The Leaning Tower of Pisa

The Leaning Tower of Pisa is indeed leaning – a lot! One would expect that, ok. But nevertheless we were not prepared for this sight when we approached the famous Piazza del Duomo in the town of Pisa in Tuscany. The tower at the end of the cobbled road really looked like it was about to fall over.

A dangerous imbalance

Surprised as we are by the dangerous-looking angle, we remind ourselves of what we read in the guidebook. The tower is not even leaning as strong as it used to be! In 1990 the Leaning Tower had become so slanted that the authorities closed it for tourists. It was simply too dangerous for so many visitors to climb to the top. And the danger of a complete collapse grew.

Determined to save the landmark, engineers stabilized the base over a period of ten years. They removed earth from the opposite side to tilt the tower in a more upright position. (But not too upright, mind you! Who would want to visit a straight tower of Pisa?). Moreover, they stabilized the upper part with steel brackets. After they had achieved a substantial reduction of the tilt, the Leaning Tower opened to the public again in 2001. Engineers claim to have secured the tower’s future for at least 300 years. To be on the safe side, only 40 visitors are allowed on the tower at any one time.

Instable almost from the beginning

The tilt of the Leaning Tower of Pisa is not a new development. Indeed, it began already during the construction of the tower the 12^th century. Plans were to build an almost 100 m high bell tower, or campanile, for the Santa Maria Assunta Cathedral. But soon the first problems occurred due to sandy building ground. In the end the builders had to stop at 55 m height.

Since then, the failed campanile became a landmark, and presumably a laughing stock. But reportedly, in the 16^th century the famous scientist Gallileo Gallilei was the first to take advantage of the funny tower. According to a biographer, he dropped two cannonballs of different weight from the top of the tower. When both reached the ground at the same time, he took it as proof of his gravity theory: Everything falls at the same speed no matter whether it is heavy or light.

The Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta

By the 18^th century, the Leaning Tower of Pisa had turned from an embarrassment into an asset. Travellers from Britain and elsewhere in Europe included Pisa in their “Grand Tour” of must-see attractions. And it still is on that list for modern travellers. In 1987, the UNESCO included the leaning tower of Pisa and the adjacent monuments on its UNESCO World Heritage list.

So, after taking pictures of the Leaning Tower we visit the other monuments of the UNESCO ensemble. The lavish Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta itself is stunning from the outside as well as inside. We marvel at the golden apse mosaic of a sitting Jesus Christ and the marble pulpit by the local artist Giovanni Pisano. And last but not least we pay our respects to Pisa’s city saint, St Rainier, who rests in a glass sarcophagus in the Santa Maria Assunta Cathedral. Unfortunately it is very noisy inside the church due to ongoing restoration work when we visit. The same goes for nearby octagonal Baptistery.

The Camposanto – an unusual graveyard next to the Leaning Tower of Pisa

The most unique spot in the Pisa ensemble is the Camposanto. Camposanto translates as holy earth. The building got its name from the fact that it was built around some soil from Golgotha, which crusaders brought back from the Holy Land during the 12^th century. Over the years, tombs and sarcophagi from the area were moved to the Camposanto. The layout looks like a walled courtyard, but the structure is that of a three-nave basilica without a roof. The middle nave consists of a green lawn.

In the aisles, by contrast, the floors are covered with tomb stones. Religious frescoes decorate the high walls, looking like giant comic books. We had not known about the Camposanto previously and did not expect anything special, but then we spent quite some time inspecting the drawings. The stories had explanations in info panels, but we also liked the colourful details of Renaissance life (and death!).

The Sinopie Museum

To learn more about the gruesome frescoes we visit the Museum of Sinopias, also on the premises. Sinopia is a brownish colour which artists used for preparatory drawings of frescoes. Accordingly, it is also the name for those sketches. During the restoration work the original drawings came to light. Amazingly, the restorers could separate these layers and exhibit the sketches in the museum, while leaving the final painting in place.

In one of the Sinopia panels, the virgin Mary is depicted as a young and lively woman. We rather like her. But then we see a photo of the final fresco put up next to it for comparison. In the newer version, Mary had turned into a haggard woman with a headscarf! A later editor had apparently found Mary not puritanical enough. By contrast, the angels who help the dead climbing out of their tombs for the Last Judgment all sported paunches in the original sketches. But they look slim and slender at the Camposanto wall today. For art historians it is obviously interesting to compare the two versions. But even we find ample opportunities to wonder how attitudes have changed.

Pisa – an old university town

Most visitors come for a day trip from Siena or Florence. We also spent five wonderful days in Florence on this trip. The tourists usually get off at the nearby station San Rossore and only see the Piazza del Duomo. But the small town of Pisa has more to offer. One of the oldest university towns in Italy, it still has three universities and a maze of small mediaeval alleys. Around half of the inhabitants are students, making for a vibrant night life. If you have some more time to spend in Pisa, do not miss the Gothic church of Santa Maria del Spina. It is weirdly situated directly at the shore of the river Arno. In town, the big mural by Keith Harring is also worth a look.

A typical specialty of Pisa is cecina, a savoury chickpea flatbread. It is vegan, cheap, and very tasty.

Is the Leaning Tower of Pisa worth a visit?

Of course we had seen photos. It’s not that we didn’t believe it was so tilted. But still, seeing for oneself how much that tower is leaning to the side is quite baffling. You can visit the Leaning Tower of Pisa and its adjacent monuments in half a day if you rush a little bit. In our opinion it would be better to spend a whole day or even stay the night.

There are several combination tickets on offer. You will find details on the official homepage here.

How to visit the Leaning Tower of Pisa by public transport

Local trains from Florence go to Pisa half-hourly. The nearest station to the leaning tower of Pisa is the station San Rossore, but unless you are in a hurry, you might as well get off in Pisa main station. That way you see the old town and arrive at the Leaning Tower on a normal old town street. We found the tilt from that side even more shocking.

The nearby Tuscany towns of Florence, Siena and San Gimignano are also part of the UNESCO World Heritage. All of them are worth a visit.

NB: Our travel to Tuscany and to Pisa and its Leaning Tower was not sponsored in any way. We paid all expenses ourselves.