Photos of the Beautiful Romanesque Leaning Tower of Pisa

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Photos of the Medieval Beautiful Pisan Romanesque Leaning Tower of Pisa Architecture & Art. The Bell Tower of Pisa Cathedral. Photos by photographer Paul E Williams.  (TIP – use the icons below the slideshow for thumbnail photos and info)

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Photos of the Iconic Pisan Romanesque Leaning Tower of Pisa Architecture & Art.

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Photos of the Iconic Romanesque Leaning Tower of Pisa.

One of the worlds great Iconic buildings is the Leaning Tower Of Pisa. Without a lean the tower would still be magnificent 12th century Pisan Romanesque Italian Campanile. With the lean the tower has gained iconic world status.

Pisa Bell Tower Design Fault

The building of the Pisa Bell Tower started on August 8, 1173. The building design was flawed from the beginning. Its 3 meter deep foundation was woefully shallow for what was going to be a 55 m (183 ft.) high tower made out of white marble weighing 14,700 metric tons. In 1178 the construction of the third floor started and it was noticed that the tower had begun to sink.

Tower Collapse Saved by 100 Years of War

Luckily for the tower, for the next hundred years The Republic of Pisa was endlessly at war with either Genoa, Lucca or Florence, so tower construction was stopped.

The Curved Tower of Pisa?

In 1272 Giovanni di Simone restarted the construction of the Tower. In the intervening 100 years the soil had compacted under the tower. Believing the foundations to be safe Giovani added the extra floors. To compensate for the tilt of the tower one side of each new floor was built slightly higher than the other. This means that the tower is actually curved.

It was not until 1372 that the bell chamber was finally added and the last bell was not added until 1655.

The Problem of Stopping the Tower Leaning

Measurements between 1550 and 1817 indicated that the tilt of the tower had only increased by 5 cm in that period. For some unknown reason the tilt suddenly accelerated and, by 1838 the tower had tilted another 20 cm. As the tower continued to tilt concern rose that it would collapse.

It was decided to try and stabilize the tower and engineers puzzled over how to straighten it. Attempts to raise the sinking side of the tower nearly ended in disaster when crucial foundation stones were accidentally removed causing the tower to lean over more. The lean of the tower was stabilized by adding over 650 tons of lead as a counterweight to the lean.

Solution Found and Tower Stabilised

In 1993 an English engineer solved the problem by coming up with a plan to remove soil from under the opposite side of the tower from the lean to straighten it. The process took until 2008 and the tower was slowly returned to the same amount of tilt it had in 1838. 70 tons of soil was carefully removed from under the towers foundations. It is estimated that it safe for another 300 years.

Italy is full of Iconic Buildings but the Leaning Tower is probably the most recognizable worldwide. Visiting the tower is still a mesmerizing experience and its rakish tilt looks a lot more than the official 3.97 degrees. Now it has been made safe its Iconic status is assured for generations to come.