The Leaning Tower

After a week in Switzerland, we headed down south to Tuscany. From our home base in Lucca, Italy, where my parents rented a beautiful condo for us to stay in, we toured the various sites in Tuscany. On our first day, we made our way to Pisa.

Dallin and I hadn't been to Pisa, so it was fun to see the sights there, including the iconic leaning tower.

The only thing to really do in Pisa is to see the Field of Miracles which includes the baptistery, the Duomo, and the Leaning Tower.

Dallin and I in front of the leaning tower.

The style of the buildings on the Field of Miracles is called Pisan Romanesque. Though the Leaning Tower gets more attention than the Duomo, the Duomo Cathedral was a much more important building in this complex of religious buildings.

The tower is 200 feet tall and was built to serve as the campanile (bell tower) of the neighboring Duomo. As its construction began in 1173, it started to lean immediately. As construction continued the architects tried to correct the tower's lean by various methods such as, angling subsequent stories in the opposite direction of the lean and reinforcing the base of the tower. Since then, however, the tower has been stabilized so that visitors can safely climb up to the top.

This the foundation of the tower. Crazy, huh? The tower leans at a 5 degree angle. That is 15 feet off of its vertical axis!

The details of the tower are actually quite elegant.

Dad, Susannah, Mom, and Travis at the top of the Leaning Tower of Pisa!