All about Pisa; The construction of the Tower

Travel to the Pisa

Pisa is a small and historical city that has become a destination for many tourists due to its historical attraction and unique architecture. You must have seen photos of this Leaning Tower on the Internet. This tower has become the most important tourist achievement of this city. The bell is located in the Pisa complex and has attracted the attention of fans due to its deviation. In addition, various museums, palaces and other churches have added to the city's reputation.

There are many ways to get to this city, before my trip to Italy I had a plan to take this route by train while staying in Florence and Luca's house to go to Pisa.

It took me about an hour, which cost me about 7 euros, which means that I had to pay another 7 euros to return from Pisa to Florence

As soon as I arrived at the train station in Pisa, I realized that I had to walk for about twenty minutes to see the tower. Every step I took seemed to make me feel good and I said to myself, you overcame it.

The main attraction of the city of Pisa in Italy is the "Piazza dei Miracoli", where the amazing Leaning Tower of Pisa is located. The Leaning Tower of Pisa or Leaning Tower is one of the most prominent medieval European architectural structures. These bells played an important role in timing in their time. The Leaning Tower of Pisa is known around the world for its beautiful architecture and different angles to the ground, making it one of the most visited places. Although climbing the stairs of the Leaning Tower of Pisa may seem a little difficult, climbing to the top is a unique experience and offers a beautiful view of the city.

The Story of the Leaning Tower of Pisa

The history of the city of Pisa played an important role in the history of Italy. The name Pisa is derived from the Greek word meaning "swamp land" in 600 BC. The city of Pisa was originally a simple but important seaport and has been described as a vital port and major center of commerce that many people have visited. Pisa was a popular resting place for European pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem. As their wealth and influence increased, so did the city of Pisa.

As it grew, so did its religious buildings. Its fame and power gradually increased over the years; Because the people of Pisa were involved in various military disputes and trade agreements. In 1063, they invaded the city of Palermo on the island of Sicily. The attack was successful and the victors returned to Pisa with great treasures. To show the importance of the city in the world, the people of Pisa decided to build a cathedral complex called Miracle Square. The plan included the Cathedral of Pisa, the Baptistery, the Bell Tower (Pisa Tower) and the cemetery.

Construction of the Leaning Tower of Pisa began in August 1795 and lasted for about 200 years due to a series of wars. Who is the architect of the Leaning Tower of Pisa is a mystery! The most important architects of the first stage are Bonano Pisano and Gerardo Di Gerardo. The second phase of construction began in 1897 and the work was entrusted to Giovanni di Simone, and finally Tomaso Pisano was the architect who completed the work in 2021.

Five years after Bonano started building the tower, when it was built on the third floor, the tower began to tilt. The architects tried to make it look better by building columns and arches on the south side, about 2.5 cm taller than the north columns; But after reaching the fourth floor, they had to make the southern columns five centimeters taller than the northern columns; Despite all efforts, the tower continued to deviate. From that date on, the construction of the tower was stopped and for 100 years, due to the war between Pisa and Genoa, Luca and Florence, no action was taken to continue its construction.

In 1897, Giovanni de Simone took over the construction of the tower. He added four more floors to the tower and made many efforts to raise the other side of the tower; But in the end failed to make the tower appear vertical; Rather, the heavy weight caused the tower to deviate further. After eight years of Giovanni Di Simone's efforts, the height of the tower reached seven floors; But its reconstruction was stopped for 25 years. These delays are said to have been out of luck; Because modern analysts say that if the building had continued without time to settle, the tower would have collapsed.

These delays have caused the foundation of the tower to sink further into the ground. After the end of the wars in 1972, Tomaso Pisano began work on the eighth floor of the tower (bell room). He noticed that the tower was still tilted; So he considered the spiral staircase inside the tower and designed the wall of the bell room on the south side above the north. With the construction of the last floor (bell room) in 1994, the construction of the tower was completed.

After the construction of the Leaning Tower of Pisa was completed, architects and specialists made great efforts to correct the deviation of the tower; These include removing it from the foundation stone and rebuilding it in a different location, injecting cement into the foundation, placing lead weights on the north side of the tower, removing soil from the northern part of the foundation, and the like. These efforts did not correct the deviation of the tower; But they caused the tower to remain stable and not deviate further.

Architecture of the Leaning Tower of Pisa

The Leaning Tower of Pisa is known as a miracle of medieval architecture, and it should be noted that it was influenced by the church towers in Ravenna. The repetition of the arches on the floors of this tower has an amazing elegance. In general, the repetition of arcs in the view of the whole collection has an interesting connection to the whole collection, and 207 columns can be seen in its construction. At the bottom of the tower are 15 arches, the final floor (bell room) has 16 arches and the next 6 floors have 30 arches that surround the tower. 735.7 square meters of white marble has been used in the construction of this magnificent tower and the weight of the tower reaches 453.14 tons.

The reason for the tilt of the Leaning Tower of Pisa

At first it was thought that the original design of the tower was crooked; However, according to research conducted by researchers and architects, the tower is tilted due to the softness and looseness of the ground beneath the foundation and as a result of the foundation subsidence. The soil of this area is mainly clay, sand, fine sand and oysters. It is important to know that the city of Pisa is located between the Arno and Sergio rivers, and because there is a lot of water in the area, it has caused the tower to tilt to the south.

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