Leaning Tower of Pisa
Leaning Tower of Pisa features on the Gingerguide audio walk through Pisa. Give it roughly ~90 min: enough to look, hear a two to three minute story on the spot, and ask the AI guide whatever the story leaves open.
- Type landmark
- Suggested visit ~90 min
- Pisa Pisa guide
About Leaning Tower of Pisa
The world's most famous unintended architectural accident, a Romanesque marble campanile begun in 1173, tilting 3.97 degrees due to soft subsoil, with 296 steps spiralling to a panoramic summit.
The Tower of Pisa is the campanile (bell tower) of the Pisa Cathedral, and its lean is purely accidental, the result of soft silty clay soil on the south side that compressed unevenly as construction proceeded. Building began in 1173 under Bonanno Pisano, halted several times as the tilt worsened, and was finally completed in 1372 with the addition of the bell chamber.
The tower stands 56 metres tall on the low side and 57 metres on the high side. Its tilt, which reached a maximum lean of about 5.5 degrees before twentieth-century stabilisation efforts, was reduced to approximately 3.97 degrees following a major engineering project from 1990 to 2001 that removed soil from the north side to counteract the lean. The tower is now stable for at least another 200 years. It is made entirely of white and grey-green Carrara marble, with eight storeys of elegant Romanesque blind arcading.
Did you know? The Tower began leaning during construction in the 1170s, before it was even a third finished, the soft south-side soil started sinking almost immediately once the building reached the second storey.
How long is a visit to Leaning Tower of Pisa?
Set aside roughly ~90 min for Leaning Tower of Pisa. That covers a good look and the narrated story, and because you set the pace you can always stay on.
Is Leaning Tower of Pisa worth your time?
Leaning Tower of Pisa is among the 18 narrated highlights the Gingerguide team chose for Pisa, so it is worth a look. Hear the story for the context, then ask the AI guide for anything more.
Nearby stops in Pisa
Hear the story of Leaning Tower of Pisa
Preview the Pisa tour free in the Gingerguide app.