
This is why it is so crucial to have the proper foundation in the first place. Back in 1178, it was not as prevalent to account for settling. Today, contractors and other foundation repair companies take this into account, which causes better built buildings with a lesser chance of shifting. Weather and soil will make the building sink down into a new position. While the foundation held for a time, it eventually settled into the position it is at today. What happened to the Leaning Tower of Pisa is known as foundation settling. The limestone was so flexible, it could hold the pressure of the Tower. Instead, it was resting on the limestone. Something very unusual happened, though: the building did not collapse. The weight started to compact the soil until it found the weakest point and started sinking in on one side. However, it was dug only 3 meters deep and built on dense clay, which was not a very stable place to build a 14,500-ton tower. The foundation was made of limestone and lime mortar. While the foundation was certainly not stable (as evident by its slanty nature), it is both the cause of, and the solution to, all of the Tower’s problems and benefits. The answer, as you might surmise from being on this website, has to do with the foundation the Tower was built on. In fact, at one point, the Leaning Tower of Pisa was closed because another building in its proximity fell to a similar fate and collapse. People are even able to climb inside of it, engaging thrill seekers and frightening pessimists all the same.īut how was the Tower able to stay still all these years? While it might be the most famous, the Leaning Tower is not the only building to tip over. Since the structure last shifted in 2008, it has not moved so much as an inch, creating a secure building that is unlike anything else on the planet. Because of efforts like this, the Tower is completely still. To ensure the Tower kept its slant, 800 tons of lead counterweights were added to the base as a start. Then, in 1178, the foundation shifted, causing it to lean. For five years, the Tower stood straight. When the Tower was first built, it was supposed to be used as a bell tower. The construction of the Tower of Pisa (or as the locals say, Il Torre di Pisa) began in a small Italian town about 50 miles west of Florence on August 9, 1173.
