The Leaning Tower of Pisa in the Italian city of the same name is a world famous symbol. The tower became popular due to its architectural features. Unlike other buildings and structures, it is tilted to the side. One gets the feeling that this structure is about to fall. The height of the building is 56 m, and the tower is 15 m in diameter. Tourists wishing to visit the summit must overcome an extreme and difficult climb.
The history of the construction of the Leaning Tower of Pisa dates back to 1063, when the foundations of the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta were laid on the outskirts of Pisa. The tower was supposed to be a continuation of the cathedral complex. She was a bell tower. Buschetto is considered the architect who began the construction of this Italian landmark. The construction of the Leaning Tower of Pisa took a very long time. Buschetto was unable to complete the construction.
In 1174 Australian architects Wilhelm and Bonnano continued the construction of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. They managed to erect one floor with a height of eleven meters, after which they reported that the structure was deviating from the vertical. After discovering this "defect", the architects left Pisa. From that moment on, construction work proceeded at a slow pace. It was possible to build 4 more floors only by 1233, after which the construction of the bell tower was frozen. Only 43 years later, the authorities of Pisa found a master architect who undertook to continue the construction of such an interesting project. It was Giovanni di Simone, who built another floor. Only Tomaso di Andrea managed to complete the tower, who developed a system of counterweights. As a result, the building was built four floors lower than originally planned. This only happened in 1360.
There are several theories as to why the tower in Pisa is tilted to the side. One of them is as follows. The site for the construction of the structure was chosen incorrectly, and there were also errors in the calculations. And there is an assumption that the architects who started the construction stole all the money for the construction of the foundation and used low-quality and cheap materials.
The Leaning Tower of Pisa was made a place of pilgrimage for millions of tourists not only by the “fall” process, which ended only in 2008, but also by the original architecture.
