Tuesday, June 17, 2008

The Leaning Tower of Pisa

This bell tower is located in the city of Pisa, in central Italy. We took a train from Florence to Pisa, arrived in an hour.




The entrance :


It's 8-storey high, made of white marble, and standing at 183.27 feet.



According to Wiki, this tower began leaning to the southeast soon after the onset of construction in 1173 due to a poorly laid foundation and loose substrate that has allowed the foundation to shift direction.



Piazza del Duomo, dating from 1063 :



The Leaning Tower is just next to the Duomo :



The view from the back :



View from the side :



Closer look at the side :



The top 3 levels at the side, the sun has just come out from hiding :



Inside the Duomo :









The Baptistry of St. John which looks like a Romanesque crown :



Completed in 1363 :



We didn't climb this tower as we had been climbing bell towers and catherals in Florence, needed a break ;o) It's estimated to take 40 minutes to climb up this 294-step staircase.



Sky is getting cloudy, leaving, catching our train back to Florence.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great pictures! Do they actually allow people to climb the Leaning Tower?

Bee Lee said...

Hello Shantanu, thanks for the comment :) And glad to see you again :)

Yes, they reopened it in late 2001 for guided tours of up to 30 visitors per session.