Why does the leaning tower of Pisa…lean? 🤌

Ciao Bella!

I’ll admit.

Might be a stupid question..

But why does The Leaning Tower of Pisa…

…ya know…lean?

Well the year’s 1100-something.

Pisa, Italy.

So the architects get to work.

And because the new bell tower of Pisa would be a relatively short structure, they decide they’ll need just three meters of support underground.

Tiny problem…

These early Italians don’t speak ancient Greek.

And ‘Pisa’ in ancient greek means marshy land 🤦

So 5 years after they constructed their bell tower on only ~3 meters~ of support, its southern side was already underground:

Never fear!

A new architect comes to town – Giovanni di Simone:

His ingenious proposition?

So they did!

But that adds more weight and sinks the tower further…

Never fear!

Famed architect Mussolini comes to town:

This stupid f*cking leaning tower was really embarrassing for Mussolini.

So he tells his engineers to pump more concrete into its base.

Ya it got worse.

But in 1992, the engineers actually get smart.

They drill diagonal tunnels underneath the tower’s north end:

And slowly remove material from under just one side.

Gravity works!

The tower straightened…!

…to a stable-ish tilt of 4 degrees.

Stay Cute,
Henry & Dylan 🌈

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