Feb 21 The Leaning Tower of Pisa

We arrived at late morning and found our modest but ever so accomodating hotel in Via della spina. Hotel Alessandro Della Spina five minutes walk from the train station happens to have an awesome staff with a great service. We started our walking tour at noon, while it was sunny, with map in hand and a mission to discover new parts of Italy we've never seen before. 

It took us 30 mins of brisk walking to the Piazza del Miracoli where all the main monuments are located, including the leaning tower, The Baptistry of Saint John, the cathedral, and The Camposanto Cemetery. Pisa is a very touristy town but it has unique and interesting  monuments and plazas to see. We managed to get tickets to climb the tower but had to wait a while since only a small group of people can enter at one time. Small purses like mine are forbidden, backpacks are out of the question, and people with heart condition and children under 8 yrs were also not allowed. There are lockers provided at the office where the tickets are purchased for any belongins at no cost. After the guide gives the safety rules and a bit of history of the tower, we were off to the top. 294 steps doesn't seem bad at all; it's the tilt that changes rapidily around the tower that throws our balance. Imagine going up stairs on a down tilted ground. It's a bit awkward. 

They have a tower that leans. 

The tower is 58.36 metres high at the foundation and 55 metres above ground and it was built in 1173 A.D. The construction took a couple of hundred years to complete due to wars. There was a an ancient river bed underground in the area of construction that was not detected when this monument was being built and because of the soft ground, it started to sink to one side. The architect remains anonymous. 

A river runs through Piza. On the right, a small chapel called Santa Maria della Spina unfortunately it is closed to the public. 

There is a church in the same square as the tower. In fact the tower is just another bell tower for a famous church but it seems like the tower is stealing the show.

Part of the cathedral undergoing restoration.

We wern't the only ones having  trouble with the stairs, you can see from the wear marks on the stairs that people have been challenged by the changing horizontal perspective for many years.

Another church in the distance viewed from the tower.

Us and the bell on the leaning bell tower.

There are 7 bells, one for each musical note.

Romulus and Remus being fed by a female wolf.

Jesus in the Cathedral (Piazza del Duomo)

The cathedral back entrance with bell tower.

This will be a better picture when I get home and straighten it up. The tower leans more. You could just tilt your head a bit to get the full effect.

You can see the banana shape of the tower after the 4 th floor they decided to try and level the tower a bit.