The Leaning Tower of Pisa (Italian: Torre pendente di Pisa [ˈtorre penˈdɛnte di ˈpiːza, - ˈpiːsa], or simply the Tower of Pisa (Torre di Pisa), is the campanile, or freestanding bell tower, of Pisa Cathedral. It is known for its nearly four-degree lean, resulting from an unstable foundation. The tower is one of three structures in Pisa's Cathedral Square (Piazza del Duomo), which includes the cathedral and Pisa Baptistry.
The height of the tower is 55.86 meters (183 feet 3 inches) from the ground on the low side and 56.67 m (185 ft 11 in) on the high side. The width of the walls at the base is 2.44 m (8 ft 0 in). Its weight is estimated at 14,500 tones (16,000 short tons). The tower has 296 or 294 steps; the seventh floor has two fewer steps on the north-facing staircase.
Thanks to Google Earth Studio for this amazing aerial view.
The height of the tower is 55.86 meters (183 feet 3 inches) from the ground on the low side and 56.67 m (185 ft 11 in) on the high side. The width of the walls at the base is 2.44 m (8 ft 0 in). Its weight is estimated at 14,500 tones (16,000 short tons). The tower has 296 or 294 steps; the seventh floor has two fewer steps on the north-facing staircase.
Thanks to Google Earth Studio for this amazing aerial view.
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00:00The leaning tower of Pisa, Italian, Torre Pendente di Pisa, or simply the Tower of Pisa,
00:11Torre di Pisa, is the campanile, or freestanding bell tower, of Pisa Cathedral.
00:17It is known for its nearly four-degree lean, the result of an unstable foundation.
00:22The tower is one of three structures in Pisa's Cathedral Square, Piazza del Duomo, which
00:27includes the cathedral and Pisa Baptistery.
00:30The height of the tower is 55.86 meters, 183 feet 3 inches, from the ground on the low
00:35side and 56.67 meters on the high side.
00:39The width of the walls at the base is 2.44 meters, its weight is estimated at 14,500
00:45tons.
00:46The tower has 296 or 294 steps, the seventh floor has two fewer steps on the north-facing
00:52staircase.
00:54The tower began to lean during construction in the 12th century, due to soft ground which
00:58could not properly support the structure's weight.
01:01It worsened through the completion of construction in the 14th century.
01:05By 1990, the tilt had reached 5.5 degrees.
01:09The structure was stabilized by remedial work between 1993 and 2001, which reduced the tilt
01:15to 3.97 degrees.
01:17The identity of the architect of the tower is a subject of controversy.
01:21The design had long been attributed to a man named Guglielmo and to Bonanno Pisano,
01:26the latter a well-known 12th-century resident artist of Pisa known for his bronze casting,
01:31particularly in the Pisa Duomo.
01:33Pisano left Pisa in 1185 for Monreale, Sicily, only to return and die in his hometown.
01:39A piece of cast bearing his name was discovered at the foot of the tower in 1820.
01:44But this may be related to the bronze door in the facade of the cathedral that was destroyed
01:48in 1595.
01:50A 2001 study seems to indicate Diodosalvi was the original architect.
01:55Due to the time of construction and affinity with other Diodosalvi works, notably the bell
02:00tower of San Nicola and the Baptistery, both in Pisa, construction of the tower occurred
02:05in three stages over 199 years.
02:08On 5 January 1172, Donna Berta di Bernardo, a widow and resident of the house of Dell'Opera
02:14di Santa Maria, bequeathed 60 soldi to the opera Campanellus Petrarum Sancta Maria.
02:20The sum was then used toward the purchase of a few stones which still form the base
02:23of the bell tower.
02:25On 9 August 1173, the foundations of the tower were laid.
02:30Work on the ground floor of the white marble Campanile began on 14 August of the same year
02:35during a period of military success and prosperity.
02:38This ground floor is a blind arcade articulated by engaged columns with classical Corinthian
02:43capitals.
02:45Nearly four centuries later Giorgio Vasari wrote, Guglielmo, according to what is being
02:49said.
02:50In the year 1174, together with sculptor Bonanno, laid the foundations of the bell tower of
02:55the cathedral in Pisa.
02:57The tower began to sink after construction had progressed to the second floor in 1178.
03:03This was due to a mere three-meter foundation, set in weak, unstable subsoil.
03:08A design that was flawed from the beginning.
03:10Construction was subsequently halted for the better part of a century, as the Republic
03:14of Pisa was almost continually engaged in battles with Genoa, Lucca, and Florence.
03:20This allowed time for the underlying soil to settle.
03:22Otherwise, the tower would almost certainly have toppled.
03:25On 27 December 1233, the worker Binonato, son of Gerardo Bottici, oversaw the continuation
03:33of the tower's construction.
03:34In 1272, construction resumed under Di Simone.
03:38To compensate for the tilt, the engineers build upper floors with one side taller than
03:42the other.
03:44Because of this, the tower is curved.
03:46Construction was halted again in 1284 when the Pisans were defeated by the Genoese in
03:50the Battle of Maloria.
03:52The seventh floor was completed in 1319.
03:55The bell chamber was finally added in 1372.
03:58It was built by Tommaso di Andrea Pisano, who succeeded in harmonizing the Gothic elements
04:03of the belfry with the Romanesque style of the tower.
04:07There are seven bells, one for each note of the musical major scale.
04:11The largest one was installed in 1655.
04:14That is all.
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