Leaning in Pisa

Having said a very early goodbye to B, who had to go back to work, the girls and I packed up and headed out to our next destination reasonably soon ourselves.  We were spending the night in Florence but would be meeting friends in Pisa for lunch and a look at its most famous monument, the Leaning Tower.  I think everyone is familiar with the sight of the tower, but I'm not sure how many people really know its story.

The Torre (tower) is the campanile (freestanding bell tower) of the Cathedral of Pisa.  The tower began tilting almost immediately during its construction in the 12th century due to soil that was too soft on one side.  It continued to sink (and tilt) during the decades it took to complete construction, and as it was built, layer by layer, the architects tried to compensate for the angle by making the floor with one side higher than the others, but it was to no avail.  When all was said and done the tower was leaning at a 5.5-degree angle.  In the late 90's, through to 2001, the angle was "corrected" and now stands at 3.99 degrees.  In layman's terms, this means that the center of the tower is displaced almost 13 feet (4 meters) from the center.  Which still doesn't say anything to me until you actually see and walk the staircase for yourself.  It is disconcerting and immediately noticeable the minute you walk into the ground floor.  As you wind around the stairs get either steeper or shorter, depending on which side you are on.  When you get to the top, you almost feel as if you are going to be thrown off the balcony.  Something to be experienced first hand, for sure.

The lean doesn't look so bad from the approach.

The support rods that have rectified its lean.

 296 steps up.  Or 294, depending on whether you climbed the north or south side staircase.

 Friends from school (you might recognize them from our Como post)

 Looking down at the fortifications made.

 The bells.  It is a bell tower after all.

 The cathedral, which was the reason the tower was built in the first place.

  Cartwheeling our way to a tour of the inside.

 Which was fabulous...

 The view from the other side.

 We took one last look back and we said a quick see you later to our friends.  We still had to get to Florence and check in.  Pisa was a quick stop but definitely worth it.  It was disappointing that B couldn't join us, but at least we got this pic of him at Leolandia a couple of days earlier...

Tomorrow - Firenze!