I have been searching for the answer to this question for some time now. I hope you can solve my dilemma. What was the Leaning Tower of Pisa originally designed to house? Such as apartments, shops, observatory, monument, etc. Thank you in advance for any help.
A: A bell tower.
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A: Why not? Guys, being guys, always want to build towers. In fact, the region around Pisa was famous for them. But the best excuse for a tower they could come up with in the 12th century was: We could put bells on it! Whereas we 20th-century sophisticates, with our mature grasp of the architectonic possibilities, would be more likely to say: What a great place for a satellite dish.
Q: So what’s the deal with the slant?
A: Maybe they figured nobody would notice. Possibly you’ve known contractors like this. Another possible explanation comes to mind when you look at a cross section of the tower. The thing is massive, with masonry walls maybe eight or nine feet thick at the base. All told, the tower weighs 14,700 metric tons. The guys may have figured, no way we’re doing this sucker over.
That said, the fact that something has lasted 800 years is no guarantee it’s going to last 900. Despite, and in a couple cases because of, various ameliorative efforts, the tower’s tilt steadily increased over the centuries, so that today it’s about 17 feet out of true (pretty steep tilt for a building that’s only 185 feet high). Remarkably, the bells were still rung, and the public was still allowed to climb to the top. Then in 1989 a similar bell tower collapsed. Oops, said the Pisans. They promptly closed the Leaning Tower and began some serious rehab. The most visible signs of this are 750 metric tons of lead weights piled around the north side of the base and steel straps around the second level to keep it from collapsing under the weight of the unevenly loaded masonry above. Results to date: It’s still standing, but I wouldn’t want to have a picnic under it. With apologies to the guy on Usenet whose sig I ripped off the following from, the latest plan is to take out the bells and put in a clock.
