Well known structures - Leaning tower of Pisa - Information for small kids

This building looks like it is going to fall over at any moment, but it has been like that for many years, hence the word 'leaning' in the name.  This is a bell tower in the town of Pisa, Italy.

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This tower is known all over the world because it is not standing up straight.  When the foundation was built, it was done on soft soil and can not carry the weight of 14 500kg.  When the second story of the building was started, it started leaning more and more.

Every year the tower would lean a little more and it was leaning at 5.5 degrees before construction started on it between 1990 and 2001 and it was decreased to 3.97 degrees which mean it decreases the chances of falling over.

The tower is 8 stories high, 55.86 m (183.27 ft) on the low side and 56.67 m (185.93 ft) on the high side. 

The original construction of this tower started in 1173 and finished in 1372 - almost 200 years, can you believe it and construction was stopped twice during this time due to wars.  It sound like a very long time for a building but just remember, they did not have the machinery they do today.  

youtube.com/watch?v=KIEuAibMXnE

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The first time the building stopped for a century, which gave the ground time to harden, which was actually a good thing, because if they just carried on, the weight and the soft soil would not have been a good combination and the building would have toppled over.

As well as the tower, Pisa's Cathedral Square (Piazza del Duomo or Piazza dei Miracoli) also has a cathedral, a baptistery and a cemetery. 

This whole square is a UNESCO heritage site, which means it may not be changed or broken down and must be protected for future generations.

• There are 294 steps on the one side and 296 steps on the other side of the tower.
• In the tower you will find 7 bells, each of them represents a note in the musical major scale.  You can watch the video to hear what the bells sound like.

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• People are not 100 percent sure who was responsible for the design and new information have changed the minds of some.

The tower's design has widely been attributed to Guglielmo and Bonanno Pisano however recent studies suggest the architect Diotisalvi may have been involved in the design. 

• during the war, the Germans used this tower as a lookout and even thought the Americans knew this, they did not want to bomb the tower because of its beauty - that is truly considered.

This is truly a unique building and thousand of tourists visit it every year.  Thanks to the people of Italy, this tower is looked after and made sure that it will still be there for many generations to come.

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