actually bent in the middle!
And as you can clearly see in pictures, the top level sits at an entirely different angle to the lower tower as this was built ’straight’ (at the time) to try to balance the whole thing out!
The History Of The Leaning Tower Of Pisa:
Well, there is debate as to who built the leaning tower of Pisa as there were so many stages of construction, and according to a lot of sources there is still hot debate about it.
Apparently there was the purchase of the foundation stones in 1172 by a local lady, then the foundations assembled the following year, but whether it was Guglielmo or Diotisalvi who did most of the initial construction - no one can be sure!
Around 100 years later 1272, Giovanni de Simone is the mason credited with most of the final stages of construction - with the bell tower not added until a further 100 years!
Quite a venture really from start to finish and then have the whole thing fall over!
Where Is The Leaning Tower Of Pisa Located?
The tower was built in the city of Pisa in the grounds of the Cathedral in (not surprisingly) Cathedral Square - Piazza del Duomo. It was built to be the free-standing bell tower for the Cathedral - and does contain 7 bells today.
How Tall Is The Leaning Tower Of Pisa?
Well, the tower itself is just under 56 meters on the lowest side and just under 57 meters on the tallest side!
There are smaller features on one side and there are also 2 internal steps less on the wonky side to try to ’straighten’ the tower! And the top of the tower is an amazing 12ft and 10inches off centre from where it would be if the tower was straight!
That’s just crazy! However, when the Italian’s wanted to ‘fix’ the tower to make sure it didn’t topple - they requested specifically that the tilt be kept as it is to keep it as a tourist hot spot!

