Italy, Tuscany, Italy, Pisa, Piazza dei Miracoli – Leaning Tower (00:02:24)

The Leaning Tower of Pisa, or simply, the Tower of Pisa, is the campanile, or freestanding bell tower, of Pisa Cathedral. It is known for its nearly four-degree lean, the result of an unstable foundation. It became apparent that the Leaning Tower of Pisa was leaning in the late 1170s, after completion of the first three of the tower’s planned eight stories. The leaning was caused by the uneven settling of the building’s foundations in the soft ground. There has been controversy surrounding the identity of the architect of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. For many years, the design was attributed to Guglielmo and Bonanno Pisano, a well-known 12th-century resident artist of Pisa, known for his bronze casting, particularly in the Pisa Duomo. Pisano left Pisa in 1185 for Monreale, Sicily, only to come back and die in his home town.