A brief history
" […] for this Guglielmo, it is said, in the year 1174, together with the sculptor Bonanno, laid the foundations of the campanile of the cathedral in Pisa. These two architects had little practice of foundations in Pisa and [...] before they had reached halfway with the building it inclined to one side, so that said campanile leans six and a half braccia from its vertical [...]". This is how, in his mid-sixteenth-century Lives of the Artists, Giorgio Vasari explains the causes of the "male oscuro", or "obscure evil", which struck the bell tower shortly after work started.
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If the builder of the Tower, who in actual fact has yet to be identified, had realised he was laying the foundations on the banks of a long-gone river, he would certainly have looked elsewhere for a place to construct his monumental tower. But the Tower was destined to rise up right there, even though the curious choice of site remains a mystery: could it be that the way the buildings are located in the Piazza is a reference to the constellation Libra, and thus that it has a hidden astrological meaning? Or might it be because the patrons decided to place the bell tower right at the entrance to the Piazza? These are questions that are hard to answer today, but we do know that still today the Tower inspires amazement and admiration and that its circular plan creates an extraordinary interaction with the nearby apses of the Duomo and with the magnificent structure of the Baptistery.
But what is its real purpose?
It is called the Leaning Tower or the Tower of Pisa but actually it was never used for defending the city; it is part of the religious complex in the cathedral square and acts as its bell tower. It played an active role in both human and divine timekeeping with its seven bells – one for each musical note – the largest of which, cast in 1655, weighs a full three and a half tonnes!
It is known throughout the world for the beauty of its architecture, for its extraordinary tilt, which makes it an authentic miracle of statics, and for the fact that it stands in the universally renowned Piazza dei Miracoli, of which it is certainly the prize jewel. And this is why it is one of the 7 Wonders of the World.
How does the Tower measure up?
Height: 58.36 metres
External diameter: 15 metres
Weight: 14,453 tonnes
Inclination: (current) about 5.5°
Hewn stones: 29,424
Stone surfaces: 7,735 square metres
Capitals: 207
Staircase: 273 steps.
