Discount Hotels Pisa
Historical interest: Pisa
    
In the 12th century Pisa was a wealthy city, which had enjoyed a succession
of military triumphs and was busy building monuments to its achievements. A
widow named Berta di Bernardo left 60 coins in her will for the purchase of
stone to build a bell tower in 1172. Construction began the following August
but took almost 200 years to complete.
By 1178 the third storey of the tower was finished. It was observed at this
stage that the tower was leaning to the north. Construction was on hold until
1275 due to wars with neighbouring provinces and by then the tower had shifted
of its own accord and was now leaning to the south. A further three floors were
added perpendicular to the ground, rather than following the original tilt of
the lower levels.
Again, construction stopped until 1319 when the last two storeys were built.
The bell was finally placed at the top of the tower in 1350, completing the
structure but giving rise to centuries of contemplation about how to stop it
from toppling over.
In 1989 the Pavia Cathedral collapsed, killing four people and the authorities
determined it was unsafe to permit tourists to climb the Tower of Pisa. A committee
of engineers and art historians began working on ways to keep the tower from
collapsing. First, they encircled the lower levels with a steel band to prevent
them from buckling under the uneven weight from above. In 1993 they placed 600
tonnes of lead on the north side of the base to act as a counterweight. This
measure stopped the progression of the lean for several years.
Finally, in 1995 the committee planned to dig a trench around the base of the
tower and create new foundations out of cement. This latest attempt was almost
disastrous as the tower was resting on foundations built 30 years before the
rest of the structure, some of which were accidentally removed when the trench
was dug out. The tower shifted 2.5mm overnight and the engineers were forced
to take emergency measures to stop it from falling down altogether: they placed
another 230 tonnes of lead on the north side of the base. Finally, in 2000 restoration
and re-inforcement of the base was completed and the safety of the tower has,
at least for the time being, been restored.
Selection of hotels in this region:
Hotel Republica Marinara | | Bologna Hotel | | Holiday Inn Pisa Migliarino | | Hotel Duomo Pisa | |
Click below for a
full list of hotels and online booking
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