History
The story of the tower of Pisa begins in January 1172 when the widow
Berta of Bernado left 60 soldi (gold coins) in her will to purchase stones
for the construction of a bell tower. A year later, in August 1173, the first
foundations for the tower were laid in the ground behind the existing
Pisa Cathedral.
At that time, Pisa was a rich, independent trading port and it was hoped
that the new tower would become a symbol of a city at the height of its
cultural and economic power. Therefore the circular, freestanding tower
was designed to be one of the tallest in Europe and included finely
elaborately carved columns and intricate bas-reliefs.
Within five years, and with only two floors completed, the builders faced
a serious obstacle – a combination of shallow foundations and soft,
unstable subsoil was causing the tower to lean. Construction was
stopped, and with Pisa’s prosperity and power on the decline, a hundred
years would pass before building was resumed. Four more floors were
added in 1272, the seventh floor in 1319 and the bell-chamber in 1372. On
completion, the tower would stand 185 ft. (56.4 m) tall and consist of eight
stories, including the bell-chamber. A total of seven bells, one for each
note of the musical scale, were installed – adding even more weight to
the already heavy structure. Throughout the construction period, and
especially during the last one hundred years, many have tried to solve
the tower’s overriding structural problem, more often than not, making
the problem worse. It
would be 2008 before
engineers could confirm
that the tower had
stopped moving for the
first time in its history.
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General
Weight and Dimensions
