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The Leaning Tower of Pisa( Torre pendente di Pisa or simply La Torre di Pisa) is the campanile, or bell tower, of the cathedral of the Italian city of Pisa. It is located behind the Cathedral and it is the third structure in Pisa's Campo dei Miracoli (field of Miracles). The tower is famous for its noticeable lean. It was intended to stand vertically so as to serve as a bell tower, but began leaning soon after construction started in 1173 due to a poorly laid foundation. |
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The height of the tower is 55.86 m (183.27 ft) from the ground on the lowest side and 56.70 m (186.02 ft) on the highest side. The width of the walls at the base is 4.09 m (13.42 ft) and at the top 2.48 m (8.14 ft). Its weight is estimated at 14,500 tonnes. The tower has 294 steps.
The Torre pendente was begun in 1174 by Bonanno Pisano, a reknowned twelfth century resident artist of Pisa.It continued, after one long disruption, by Giovanni Pisano, the greatest gothic Italian sculptor and finally was accomplished in the second half of the XIV century by Tommaso di Andrea Pisano." With the erection of the Cathedral, Pisa settled into one particular type of architecture, Romano-Pisana, that mingles various origins harmoniously - classical, Lombarda and Moslem.
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The interior of the bell tower has the shape of a big cylindrical well. A twirling staircase, climbs to the terrace above the last floor where, within the bell cell, are seven bells datable from the XVII century to the XIX century. Here Galileo Galilei is said to have effected his experiments regarding the fall of gravity by dropping two cannon balls of different masses from this tower to demonstrate that their descending speed was independent of their mass.
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During World War II, the U.S. army destroyed nearly all towers in Pisa due to the potential threat from snipers and the same fate was about to befall upon the campanile, however a last-minute order to retreat prevented the destruction.
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Allwondersoftheworld.com describes the Bell Tower, which because of its lean, looks like it dares the laws of statics and is one of the most original works of art of the whole European Middle-Ages, enjoying a huge popularity. The Leaning Tower of Pisa expresses the joys and sorrows of its earlier 800 years and waits for a happy end to its old-age restoration with quiet wisdom.
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