Overview
The campanile was begun in 1173 as part of the cathedral complex on Pisa’s Piazza dei Miracoli, alongside the cathedral, baptistery, and Camposanto. The ground on one side began giving way when only a few storeys stood.
Description
The white marble cylinder of stacked arcades rises about 56 meters over eight storeys. It was built in three campaigns across two centuries — the long pauses let the soil consolidate, which probably saved it — and the upper storeys are curved slightly against the lean.
History and legacy
Legend has Galileo dropping weights from the tower to test falling bodies, a story told by his pupil Viviani and debated by historians. Closed in 1990 when the tilt neared collapse, the tower was stabilized by careful soil extraction and reopened in 2001, straightened by about 44 centimeters.