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Leaning Tower of Pisa
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Pisa, Leaning Tower of, the campanile,
freestanding bell tower, of the cathedral of Pisa, Italy. Like
the cathedral and associated baptistery, the tower was built in
the Romanesque style (Roman Architecture).  Adjacent
to the three structures is a cemetery, or camposanto (Italian:
literally, holy field, originally meant to hold sacred soil from
the holy land).
The tower is renowned for its marked tilt. This spectacular
irregularity has tended to obscure the fact that it is also a
magnificent example of Romanesque architecture and decoration.
Begun in 1173, the eight-story round tower is 55 m (180 ft) tall
and 16 m (52 ft) in diameter at the base. The ground floor is
encircled by a blind arcade, or series of walled-in arches. Six
additional levels of open galleries, consisting of round arches
supported on columns, are surmounted by the bell chamber,
somewhat smaller in diameter. Although the tower's ancient bells
remain in place, they are no longer rung. The interior of the
tower is occupied by a 294-step spiral staircase that leads to
the bell chamber. The exterior is adorned with fine multicolored
marbles and excellent carved work. The doorway, which is
especially ornate, features grotesque carvings of animals.
Construction of the campanile stretched over a period of nearly
200 years, partly because of delays caused by the tower's
persistent structural problems. By the time the first three
stories were completed, one side of the tower had already begun
to sink into the soft soil, and
construction was halted for nearly 100 years. The first attempts
to counter the lean of the structure were made in 1275, when
construction resumed. By 1301 six stories were complete, and the
tower was finished about 1350.
At its summit, the structure tilts about 5 m (16 ft) from the
vertical, and the lean is said to be increasing at a rate of
about 1 mm (about 1/25 of an inch) per year. Italian physicist
Galileo conducted his famous experiments with gravity and the
relative speed of falling objects from the top story of the
tower. The structure has been closed to the public since 1990 due
to safety and conservation concerns.
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