Don’t knock it over!
- The Leaning Tower of Pisa is a tilted, free-standing bell tower that is part of Pisa’s cathedral.
- The Leaning Tower of Pisa is located in the city of Pisa, Italy and is famous for its tilt to one side.
- During the construction process in 1178, the Leaning Tower of Pisa began to tilt since the ground was too soft on one side to support the weight of the building
- The Leaning Tower of Pisa’s height is 55.9 – 56.7 meters (183.3 – 186 inches) and has a total of 296 steps to reach the top.
- Before restoration in the late 1900s, the Leaning Tower of Pisa had a tilt of 5.5°, and after the restorations the tilt was reduced to 3.99°.
Leaning Tower of Pisa
Image courtesy of Matt Banks/ Free Digital Photos
- The Leaning Tower of Pisa was built from 1173 – 1372 in three stages, although work stopped for more than 100 years during that time.
- Since the Italian government was afraid of the Leaning Tower of Pisa collapsing, similar to another tower incident in 1989, they removed earth from underneath the tower, which helped to stabilise the tilting.
- The Leaning Tower of Pisa has seven bells installed in the tower.
- Since monitoring began in 1911, it was discovered that the Leaning Tower of Pisa was moving at 1.2 mm (o.o5 inches) per year.
- No one actually knows who the true identy of the architect is, that designed the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
Bibliography:
Harris, W n.d, Will the Leaning Tower of Pisa ever fall?, How Stuff Works, <http://science.howstuffworks.com/engineering/structural/will-leaning-tower-of-pisa-fall.htm>
