(Above: The Baptistery, the largest in Italy)
Pisa, Italy
The Campo dei Miracoli
(Above: The Baptistery, the
largest in Italy)
(Above and Below: The duomo
in Miracoli, made from grey marble and white stone)
(Below: The Torre
Pendente, whose construction on soft Pisan soil started in
1173--and went on for 180 years--started leaning shortly after it
was begun. The lean, however, was going the other way. Stones
were inserted to counterbalance the lean, whereupon, the tower
started tilting the other way. As upward construction of the
tower continued, various efforts to compensate for the lean were
attempted, a fact that explains why the tower actually curves
like a banana.)
(Above: The unsightly lead
ingots to counterbalance the lean)
