Where Is the Leaning Tower of Pisa Located?

Where is the Leaning Tower of Pisa located? The Leaning Tower of Pisa is a major European landmark located in the district of Tuscany within the province of Pisa in Italy. The tower is affiliated with the Roman Catholic church as it was constructed as a compliment to Pisa’s cathedral.

The answer to where is the leaning tower of Pisa located, therefore, is that it is located in Italy. The Tower itself also has a very rich history, beyond simply knowing where is the Leaning Tower of Pisa located.

The Building of the Tower

The well known tilt of the tower was not built that way on purpose—rather, it tilted as a result of poor planning and a lack of attention to detail on the part of Bonanno Pisano, the chief engineer of the structure. However, Pisano’s inadequate efforts truly paid off and secured the tower’s status as a landmark and architectural oddity. 

When construction began in 1173, Pisa was a major player in European affairs as a trading center and its military had never been stronger. Art was highly valued, and when building the marble structure commenced, it was an exciting event for the people of Pisa. However, their excitement quickly and sourly turned to disappointment.

Pisano’s major error was planning to build the 185-foot tower on a ten foot foundation on soil composed of clay, sand and rubble. A substandard foundation combined with a very soft ground prevented a smooth and conventional construction. The tower began tilting before construction of the third story was finished in 1274.

Attempts to Repair

Despite the tower's tilt, construction continued with a few modifications. Efforts to alleviate the tilt began, and the builders began building the walls on the tilted side a bit higher, hoping that this would at least create a visual illusion to make the tower look like it was standing straight up.

Though a noble effort, this tactic made the lean even worse because it intensified the problems that were already established with the minimal foundation, weighing it down even further and causing it to lean in the other direction. Because of this effort, the tower is actually curved. In 1350, the tower was a full four feet and seven inches off center and weighed well over fourteen thousand metric tons.

Renovations

A belfry was added after construction was complete, and the weight of the bells added sunk the tower into the ground even more, still intensifying the tilt. By the 20th century, the tilt had deepened to a whopping seventeen feet off center. Fear of losing a national landmark prompted a “rescue mission,” and modern architects worked to remove soil from specific points under the tower to alleviate the significant differences in the foundation. Renovation efforts have continued, in 1990 the bells were taken down to relieve the structure of the burden of their weight.

Finally, in 2008 even more soil was removed from beneath it to even the foundation out and this effort was a great success.  Since the beginning of its construction in 1173, the tower had been perpetually sinking further and further into the earth. However, following the 2008 construction experts declared that for the first time in history, the structure wasn’t moving. They have also projected that this will be the case for at least two hundred years, making the 21st century the first time in which the tower is stable and consistent. The tower’s tilt stands almost four feet from the center today.

Cultural Importance

The leaning tower’s history is richer than just being an architecturally awkward building—legend declares that it is the tower that Galileo Galilei is said to have dropped cannon balls from, illustrating that gravitational rate of descent doesn’t vary by mass. During the 1930s, the Nazi military used it as an observation post which led the United States to come extremely close to attacking Pisa, which would have resulted in the probable destruction of the tower.

Pisano’s fallacies in planning the tower led to a unique piece of human culture that is now world famous and stands as a tribute to the homage “if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.” Almost a thousand years later and the leaning tower of Pisa is firm and secure. For now, at least.