The Leaning Tower of Pisa is part of the ensemble of the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta in Pisa
The Leaning Tower of Pisa is part of the ensemble of the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta in Pisa . The tower is the bell tower of the cathedral and adjoins its northeast corner. The famous cathedral ensemble in Pisa is a masterpiece of medieval Italian architecture. The tower is known for being strongly inclined.
The height of the tower is 56 meters, diameter - 15 meters, diameter of the foundation 19.6 meters. To the top of the tower are stairs with 294 steps, climbing which to the mountain, you can see the whole area. The world-famous scientist Galileo used the Leaning Tower of Pisa for his experiments . From its top floor, he threw various objects to prove that the rate of fall does not depend on the weight of the falling body.
The creation of the complex began in 1063 , when on the outskirts of the city, on a green lawn, was laid the building of the ensemble of the city cathedral, which included a white marble five-nave cathedral, a bell tower and a baptistery-baptistery. The first builder of the temple was the architect Busketto, probably a native of Greece. This is indicated by both the name of the master and his proposed composition of the cathedral, dating back to the ideas of Byzantine architecture of the V century. After 1118, the construction of the Cathedral of Pisa was continued by Master Rainaldo. He extended the main nave of the building and erected the facades. It is he who designed the main facade of the cathedral in the form of several rows of light, elegant semicircular arcades.. In Tuscany, it was not customary to decorate the facades of churches with sculpture, and Master Rainaldo simply lined the facade with white and black, with a gray-blue tint, stone with marble inlays. Basically, the construction of the Cathedral of Pisa was completed in the 1150s. This relatively fast construction is explained by the fact that the masters did not spend time on the construction of complex stone structures: the ceiling of the central nave is made of wood. Above the portals are colorful mosaic panels. The interior of the cathedral is decorated with a gilded ceiling and numerous marble sculptures.
The construction of the bell tower ("Leaning Tower") was started on August 9, 1173 by masters Wilhelm (Guglielmo) from Innsbruck and Bonanno Pisano. Having built the first floor 11 meters high and two colonnade rings, Bonanno found that the bell tower deviated from the vertical by four centimeters. The master stopped working and disappeared from the city.
From time to time construction work was resumed, and by 1233 only four floors had been built. Only a hundred years after construction began, in 1275, the city authorities found a daredevil who risked continuing the construction of the bell tower.
When the architect Giovanni di Simone resumed work, the deviation of the upper cornice of the tower from the vertical was 50 centimeters. The risk was very high. Therefore, after finishing the fifth colonnade, he stopped working. In 1350, when the deviation from the vertical was already 92 centimeters, the architect Tomaso di Andrea undertook the work. He raised the next floor from the sloping side by 11 centimeters, and the bell tower was "overwhelmed" to the side, opposite the slope. Only then did he place a bell tower with a bronze bell above the eight tiers of the tower. Yes, 164 years later the construction of the tower was finally completed. However, it was shortened by four floors and without a roof. And according to the plan of the first architects, the first floor was to be high, then 10 floors with balconies, the 12th floor - a bell tower, and the campanile was to be crowned by a roof.
Over the next four centuries, seven bells were installed on the tower , the largest weighing more than 3,600 kg. However, by the early twentieth century, the heaviest bells ceased to be used, as it was believed that their movement could potentially impair the stability of the tower.
Reasons for tilt
There are various assumptions that explain the reasons for the tilt of the unfortunate tower. Researchers have suggested that Bonanno may have used pumps to pump water, which was not the case at all. Since he was building a round structure, the pumps were probably in the center of the tower - away from the walls. The pumped water flowed in one direction - in the direction of the Arno River . There are also versions that Bonanno simply saved on the foundation to increase his earnings, or laid part of the foundation on hard ground and part on soft ground.
In 1911, it was recorded that the peak tilts by 1.2 mm per year. In 2006, the top of the tower was deflected 5.3 m from the center.
Since 1990, due to fears that the 14,500-ton tower could collapse at any moment, tourists have been barred from it.
In recent years, many architects have been very concerned that the angle of the tower has become very large and there was a huge risk that one day the tower will simply collapse. That is why a number of measures have been taken recently to keep the tower from falling further. Since 1994, special lead counterweights have kept it from falling. And in 2001, work was completed to prevent the possible fall of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. The collapse of a lesser-known falling tower in Pavia in 1989 prompted work , killing four people.
In June 2007, work was completed to reduce the deflection of the tower. An international team of rescuers from the Leaning Tower of Pisa removed 70 tons of soil from the north side of the tower, which led to the turn of the building in this direction. The movement was controlled by 600 tons of lead ballast-counterweight in the tower and a system of metal ropes, which fixed the attraction. The project cost $ 20 million. As a result, the deviation of the top of the tower was reduced by 45 centimeters. Thus the falling tower returned to the position of 1838. Engineers expect the tower to remain stable for the next 200 years.
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