Nobody ever thought in 1173 that the Leaning Tower of Pisa will be like what it is today. The original bell tower design stood upright for its first 5 years, until the third floor was completed that it started to lean. The people of Italy at the time were shocked at the reality of the sight, that the tower didn’t fall after it leaned.
It was due to the fact that the foundation of the tower was only 3 meters deep and built on dense clay mixture. What were the civil engineers, or architects acting like one, thinking back then? They must have assumed that the clay was strong enough to hold the tower upright, until such time it began to diffuse downward and found its weakest point.
The tower was not touched for 100 years in the hopes that the soil would settle, giving it enough strength to hold the weight of the tower. Until Giovanni di Simone in 1272 commanded to add four more floors. This caused to lean over more, despite the attempt to compensate for the original lean by making one side of the upper floors taller than the other.
In 1284, the construction stopped. In 1319, the 7th floor was finished. After the bell-chamber was added in 1372, the tower was left alone.
Came 1838 when Alessandro Della Gherardesca, an established architect, decided to dig a pathway near the base of the tower so that visitors could see the intricately-crafted base. This made the tower lean even more.
Surviving the World War II is another story. The Leaning Tower of Pisa was saved from the command of the American soldiers to destroy all buildings by a retreat that took place shortly after the arrival of the Americans. Phew.
Until in 1964, a team of engineers and historians stabilized the leaning tower, as a temporary solution, by placing a counterweight which is 800 tonnes. This kept the tower leaning for tourism purposes. It’s a win-win.
The tower closed in 1990 with the bells removed and the tower anchored. It was reopened in 2001, finally sturdy and safe, for the tourists to appreciate.
To the question, “Will the Leaning Tower of Pisa ever fall?” The answer is on shaky ground, because it can still be toppled by an earthquake. But without natural causes, it will stand tall untouched thanks to engineering.
