Leaning Tower Of Pisa

Piazza dei Miracoli and the Leaning Tower of Pisa

The tower began construction in 1173 and took until 1372 to complete. The long pause in construction – during which the soft sub-soil partially compressed on the south side – allowed the building to settle unevenly, and that partial settlement is partly why it survived: had it been built quickly, the foundation failure would have been complete rather than partial. The lean is now about 3.97 degrees from vertical, reduced from a maximum of 5.5 degrees before the stabilisation work completed in 2001. Engineers deliberately stopped short of vertical to preserve the appearance, which is an unusual aesthetic argument in structural engineering.

The Piazza dei Miracoli (Square of Miracles) is a large walled enclosure in northern Pisa containing four white marble structures: the cathedral (Duomo), the baptistery, the campanile (bell tower), and the Camposanto monumental cemetery. UNESCO listed the complex in 1987.

The Tower Climb

Tickets to climb the tower are sold in timed slots of about 30 visitors. The staircase is inside the wall of the cylinder, climbing 294 steps to the belfry. The lean is physically felt throughout the ascent – you are walking at an angle – and most dramatically at the top where the inside edge of the gallery is noticeably lower than the outside. Children under 8 are not permitted.

Book online in advance; slots fill significantly ahead of the day in peak season. The view from the top covers the tiled roofs of Pisa, the Arno plain to the south, and the Apennines to the east.

The Cathedral and Baptistery

The Duomo (begun 1063) predates the tower and is the most architecturally significant structure in the complex. The facade is Romanesque marble with multiple tiers of colonnaded galleries – the style that influenced church architecture across Tuscany for two centuries. The pulpit by Giovanni Pisano (1302 to 1311) is one of the major sculptural works of medieval Italy.

The Baptistery is the largest in Italy. The acoustic properties of the circular interior are demonstrated regularly by the custodians: a sustained note produces a chord from the harmonics reflected off the curved walls. Both are included in combined tickets with the tower.

Pisa Beyond the Piazza

Pisa has a working university city behind its tourist face. The area around Piazza dei Cavalieri, about 15 minutes walk south, has the medieval Scuola Normale Superiore – one of Italy’s most selective universities, founded by Napoleon – and a quieter version of the city that the Piazza crowds rarely reach.

The Arno divides the city into two banks; the quieter south bank (Oltrarno) has several churches and local restaurants that see far fewer tourists than the north side.

Getting There

Pisa airport (Galileo Galilei) is about 2 km from the Piazza dei Miracoli – one of the more convenient airport-to-attraction distances in Italy. Walking from the airport takes about 25 minutes. Trains from Florence to Pisa take 50 to 70 minutes and run frequently.

An overnight in Pisa gives access to the Piazza in the evening after day visitors leave and early morning before they arrive – the best times to see the complex without crowds. Most visitors come only for a half-day, which means late evening and early morning belong to almost nobody.