Tiffany – Italy – The Leaning Tower of Pisa

I vaguely remember back in elementary school when I learned about the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Since then, I never thought too much about it, why it leans, or how much it leans. Today I had the opportunity to reflect on my learning from elementary school. The town of Pisa is a small town about 1 hour (by train) away from Florence. I wasn’t aware prior to my arrival that Pisa is also home to the University of Pisa (52k students).

From the tiny train station, I could see and confirm that the tower does in fact lean….substantially. For some reason, I imagined that the lean would be slight and that I would have to look closely in order to see it.
When we arrived, we walked from the train station, past the many vendors selling everything from fake Prada bags to Pisa key chains and to the office to purchase un biglietto for 18 euro. Since the tower is actually a bell tower to the Pisa Cathedral our ticket allowed us access to see the Cathedral and Baptistry as well. Our tour guide told us the story of how the tower started to sink after it was built in 1173 due to an inadequate foundation (soft ground). Through the decades, efforts were made to reinforce the tower as the tilt increased until it was finally stabilized in the late 20^th century. Although there are only 294 stairs, the climb was more difficult than expected due to the angle of the lean. (It’s funny, I say 294 as if it’s nothing but if I were back at home in the US, I would have searched and searched for the nearest elevator. I walk SO much more in Europe!)
*excuse the occasional and random Italian words. It helps to practice!

View from top of Leaning Tower with Pisa University Stadium




View of Pisa Cathedral from top of Leaning Tower