ITALY - Europe by Eurail 2015: Touring Europe by Train - page 373

or Piazza del Duomo (Cathedral Square), it contains, in addition to the famous
Leaning Tower and the cathedral, the Baptistery and the Campo Santo (burial
ground), each in its own stead a masterpiece of sculpture and architecture.
If you have never been to Pisa and actually stood and looked at the Leaning
Tower, you are in for a surprise. Forget any photograph, painting, or motion picture
you may have seen of the tower prior to your personal encounter. It is not an optical
illusion—it really leans.
Ride bus No. 1 from Pisa's station plaza to Piazza dei Miracoli. Dismount from
the bus on the southern end of the square—the direction in which the tower is lean-
ing. You will have no doubt whatsoever that (1) the tower leans; (2) it's leaning in
your direction; and (3) you had better get out of its way before it topples on you.
No other work of art provokes the instinct of self-preservation like this one. You
can spend hours gazing at it, but there is never a moment when you are not con-
sciously aware of the trajectory it will take if it topples.
Bonanno Pisano began construction of the tower in 1173, but the project was
not completed until 1350. The primary reason for the delay in its completion was
that the tower began to tilt when it reached its fourth level. With an annual increase
of about 1.2 millimeters per year, the tower was closed to public access in 1990.
Through sonar soundings of the ground, the foundation of an ancient village was