Leaning Tower of Pisa Trivia | 30 facts about the landmark

The Leaning Tower of Pisa is one of the most popular landmarks in the world, that is located in Italy, and attracts many people from around the world.

Let’s find out more “Leaning Tower of Pisa”.

1. The Leaning Tower of Pisa is the campanile, or freestanding bell tower, of the cathedral of the Italian city of Pisa.
2. It is also know simply as the Tower of Pisa.
3. It is known worldwide for its nearly four-degree lean.
4. The lean is the result of an unstable foundation.
5. The tower is situated behind the Pisa Cathedral.
6. It s the third-oldest structure in the city’s Cathedral Square,after the cathedral and the Pisa Baptistry.
7. The height of the tower is 55.86 metres (183.27 feet) from the ground on the low side and 56.67 metres (185.93 feet) on the high side.
8. The width of the walls at the base is 2.44 m (8 ft 0.06 in).
9. Its weight is estimated at 14,500 metric tons.
10. The tower has 296 or 294 steps.
11. The seventh floor has two fewer steps on the north-facing staircase.
12. The tower began to lean during construction in the 12th century.
13. This happened due to soft ground which could not properly support the structure’s weight, and it worsened through the completion of construction in the 14th century.
14. By 1990, the tilt had reached 5.5 degrees.
15. The structure was stabilized by remedial work between 1993 and 2001,
16. This reduced the tilt to 3.97 degrees.
17. There has been controversy about the real identity of the architect of the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
18. For many years, the design was attributed to Guglielmo and Bonanno Pisano.
19. He was a well-known 12th-century resident artist of Pisa, known for his bronze casting, particularly in the Pisa Duomo.
20. Pisano left Pisa in 1185 for Monreale, Sicily, only to come back and die in his home town.
21. A piece of cast bearing his name was discovered at the foot of the tower in 1820, but this may be related to the bronze door in the façade of the cathedral that was destroyed in 1595.
22. A 2001 study seems to indicate Diotisalvi was the original architect.
23. This theory is based on the fact that the time of construction and affinity with other Diotisalvi works, notably the bell tower of San Nicola and the Baptistery, both in Pisa.
24. There’s a legend related to the Tower and the famous Italian astronomer, physicist, and engineer Galileo Galilei. Apparently, Galileo had dropped balls of the same material, but different masses, from the Leaning Tower of Pisa to demonstrate that the speed of their fall was independent of their mass.
25. However, there is no evidence that this ever happened, and today it is considered only as a thought experiment.
26. The German army didn’t “attack” to the Rower during the WWII.
27. They thought it wasn’t the worst idea because it provided the best surveillance of the surroundings.
28. When the American troops arrived at the Italian ground they were ordered to destroy all buildings that could serve as a hiding place for the enemies, and the Leaning Tower was one of them
29. . Luckily, the retreat took place shortly after the arrival, and they never made it to the Tower, so it survived the war without a scratch.
30. In 1987, the Tower was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, together with the Square of Miracles it stands on, and it was totally deserved.