In 2023 the Leaning Tower of Pisa is exactly 850 years old.
...this if you count its age starting from the beginning of construction in 1173.
If you were to count from the year the construction was completed, the tower would then be much younger.
It took 200 years to complete the Tower, from the commencement of the excavation works (1172) to the time the bells were installed on its top (1372).
The first stone of the Tower was set on 9th Agust 1173, courtesy of Donna Berta di Bertoldo who donated 60 silver coins to purchase the foundation stones (the complete story of the construction of the Tower is covered on the page "WHO built the Leaning Tower of Pisa").
The Tower started to lean 5 years after the beginning of construction and works were stopped immediately to deal with the unexpected lean. Here you can find the complete timeline of construction and stabilization of the Tower.
In its 845 years, the Tower has witnessed many historical events, including wars, famine and civil revolutions.
On the bright side, the monument has been an inspiration for great minds such as Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), Michelangelo (1475-1564), Galileo Galilei (1564-1642).
Galileo Galilei used the Tower to perform his famous experiments to determine the effect of the force of gravity.
Despite the tilt, the Tower has never been in real danger of falling... at least until the end of the previous century when it was closed for stabilization works.
In 1990 the angle of tilt became dangerously close to its critical limit.
..if we had not stepped in, the Tower would have collapsed between 2030 and 2040.
A commission of 13 experts worked on the 10-years-long stabilization project that, with a budget of 30 Million EUR, brought the Tower back to safety, leaning at an angle of 3.9°.
The Tower is going to be safe for the next 200 years and it will then live well past its 1000th birthday.
Do you want to know more?
...keep reading...
WHY is the Tower of Pisa Leaning?
learn why this happened and how they coped with it.
WHAT was the Leaning Tower of Pisa built for?
find out why Tower was built, along with the other monuments in the Square of miracles.
History of the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
everything about the recent stabilization works and the people who performed them.
All the Facts about the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
answers to the most asked questions about the Tower.
