I chose the leaning tower of Pisa to write about. What a good choice, since it caused me to know everything about Pisa, Italy. I wish someday to be there.
The leaning tower of Pisa is one of the glittering masterworks of Romanesque style architecture in Europe. The tower is originally a campanile adjacent to three buildings, but its bell never rung. During the construction of the structure an unexpected problem caused it to stretch for more than 200 years with some long-term interruptions/halts. It started to sink into the soft soil from one side and the tower began to tilt more and more every year. It is said that the lean to be increasing at a rate of about 1mm per year and at its summit it was about 5 meters tilts from the vertical.
Although the structure is glorious, but it is mostly renowned for its marked tilt. It is known to the most of the people in the world as a leaning tower and maybe it’s tended to be obscure the fact that it is also a magnificent Romanesque style architecture. In the past it was widely believed that the inclination of the Tower was part of the project ever since it’s beginning, but now we know that it is not so.
The eight story round tower is 55 meters tall consisting of a ground floor and six additional stairs with open galleries with round arches supported on columns. At the top of the tower there is the bell chamber which is somewhat smaller in diameter to other stories. 294 spiral staircases are leading to the bell chamber. The famous physicist Galileo did his experiments about gravity and relative speed of falling objects from this chamber. The exterior is adorned by fine marbles and excellent carved work. The doorway which is especially ornate, featured with grotesque carving of animals.
In a process of conservation in 1992 the tower closed to the public. City officials have initiated a bold plan to attempt to counter the lean of the structure and prevent the Leaning Tower of Pisa from toppling with very advanced methodologies.
List of resources:
Encarta Encyclopedia
CNN Travel
Pisa.it
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