Tower of Pisa: 10 Incredible Facts, Secrets and Curiosities You Didn’t Know

Are you planning to visit the Leaning Tower of Pisa and want to know the trivia, secrets and legends surrounding Pisa’s most famous monument?

You are in the right place! In this article, let’s find out together what are the 10 most extraordinary, funny and unbelievable facts about the famous Tower of Pisa.

Are you ready? Let’s get started!

ALT! Before we start with the article, a brief warning: you should know that the Tower of Pisa is one of the most important monuments in Piazza Dei Miracoli, you may risk running into a long queue at the entrance of the attraction. To visit the Tower and immerse yourself live in its secrets and legends without wasting time in the queue, it is recommended that you purchase your ticket online. Click below to book your admission and access the Bell Tower in an instant.

Tower of Pisa: 10 amazing facts, secrets and trivia you didn’t know

Is the Leaning Tower of Pisa the most inclined in the world?

When you think of the city of Pisa, the first image that comes to mind is its famous Leaning Tower , but is it really the world’s most leaning monument?

Well, no!

The world record forinclination is currently held by the Suurhusen bell tower in Germany (Saxony).

But are we sure that the Tower is the only leaning monument in Pisa?

No! In fact, there are other monuments in the Tuscan city that have atilt: the Bell Tower of the Church of San Nicola has a 2.5-degree slope while the Bell Tower of the Church of San Michele degli Scalzi even has a greater slope than the Leaning Tower of Pisa, as much as 5 degrees compared to about 4 degrees for the Tower!

A model of the Tower of Pisa

Not everyone knows that in Piazza Dei Miracoli it is possible to see a truly realistic model of the Leaning Tower.

In fact, within the museum itinerary of the Museo Dell’Opera del Duomo is a room dedicated to artifacts from the Tower inside which is displayed an alabaster model of Volterra produced by theArte in Bottega VolterraAssociation.

The model is on a scale of 1:25 and is 2.40 meters high.

Scaramantic rituals

Have you ever tried to ask a Pisan if he has climbed the famous Tower that is the symbol of his city? He will probably answer no.

Apparently, according to the Pisans, there is a superstition that climbing the 294 steps to the top of the Tower brings bad luck but only to Pisans and those who grew up in Pisa, so…all clear for tourists!

The Tower in Italian Cinema

Raise your hand if you have seen “Amici miei – Act II,” which brings a goliardic Pisan prank to the stage.

In the chaotic Square of Miracles, a group of unsuspecting tourists are persuaded by a clique of Tuscan students to lean on the Tower and hold it up to prevent its fall by staging a tug-of-war.

This is just one of the appearances of the famous Tower in Italian and foreign films.

Another example that will be much appreciated by young children and Marvel fans is Superman III where the famous superhero even straightens the Leaning Tower.

The Tower as you’ve never seen it

Do you dream of taking a wonderful souvenir photo with the Leaning Tower but Square of Miracles is full of tourists ruining your shots? Just a stone’s throw from the Tower is a truly exclusive and scenic spot that will give you a special view of the Tower.

Tucked inside the Opera del Duomo Museum is the Opera Bistrot.

Its loggia offers a unique panoramic view and a perfect location for your shots!

Albert Einstein and the Tower of Pisa

In 1953 the famous scientist after visiting the Leaning Tower wrote this reflection in a letter:

The Tower of Pisa exemplarily symbolizes the impossibility of human beings to foresee the social implications of their works.

A.Einstein

The artist naturally did not assume that the weakness of the foundation would give the tower such an inclination that it would come to the attention of all mankind. This is perhaps the case with even the most abstract creations of man, in the sense that their actual social consequences correspond only minimally to the creator’s intentions.

Mussolini risked collapsing the Tower of Pisa

In 1934 Mussolini, believing that the slope of the Tower was a source of shame for the nation in the eyes of the world, decided to intervene to fix it.

Numerous holes were drilled at the base of the Tower to be filled with mortar to correct the inclination of the Bell Tower.

The holes actually undermined the stability of the foundation, achieving the opposite effect to the one desired, and the Tower was in danger of collapsing.

Forbidden to ring the bells of the Bell Tower

During the Middle Ages, the bells in the Campanile ‘s belfry were operated by a rope that made them ring but caused oscillations that undermined the monument‘s already precarious stability .

Currently, to prevent the oscillations produced by the ringing of the seven bells at the top of the Bell Tower from creating stability problems, the bells are operated by an electronic hammer that reduces vibration.

The Tower of Pisa in video games

Photos from Games.it at www.games.it

If you are a gamer or video game enthusiast you have probably played the famous “Bethesda” game and have noticed a familiar presence among the game mods, particularly in the mod dedicated to the Strafield planet of the Sol system you may recognize an abandoned and ruined version of the famous Leaning Tower.

Pisa with a touch of glamour

Photos of Cinedependente at www.cinedipendente.it

“Empty tubes of lipstick are like shell casings of that eternal war that is love,” wrote Chloe Thurlow, who knows what Louis Nichilo, a Roman jeweler, thought of this, who in 1950 came up with a very unusual lipstick with a dangling container; in fact, the design is inspired by the Tower of Pisa.

Legends about the Tower of Pisa

Galileo Galilei’s experiments

Who does not know the famous scientist, physicist, mathematician, astronomer and philosopher!

Galilei, born in Pisa in 1564, is considered the father of modern science, but did you know that according to tradition he conducted some of his famous experiments right on top of the Leaning Tower?

Galileo Galilei, in fact, according to legend conducted his experiments on falling bodies by throwing a ball of lead and a cotton ball from the top of the Campanile.

Legend or truth? For the Pisans there is no doubt, it is thanks to the Tower that the scientist was able to prove that the fall of objects of different weights is constant and therefore has the same weight regardless of the weight of the objects themselves.

Indeed, according to the Pisans, Galileo’s ghost still roams the walls of the Tower to conduct his experiments!

The tower bells

In the belfry at the top of the Leaning Tower are seven bells.

One in particular has a very unique story: it is known as the “Traitor’s Bell.”

It is precisely this bell that was rung during the executions of those convicted of treason in the Middle Ages.

Dante Alighieri, in his Divine Comedy, tells the story of Count Ugolino della Gherardesca who was condemned for treason and locked up in the tower in Piazza Dei Cavalieri together with his sons, it is likely that it was this very bell that rang during his sentence.

Conclusions

Here we have come to the end of this article on trivia about the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the world’s most famous leaning tower, in which we discussed the darkest secrets and most curious facts about the Piazza dei Miracoli attraction.

Do you know any other curiosities? Write it in the comments and we will publish it. If, on the other hand, you want to learn more about the history of the Tower, read the article in which we told why the Tower of Pisa is crooked (the children’s explanation).