Do You Know
?
The Leaning Tower of Pisa wasn’t always called
that. Originally, it was just the Tower of Pisa, or
the Torre di Pisa.
This actually began during construction of the tower all
the way back in 1173, but the tower began to lean
further and further for decades as the tower was being
built.
Engineers tried to compensate for the tilt by making
the columns and arches of the third story slightly taller
on the sinking side; however, political unrest halted
construction before they could continue to the fourth
story.
The Tower of Pisa was constructed over a period of
199 years! It’s funny to think about how old the
foundation of the tower is compared to its upper floors
– it’s a century older, at the least, than the rest of the
building. Luckily, a restoration phase of 1990 to 2001
helped strengthen the foundation and touch up the
building’s surface.