11 Facts You Didn’t Know About The Leaning Tower Of Pisa!

Everyone is well aware of the traditional facts of the freestanding bell tower of the Pisa Cathedral, which also is popularly regarded as the Leaning Tower of Pisa! Adding up to the beauty of Italy, this tower has much more in stock than just being a structure that appears to have tilted due to the treacherous subsoil!

One fact that is known to every person around is that the tower started leaning because it was built on soft soil and the weight was too much for the soil to maintain! Top that up with engineering missteps and here you have the great lean! However, there are 10 not-much-known facts about this structure which will surely leave your jaws dropped and the Leaning Tower of Pisa will never be just a leaned structure for you! Have a look:

A structure to flaunt!

As the city’s commercial, military and political importance triggered in the 12th century, the government needed a place that can be used as a symbol of what all they had achieved including the treasures that the adventurers had brought back from Sicily! So with that, it proves that the Leaning Tower of Pisa was built with and for the stolen money and treasures!!

The steady lean!

Though Pisa tends to have a marshy and rather soft land, the architects then ignored the fact and did not take it into the account. They not only decided to build this giant on such soft soil, but they also left it with a relatively shallow yet heavier foundation. The tower soon began to sink when the second storey was under construction!!

Not the only odd one out there!

And due to the soft subsoil, there are a number of towers that tend to lean out of weight and the soil quality!

The multi-directional lean!

No that no one tried to correct the lean, but every time the engineers tried to straighten it up, it simply leaned to a different direction! However, the tower decided to stick to its southward tilt and ever since then, it has been tilted to south!

Imbalances due to the lean!

The estimated height of the Leaning Tower of Pisa was 60 meters! However, when measured, it turned out to be 56.67 meters as the highest and 55.86 as the lowest!! The tower experienced a tilt of 5.5 degrees which dangerously equals to 15 feet, enough for it to tumble down and crash! But soon, the bureaucracy commenced with the restoration and correction and reduced the tilt to 3.97 degrees! Phew!! That saved you an historic structure!!

The wars to be thanked!

Though wars have never contributed anything to the welfare of Italy, there have been estimations that the delayed construction and completion of the structure gave the soft soil some time to gel up with the base!

You can get to the top!!

Oh yes!! The structure is open for all!! All you need to do is book the tickets in advance and then you can climb up the tower!!

The un-rung bells!

You’d be glad to know that each of the 7 bells of the tower represent a musical note! However, the restorers feared that the movement of these giant bells may cause damage to the tower and hence restrained everyone from using them! It has now been a century that the bells haven’t rung!

A dictator’s hatred!

The 20th century dictator, Benito Mussolini was so ashamed of the structure, that he ordered correction! However, the correction work and the all drilling only added up to the tilt and the heavier base!

Allies wanted to destroy it!

The American soldiers had orders to destroy the tower as they thought that the structure may serve as a hideout point for the snipers! However, the Germans, who were acquiring Italy then, were so impressed and taken aback by the beauty of the structure that they decided not to harm it!

Still Strong!

The tower has been thankfully stable since the year 2001 and was declared safe for the people! In the year 2008, the architects and the engineers found out that the tower was no longer moving!! We now hope that it remains the same for the next 200 years!!

Leaning Tower of Pisa is a piece of art when architecture is considered! So to admire that, you surely will have to visit Italy. Once you fly to Italy, make sure that you hire city tour operators like Benvenuto Limos!!