The Leaning Tower of Pisa is one of the most recognizable buildings in the world. It was declared as one of the seven wonders of the world because of its uniqueness. But behind that famous trend lies a fascinating history, including looted wealth, soft underbelly, hundreds of years of engineering missteps and one proud Italian dictator. If you've ever wondered how the most famous architectural disaster in history happened, it's the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
The maximum height of the tower is 183.3 feet. Weight is 16,200 tons. There are 296 steps to the top.
The current inclination of the tower is 3.99 degrees. Taking into account the weight and height of the tower, physicists have said that the maximum angle before the tower would fall would be 5.44 degrees (the tower had once tilted at 5.5 degrees.) Uneven foundations on soft soil caused the tilting. It took 199 years to complete the tower. Construction began in 1173 but was not completed until 1372. That's because the construction had to be stopped several times.
The tower was built in the 12th century to display the wealth gained from wars and looting. Like any prosperous medieval Italian city, Pisa began to invest its new wealth in the construction of large buildings. In 1063 the city government needed a place to display all the treasures brought back from Sicily, and they decided to build a “Field of miracles” with a cathedral, a baptistery, a cemetery and a bell tower.
The name "Pisa" comes from the Greek word for "marsh", so the architects here did not have to take the subsoil into account when building a very tall tower. By giving the tower a shallow and relatively heavy base, they unwittingly doomed it from the start. But the tower began to sink on one side when the second floor was constructed. Unfortunately, by then, it is too late to turn back. As construction continued, the builders tried to reconcile their mistake by adding higher pillars and arches on the south side of the tower. But when they reached the fourth floor (of the planned 8), they found the south side arches two inches higher than those on the north, but the tower continued to lean. Not knowing what to do next, builders stopped construction for nearly a century.
20th century dictator Benito Mussolini was embarrassed by the Leaning Tower of Pisa. He considered its faulty construction and subsequent demolition a national disgrace and a disgrace to Italy's reputation. So he set about correcting many of the things that he saw as Italy's shortcomings. The idea was to dig hundreds of holes at the base of the tower and pump grout using ballast. But it didn't go well. The result was that it became more sticky than it already was.
The tower, which survived for years, was found to be stable for another 200 years. In 1987, the Leaning Tower of Pisa was declared a World Heritage Site and the entire complex has been under UNESCO since then.
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