Added: 06/23/2006 |
The History of the Pisa TowerDue to its beauty and noticeable lean, the Pisa Tower has been an object of special attention since the beginning of its construction up to the present. During the construction of the tower efforts were made to stop the inclination using some special construction devices, and substituting columns in more than one occasion. Today, in order to reduce inclination, interventions are carried out within the sub-soil.
During the period of 1991-1994 a photographic survey of the Pisa Tower was undertaken by the special committee for the conservation and consolidation of the tower. Each column, decoration and capital was photographed and catalogued, with the survey producing over 6,400 photographs and providing interested users with the possibility to use this material freely. Offered by this section is also info on the leaning tower and the Cathedral Square. The site also traces history of the tower and discusses archeological findings discovered in the Cathedral Square.
Today's Pisa Tower, regarded as one of the world's major attractions, is a result of a series of restoration attempts made over the centuries with the aim of eliminating the risk of collapse as a result of inclination. Its central body is composed of a cylinder, formed the external wall facing of ashlars in grey and white San Giuliano limestone and the inner wall facing also of worked limestone. Between these wall facings is the annular masonry area with a spiral stair that climbs up to the sixth arcade. Six arcades and the base on which they are placed divide the Pisa Tower into 8 segments or orders.
The Pisa Tower is undoubtedly the work of one or several architects of great ability and importance. The unusual circular structure was evidence of the building's originality even before extraordinary inclination started. In fact, the form of the tower is difficult to compare with that of other buildings, though the stylistic precedents of the construction appear to be local and particular examples can be found in monuments of the Piazza dei Miracoli and some other constructions of the Island of Elba. The structure's division in the horizontal orders is perhaps due to the influence of the antique, while bell tower's modular structure is derived from the decorative and constructional items of the Baptistery and the Cathedral.
As a result of several substitution campaigns taking place from 1373 till 1840, only few original exemplars in the tower's construction are in place. Among the most conserved areas are the lower floors and the ground floor, while in the higher floors of the Pisa Tower all the architectural elements have been substituted.
The problem of the tower's inclination is what has aroused the most curiosity of art enthusiasts, scholars and visitors alike, making the construction world famous. In the XX century the accurate measurements of the Pisa Tower along with the investigations conducted into the subsoil, and historic research have resulted in the emergence of some theories, although they cannot be regarded as definitive. Thus, it is now certain that the tower was conceived originally as a vertical construction which began to incline during the early phases of construction.
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