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when the structure's first three tiers started tilting. In 1272 work started again, with artis-
ans and masons attempting to bolster the foundations but failing miserably. Despite this,
they kept going, compensating for the lean by gradually building straight up from the
lower storeys.
The tower has tilted an extra 1mm each year. By 1993 it was 4.47m out of plumb, more
than five degrees from the vertical. The most recent solution saw steel braces slung
around the third storey that were then joined to steel cables attached to neighbouring
buildings. This held the tower in place as engineers began gingerly removing soil from be-
low the northern foundations. After some 70 tonnes of earth had been extracted, the tower
sank to its 18th-century level and, in the process, rectified the lean by 43.8cm. Experts be-
lieve that this will guarantee the tower's future for the next three centuries.
Access to the Leaning Tower is limited to 40 people at one time - children under eight
are not allowed in/up and those aged eight to 12 years must hold an adult's hand. To avoid
disappointment, book in advance online or go straight to a ticket office when you arrive in
Pisa to book a slot for later in the day. Visits last 30 minutes and involve a steep climb up
300-odd occasionally slippery steps. All bags, handbags included, must be deposited at
the free left-luggage desk next to the central ticket office - cameras are about the only
thing you can take up.
CATHEDRAL
Duomo
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(Piazza dei Miracoli; admission free (with coupon from ticket office); 10am-7.30pm summer,
10am-12.45pm & 2-4.30pm winter) Pisa's cathedral was built with funds raised from
spoils brought home after Pisans attacked an Arab fleet entering Palermo in 1063. Begun
a year later, the cathedral, with its striking cladding of alternating bands of green and
cream marble, became the blueprint floor for Romanesque churches throughout Tuscany.
The elliptical dome, the first of its kind in Europe at the time, was added in 1380.
The cathedral was the largest in Europe when it was constructed; its breathtaking pro-
portions were designed to demonstrate Pisa's domination of the Mediterranean. Its main
facade - not completed until the 13th century - has four exquisite tiers of columns dimin-
ishing skywards, while the vast interior, 96m long and 28m high, is propped up by 68
hefty granite columns in classical style. The wooden ceiling decorated with 24-carat gold
is a legacy from the period of Medici rule.
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