Yes, we did it!
Finally we checked another thing on our bucket list: number 66, climbing on the top of the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
An experience born by chance, like the best things.
There were all the ingredients for a wonderful day and we enjoyed it achieved this thing to do.
8 floors, 56 meters of art and architectural beauty, the most representative monument of Italy after Colosseum.
4 degrees of inclination that make it leaning, a feature that made it one of the most visited monuments in the world, also thanks to the beautiful background that surrounds it: Piazza dei Miracoli, a UNESCO heritage site.
The construction started in 1173, on a project by Diotisalvi the same architect of the Baptistery in front of the tower. Actually, who was the real tower builder is not known exactly. According to some sources it was Bonanno Pisano, for others it was Gherardi and still others said it was Diotisalvi (and this one seems to be the most accredited).
When the third floor had been completed, maybe due to the sandy terrain where they were built, the tower started to lean. For this reason the construction was interrupted and resumed many years later, so much that the tower was finished in 1350. Almost 200 years later!
Years in which the inclination that made it famous has increased or decreased, depending on the yield of the soil and the attempts made to raise it.
Climbing the Leaning Tower of Pisa: the Belfry
Climbing those 296 steps is suggestive. The steps are consumed by the passing of people who have followed each other for centuries, walls consumed by time and by the hands that have leaned on them to find support in the climb… and on each floor you can see Pisa from a little higher, up to the top floor to find the city at your feet.
On the top, in addition to the splendid view, there is the Belfry which houses seven bells, one for each musical note. The one associated with the D note is called “The Traitor’s Bell” because it rang every time a traitor was sentenced to death. Among these traitors, one of the most famous was Count Ugolino as told in Dante’s Inferno.
Each bell also has its own name: Assunta is the largest one (weighs 2600 kg!), then there are the Crucifix, San Ranieri (the Traitor’s Bell), Dal Pozzo (destroyed during the Second World War and replaced with a copy), Pasquereccia (it is the oldest, dates back to 1262. It plays on Easter day), Terza and Vespruccio.
Climbing the Leaning Tower of Pisa: tickets and rules
All other types of tickets and rules can be found on the OPA website.
It really is an experience to do at least once in a lifetime: the charm of being able to enter and conquer a piece of history.
There is a certain awe when you are down there, facing the door.
An emotion to feel.
