19
Jan 2017
by Tuscany Ride a Bike
The Tower of Pisa is one of the most famous monuments all over the world and today we are going to tell you its history: for first, it's important to say that originally it wasn't a simple tower, but a bell-tower, part of the biggest Romanesque complex of the world with the Duomo and the Baptistry. Its construction began in 1173 but it's not sure the name of the architect who led the costruction: many historians award to Bonanno Pisano, others to the sculptur Biduino but it seems that the right architect was Diotisalvi, because in the same years he realized the Baptistery. Unfortunateky, the construction of the tower was interrupted several times due to the inclination of the structure for land subsidence.
Only in the XIV century b.C, the tower was finally completed but the inclination not always was the same, and some bad interventions didn't sort a improving result: Alessandro Gherardesca aspired water from the surrounding soil in the 1838, later Giovanni Girometti wasn't more lucky and in 1935 reinforced the foundations with the injection of 92 Tons of cement, getting the situation even worse. Only in 1990 the inclination was stabilized realizing 900 Kg counterweights to stop the falling but finally the idea of digging the ground curiously was already suggested by Leon Battista Alberti in 1485.
In addition, the shape is unusual cause it's a cylinder of 56 meters, having the same style of the curch and is located behind the cathedral, close to the crossing of Santa Maria Street, that linked the city centre and the river Arno with other important streets. Perhaps the cause of its shape and position is the sea: the towerbell could symbolize just a lighthouse, that with the noise of its seven bells, drove the ship to the destination, represented by the Church.
Furtermore, you must know that from the top of this monument Galileo completed in 1590 the experiment about gravity: he let some balls, of different weight, fall from the top of the tower, providing the same gravitational acceleration.
Book your journey with Tuscany Ride a Bike and discover with us the city of Pisa, obviosuly riding bike!
Only in the XIV century b.C, the tower was finally completed but the inclination not always was the same, and some bad interventions didn't sort a improving result: Alessandro Gherardesca aspired water from the surrounding soil in the 1838, later Giovanni Girometti wasn't more lucky and in 1935 reinforced the foundations with the injection of 92 Tons of cement, getting the situation even worse. Only in 1990 the inclination was stabilized realizing 900 Kg counterweights to stop the falling but finally the idea of digging the ground curiously was already suggested by Leon Battista Alberti in 1485.
In addition, the shape is unusual cause it's a cylinder of 56 meters, having the same style of the curch and is located behind the cathedral, close to the crossing of Santa Maria Street, that linked the city centre and the river Arno with other important streets. Perhaps the cause of its shape and position is the sea: the towerbell could symbolize just a lighthouse, that with the noise of its seven bells, drove the ship to the destination, represented by the Church.
Furtermore, you must know that from the top of this monument Galileo completed in 1590 the experiment about gravity: he let some balls, of different weight, fall from the top of the tower, providing the same gravitational acceleration.
Book your journey with Tuscany Ride a Bike and discover with us the city of Pisa, obviosuly riding bike!
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