The Tower, Pisa

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Here we are at the top of the famous tower of Pisa, It was like a dream you don?t want to wake up from. We did not want to leave; in fact we could stay there the whole day and admire the view and city below. You get such a nice felling when you finally get up close to the tower that stays with you until you leave it, like it?s connecting you to it and all it witness in it?s 800 and so years of existence. You can?t help but wonder of what that place looked like without it there. And of the people that started work on it, and the problems they had when it started to lean. And of the wars between Pisa and Florence that delayed it for 200 years. Then came the 1 and 2 world war, where Americans bombers where bombing all towers in Pisa because of enemy snipers and they had orders to bomb the tower, but they got last minuet orders to not destroy it. But it did not come out of the 2 world wars without a scratch one of the tower bells had to be replaced because of a crack. So we are very luck to have the tower of Pisa here with us today and thank all the people that help it survive tell are days. So that we can all enjoy it history and beautie.

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The Leaning Tower of Pisa. It has seen so much through history that if it could talk we would be intrigued with it story’s. This was one of the things that I really wanted to see in Italy. I’ve seen it on TV, I’ve herd people talk about it, and seen it in books, but none of those replace the spender and beauty, and feelings that you get when you see it for the first time. Just incredible, it was like a dream. Truly a must see if you come to Italy.

Some fast facts:

Original Architect - Bonanno Pisano

The Laying of the First stone - August 9, 1173 (How do we Know it’s on the side of the door entrence)

1178 - Construction was halted for almost 100 years (War with Firenze, Lucca, and Genoa) completion of third story; Tower stars to lean sinking between 30 and 40 cm and leaning 5 cm of center Height 10.6 meters (35ft.)

1198 - Some clocks were Temporarily installed on the unfinished construction

1272 - Construction was resumed by Giovanni Di Simone another 4 Floors were built at an angle to compensate for the tilt

1284 - 2nd Construction stop (war with Genoa, Major Sea Battle Defeat)

1372 - Last floor, the bell-chamber completed, by Tommasso di Andrea Pisano .The 7 bells installed one for each note of the musical scale . The largest one was installed in 1655

1995 - Tower tilts 5.4 m (17ft 6 in ) from vertical

: Height: 55.863 metres (185 feet), 8 stories.
: Outer diameter of base: 15.484 metres.
: Inner diameter of base: 7.368 metres.
: Weight: 14,700 tonnes.
: Thickness of walls at the base: 8 feet.
: Direction of lean: 1173-1250 North, 1272-1997 South.
: Total number of bells: 7, tuned to musical scale.
: Largest bell: L'Assunta (The Assumption). Three and a half tonnes, cast in 1655.
: Oldest bell: Pasquarreccia. Cast 1262
: Steps to bell tower: 294

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Here's my wife on the bell level of the tower of Pisa beside 1 of the 7 huge bells, and in Picture # 2 you can see the hole covered with Plexiglas where you can have a look and see the inside of the tower of Pisa. Notice that the bells are no longer manual but electronic, has you can see in picture # 5. I wouldn't want to be up there when those bells start banging. For facts about the bells go to main page . There i have the names of the bells weight, whene they were cast and who cast them .

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In these pictures you can see me and my wife climbing the tower of Pisa, Now for the curious ones, that’s 294 long hard steps to the top, and there is no place to stop and rest, and no room to let someone pass you on the way up, and it was funny on one side it was hard to climb but on the other side it was easy real easy so the (17 ft 6 in) tilt does help a little at least on one side lol. So if you get tired easy but still want to go up to the tower, just be the last one in your grupe, that way you can take your time and stop, as many times you want. Because they only take a small group of people up at a time. And remember on your way up that the Famous Pisan scientist Galileo Galilei climbed those exact same steps right to the top to conduct his experiment on the velocity of falling objects more than 350 years ago. So like many places in Italy you are walking where one of the greatest people of the history of this planet have walked, and have touched what they have touched. Think about that I Know I did many times.

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Here are some views of the city of Pisa from the top of the leaning tower. You can tell it?s not a crazy city like Rome and Florence with lots of traffic, and people, but a nice calm city, nice for tourist to browse around. The house is in many colures and the roof is a tile of clay red and orange. In one of the pictures you can see the mountains in the background and the wall that surrounds the city.

From 1990 to 2004, the internal steps of Leaning Tower of Pisa were closed to the public, out of concern for both structure and visitors. Tourists can now climb the 294-step spiral staircase to the belfry - as a million people did prior to 1990.

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Its tilt seems to defy gravity – you wonder why it doesn’t topple. Yet, even if the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy didn't lean, visitors would come to marvel at its design (look at the photograph and imagine the tower upright). And, the tower is part of a magnificent Romanesque architectural complex that includes the famous Baptistery and Cathedral of Pisa.

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The tilting of the structure is not new. Soon after this 800-year-old campanile (free standing bell tower) was begun, workers noticed a risky inclination caused by soft subsoil. Partial remedies were applied and the architecturally flawed tower was completed about 70 years later.
Over the centuries the tilt angle of the 56-meter (182-feet) tall Leaning Tower of Pisa continued to increase. Today the top edge lists about 5 meters (16 feet) from the perpendicular, creating a gravity-defying appearance.
Some experts predict an any-year-now collapse, others believe that the current restoration project will save this world wonder.