Leaning Tower of Pisa History | Evolution & turning points

Donna Berti di Bernardo makes a contribution

1172

Donna Berta di Bernardo, a widow and resident of the house of dell'Opera di Santa Maria, bequeathed sixty soldi (Italian silver coins) to the Opera Campanilis petrarum Sancte Marie (the organization that oversaw the tower's construction), which was used for building the tower.

Construction of the Tower begins

1173

The bell tower’s construction began in 1173 as the third part of the city's cathedral complex. Although it is not known who the original architect of the tower was, the project was started under the direction of architect Bonanno Pisano or Gerardo di Gerardo.

The tilt starts and construction halts

Late 1170s

Because of the soft ground beneath the building's foundations, the tower started to tilt soon after the beginning of the construction. By the time they built three of its eight floors, the tilt had worsened so much that they had to pull the brakes on building it to find a solution. Meanwhile, a war broke out between Pisa and the nearby city-state, Genova, and construction was halted for about 100 years. 

Construction resumes

1260

When construction resumed after a gap of a century, the soil underneath the structure was in better condition. In 1260, Giovanni di Simone took charge of the second phase of the building. He began to find ways to correct the tilt. The construction was finally completed in 1399 by another architect from the Pisano family, Tommaso.

A dangerous makeover is attempted

1838

Alessandro della Gerardesca tried to increase the value of the tower by exposing its beautifully carved base. While this allowed us to learn more about the architecture of the tower, this only worsened the tilt further. 

Mussolini intervenes

1934

The Italian dictator Mussolini argued that the Leaning Tower was an embarrassment and its inclination should be corrected. He got holes drilled around the tower to pour concrete into them, which unfortunately only worsened the tilt.

World War II is at Pisa's doorstep

1943

The American forces were especially suspicious of the Leaning Tower since they believed it acted as a hideout for the Germans. However, when they entered Pisa to destroy all buildings, they were so impressed by the beauty of the structure that they spared it from destruction.

Italy requests aid

1964

The Italian government requested public suggestions preventing the lean as experts warned that the ancient structure was in grave danger of collapsing in the event of an earthquake or storm. Proposals to save the Leaning Tower arrived from all over the world.

The tower finally achieves some stability

2001 onwards

After the last restabilization activity from 1990 to 2001, the Leaning Tower of Pisa started to correct its position over the next decade. In 2008, it was found that the tower had corrected its position by 19 inches, and experts believe that it can stay upright for another 300 years.