Italy Tuscany Pisa. September 2016 Tourists to Pisa are seen holding up the late 12th century tower
Italy Tuscany Pisa. September 2016 Tourists to Pisa are seen ignoring the beauty of the late 12th century tower as they attempt to have their photographs taken while trying to hold up the Leaning Tower of Pisa as their abiding memory of one of the most beautiful spaces in Europe. Pisa is a city in Tuscany, Central Italy, straddling the River Arno just before it empties into the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower (the bell tower of the city's cathedral). Construction of the tower occurred in three stages over 199 years. Work on the ground floor of the white marble campanile began on August 14, 1173 during a period of military success and prosperity. This ground floor is a blind arcade articulated by engaged columns with classical Corinthian capitals. The tower began to sink after construction had progressed to the second floor in 1178. This was due to a mere three-metre foundation, set in weak, unstable subsoil, a design that was flawed from the beginning. Construction was subsequently halted for almost a century, because the Republic of Pisa was almost continually engaged in battles with Genoa, Lucca, and Florence. This allowed time for the underlying soil to settle. Otherwise, the tower would almost certainly have toppled. While the bell tower of the Cathedral, known as "the leaning Tower of Pisa", is the most famous image of the city, it is one of many works of art and architecture in the city's Piazza del Duomo, also known, since the 20th century, as Piazza dei Miracoli (Square of Miracles), to the north of the old town center. The Piazza del Duomo also houses the Duomo (the Cathedral), the Baptistry and the Campo Santo (the monumental cemetery).
Size: 7360px × 4912px
Location: Pisa, Tuscany Italy
Photo credit: © BRIAN HARRIS / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: baptistry, bell, brian, crowds, harris, holding, leaning, mass, overcrowding, pisa, pushing, toscana, tourism, tourists, tower, tuscany
