What’s inside the Leaning Tower of Pisa?

Are you planning to visit Miracle Square and its attractions and want to know what’s inside the Tower of Pisa?

You are in the right place.

In this article I will take you on an exciting adventure to discover the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa, leading you through its secrets, mysteries and wonders.

Together we will explore the interior of the Tower, climb its steps and take a closer look at its unique tilt. I will tell you the fascinating history of this iconic monument, from its humble beginnings to the present day, and reveal the curiosities surrounding it.

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 visited monuments in Italy! For this reason, you risk running into a long line during your visit. To visit the famous Leaning Tower while skipping the line at the entrance it is recommended that you purchase your ticket online. Click below to book your admission and access the interior of the Leaning Tower of Pisa in an instant.

Inside the Tower of Pisa

The Torre di Pisa consists of a hollow cylindrical central body that can be admired from the base of the tower.

As soon as you enter inside the Leaning Tower you immediately feel the perception of the tilt of the building, which increases as you ascend the different levels.

The Bell Tower consists of a central masonry body circumcircled by located arched by arches and columns.

Inside the masonry area is a helical staircase leading to the top of the Tower.

Both the exterior and interior faces of the Tower are made of San Giuliano marble, later replaced by the better-known white Carrara marble.

The first material for the construction of the Tower was donated in 1172 by the Pisan widow Berta di Bernardo who left 60 denarii in her will for the stone needed for the construction of the building.

As soon as you enter on the left, next to the steps leading to the top of the Bell Tower, you will find fragments of a sepulchral inscription dedicated to Bonanno da Pisa, the first builder of the Leaning Tower. 

The entrance leads into a large circular room where the visitor has the opportunity to sit and read some exhibit panels on the history of the Tower: it is the Fish Room named after a bass relief found inside. 

The room has no ceiling and allows a view of the tower standing out in all its height. The tower rises 7 frames interrupted between the sixth and seventh by a panoramic floor.

The top of the Campanile offers a 360-degree view of the city of Pisa and its ancient medieval remains, as well as preserving the famous bells of the Campanile.

What is inside the Tower of Pisa?

Steps

The steps present inside the tower to reach the belfry are as many as 296 and are interspersed with short stops that provide glimpses from above of the city of Pisa. 

The steps are divided into three ramps:

1. The first starts from the base and reaches the 6th frame where there is a viewpoint.
2. The second ramp is narrower and leads to the 7th floor. 
3. A nailed staircase leads to the top of the Tower:the belfry.

The spiral staircase that runs through the building is the Tower‘s real challenge: in fact it upset the statics of the building. 

The brickwork of the Bell Tower had to be strong but elastic to withstand well the load dynamic and the counterthrusts produced by the oscillations of the bells.

To do this, the bell towers were built with a solid and very thick masonry that thinned as the floors went up to become more elastic but the Torre di Pisa has hollow masonry!

In fact, it is precisely inside the masonry, load-bearing wall of the Bell Tower,that the marble steps leading to the top of the building are located. 

This prevented thinning of the wall in the upper floors or making openings that would lighten the structure.

This imposed to increase the overall mass of the monument creating the problem of slope due to the subsidence of the ground.

Campanand

At the top of the Tower, in the belfry, there are 7 bells: Assunta, Crucifix, San Ranieri, Dal Pozzo, Pasquereccia, Terza, and Vespruccio.

• The largest bell is the “Assumption”, with a total weight of 2.5 tons.
• The oldest bell is the “Pasquereccia” which dates back to 1262 by Lotteringio di Bartolomeo.
• The most famous bell is that of “San Ranieri” or “of the Traitor” since it was rung during convictions for treason. It was made in 1735 by Pier Francesco Berti.
• The bell “Dal Pozzo”, damaged during the World War II bombings was replaced by a copy.

The bells are still used today and made active by an electronic system. Each one represents a liturgical moment of the day, such as vespers or the third hour of the day or religious holidays such as Easter.

Windows and openings

The ascent to the Tower is dotted with narrow single-lancet windows that open into the walls and give glimpses into Piazza Dei Miracoli.

The single-lancet window is a very narrow window typical of the Romanesque period and makes the light entering the interior of the building undivided. 

Along the stairs there are stop areas with larger openings closed by metal grates from which orders of columns can also be admired. 

In these staging areas there are also openings to the interior of the Tower enclosed by transparent covers that allow admiring the base of the Bell Tower.

Glass ceiling

At the top of the Tower, in the center of the belfry, on the eighth floor, there is a covered opening with a glass panel that allows you to see the base of the Bell Tower. 

The glass structure also allows for dim lighting inside the Tower.

Bell cell

On the top of the building, the 7th frame, there is a belfry.

In the center of the belfry, a panel-covered opening allows a view of the base of the Tower.

Around this opening there rises a wall inside which are preserved the bells of the Leaning Tower.

The belfry has no ceiling and it is possible to admire it both from inside and outside thanks to a panoramic walkway.

To compensate for the slope of the Tower, the belfry is deliberately off-center.

Columns

The bottom floor (or first order) of the Tower has semicolumns with blind arcades. It has 15 columns made of white marble with classical capitals that were shaped on the ground before being placed on the structure.

In order to straighten the slope of the Tower it was necessary for each round of stones to have an unequal thickness and thus a greater thickness in the side placed under slope.

The successive floors of the Bell Tower consist of 30 columns each. The top floor consists of the belfry, which has an additional 16 columns.

Frequently asked questions

Interior of the Tower of Pisa: conclusions

Here we are at the end of this post on the interiors of the Tower of Pisa, in which we looked together at the structure of the Tower and its materials and I described to you the interior elements that make up the Bell Tower: the stairs, the steps, the columns, the windows, the bells. 

If you need more information, leave a comment below; or if you’re curious to see firsthand what the inside of the Tower looks like, buy your entrance ticket by skipping the ticket line.