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Published: October 6th 2008
What can I say about the leaning tower...other than it leans :D Fascinating & simply splendid to see even if just for a few minutes while enjoying breakfast & en route to more adventures.
Why it leans is a bit of a mystery, to some. Hmmm, my best guess; Well in the language of Old Prussia, Pisa means "swamp". While there are the mountains on one side & the Tyrrhenian Sea on the other, there is little doubt this massive feat of engineering, weighing in @ +/- 14,500 metric tons, had one HUGE disadvantage. Newton had yet to discover the Law of Gravity (we won't get into Kepler's basic behavior of gravity 😊
So here we have an enormous 8 story structure made from granite, every variety of marble in every style of architecture-Composite, Ionic, Grecian, Corinthian, Doric..... built on swampland & no clue as to the Law of Gravity :D WoW, a REAL brain teaser THERE!
I've heard some people try to put forth the assertion it was built to lean deliberately.... I wonder why the stairs lean as well if that was the case. Not to mention the stories do not lean equally.
It was thought
The Tower, Cathedral & Baptistery
La Torre Pendente;1173-1350, Cathedral;1063 to 1350 & Baptistery;begun in 1153 for some time Bonanno Pisano was the architect for the tower. However, Diotisalvi deserves some consideration & as Vasari put forth it was Nicola & his son Giovanni Pisano who were the masterminds. No one is sure as all mentioned here had a hand in the architecture of the cathedral here on the Piazza dei Miracoli.
Built as a showpiece, after conquering many country's around the world, to be a bell tower. That's it, nothing else :D Massive expense, hundreds of years in the making, to ring a bell from :D LoL! Strikes me as ever so funny! Oh wait there's more! It was designed to fly in the face of their greatest arch rival, the people of Florence. Their on-again off-again war halted work on the tower several times. Florence enslaved the Pizan's, deep seeded disdain for one another, only to be forced into selling the tower to Florence! Bummer :/
If you're ever in the neighborhood of Pisa, stop in for @ least a meal, with a view you will never forget!
Time well spent!
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