The Leaning Tower of Pisa

After over a decade of being strapped in steel cables and inaccessible to tourists, the Leaning Tower of Pisa (La Torre di Pisa) is open once again. Nearly $30 million was spent to prevent the tower from leaning any further to avoid total collapse. Now it is good for another 300 years.

Begun in 1173 AD, the tower has been an architectural problem almost from its beginning. Owing to soft ground and a shallow foundation, the tower began to lean as early as the time the third floor was completed. This despite the over 13 foot-thick walls at the base. But engineers at the time had few resources to call on. There was no ground penetrating radar, geological science, lasers or huge cranes to right the work.

Ironically, the tower is not, or more accurately was not, the main attraction of the site. It was intended as a bell tower for the nearby cathedral. Both are extraordinary works of Romanesque-Gothic art. It's only because of an unfortunate engineering failure that the tower is the more famous of the two structures.

But far from being considered a failure at the time, it was not completely unknown for buildings to be less than perfect 800 years ago. There are examples in Germany, Ireland and even not far away inside Tuscany of both towers and rectangular buildings that lean slightly.

Still, visitors today will be thrilled by the view from below or above.

From the base, standing far back from the tower, one can see the round, layer-cake type facade. The base is somewhat plain, but not far up there are magnificent columns. The elaborate carving is even more amazing when one considers that the major construction effort was completed less than 200 years after beginning.

The project was stalled for about 100 years while the Pisans engaged in battles with Genoa and other Italian city-states of the period. Then, picking up in 1275 AD it stalled again in 1284 AD, just before the belfry was added. Finally, in 1360, the building topped out at 51m/167ft.

From the perspective of distance those who observe carefully can see that not only is the tower leaning (which is obvious), but that it is curved as well. Noting the lean, builders attempted to compensate by making some of the floors taller on the side opposite. The result gives the tower its slight banana shape.

Fortunately, since digging out 70 tons of earth from below the ground, the tower was reopened in 2001. Visitors in bunches of 30 can now go up inside for a 35-minute guided tour. Be sure to obtain tickets well in advance. It's a hugely popular attraction.

Now, tourists can see the surrounding area from on high, as well as some of the magnificent bells in the belfry. Not to worry about the lean, though. It's only 13 feet from the vertical and modern engineering has ensured a safe visit.

Piazza del Duomo, Pisa

The Leaning Tower of Pisa may be the most famous landmark of this Tuscan city. But, there are many other stellar sights to see in the Piazza del Duomo where the tower is located.

Scattered around lush green lawn lie some of the world's finest architectural achievements. There's the famed campanile, of course. But there is also the Duomo or cathedral itself to which the leaning tower is 'merely' a bell tower.

Begun in 1063, over a hundred years prior to the tower, the cathedral is the very prototype of late Romanesque architecture in this area of the world. With a floor plan in the standard shape of a cross, it is 100m (328 feet) long by 35m (115 feet) wide. Though not enormously tall by contemporary standards its 34m (112 feet) height would have been extremely impressive to citizens of its day.

Approach from the usual entrance and you'll see magnificent bronze doors, decorated with religious scenes that would have been fully familiar to its visitors. Carved in the 12th century by Bonanno, they're known as the Porta di San Ranieri.

There are Moorish influences around the building as well, owing to the Muslim traders the Italians did business with frequently. The cathedral was the first structure to incorporate horizontal stripes of marble of the sort commonly seen in Moorish architecture.

Some of the rounded arches provide a setting for outstanding mullioned windows. The carvings are so delicate it's difficult to believe they could have been accomplished at the time. Marble inlaid with Moorish lozenges at the top, they're truly works of art in themselves. 'Lozenges', in this style of architecture, resemble the shape of the cough drop, hence the name.

Regrettably, a fire in 1595 AD destroyed much of the original art work in the interior. But the building itself bears few traces of that tragic event. Among the outstanding surviving components are the 14th century pulpit with Corinthian columns resting on lion statuary. It's festooned with carved panels depicting scenes from the New Testament of the Christian Bible.

Above the apse lies a copy of a bronze griffin (a winged lion), believed to have been imported from Egypt in the 11th century. The original was moved to the nearby Museo del Duomo. The transept door sports Romanesque panels depicting the life of Christ that are a marvel to this day.

Another survivor of the fire is the tomb of Emperor Henry VII completed in 1315. Atop it are a pair of Ghirlandaio angels that visitors should be sure not to miss.

According to his student, it was within this church that Galileo watched a pendulum swaying back and forth one day. This was one of the keys to his formation of the law of the pendulum, which states that the period, the time of swing, is the same regardless of the angle it starts at. It forms the basis of many clock designs.

Looking up at the frescoed dome it's easy to imagine the famous scientist becoming distracted away from the sermon and toward the stupendous building.