Leaning Tower of Pisa
Once upon a time, in the year 1174, a very talented engineer named Bonnano Pisano began building a bell tower for the cathedral in Pisa, Italy. Little did he know that this tower would become one of the most famous structures in the world and a major tourist attraction!
The tower was supposed to be 185 feet tall, but as construction began, something unexpected happened. The ground beneath the tower was soft, and the foundation wasn’t strong enough to hold the weight of the tower. So, after three stories were completed, the tower began to lean!
Bonnano Pisano tried to fix the lean by making the new stories slightly taller on the short side, but this only made the tower lean even more. Construction was stopped for almost a hundred years because no one knew how to fix the problem.
In 1275, construction started again, and this time, they built two stories out of line with the others to try to change the center of gravity. Finally, after hundreds of years, the tower was finished in the fourteenth century. But even today, the tower still leans, tilting about 5 degrees or about 17 feet.
Over the years, many people have tried to fix the lean, but nothing has worked. In 1934, the Italian government even pumped concrete under the base to try to correct the leaning, but it only made the tower lean more! Architects are still looking for a solution.
Even though the tower’s lean makes it a popular tourist destination, the people of Pisa worry that one day it might lean too far and become the Toppled Tower of Pisa. For now, though, we can all marvel at the amazing engineering and architecture of the Leaning Tower of Pisa!
