The Tower of Pisa Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Tower of Pisa - Assignment Example Originally, it was believed that the famous ancient architecture and designer, Bonanno Pisano, was responsible for it. However, recent discoveries and deep studies tend to point at Diotisalvi as the true designer. This has been attributed to the fact that it was him who is responsible for other bell towers located across the city and the country at large. However, this belief seems to be countered by the fact that the structure does not bear Diotisalvi’s signature, something that is common in all towers designed by him. The tower took approximately two-three hundred years to be completed (Harris, Nd, pp. 1-3). The initial construction of the â€Å"tower of Pisa† began in 1173 AD, â€Å"after Donna Berta Di Bernardo, a widow resident of Pisa, donated sixty silver coins towards the local cathedral, to be used in the construction of a new bell tower base† (Soniak, 2011, p. 1). The construction work got underway, after the perfect location for the tower had been identified. It is worth taking note that the initial intention behind the building of this tower wasn’t for it to be tilted as it is structured today. The designers had intended for a perfectly vertical bell tower, but due to unforeseen circumstances, a terrible mistakeperhaps, the tower lives to be one of the most celebrated monuments in history. (Palestro, Nd, p. 1) During the construction of the tower, white marble stones were used as the main construction materials. These marbel stones were quarried from the mountains around the city of Pisa, and where transported to the site by the local citizens, who were the main source of labor for the construction (Krystek, 2012, p. 1). However, upon completion of its third floor in 1178, problems began to emerge. The constructors realized that the structure was slightly leaning towards the North West at an angle of 0.2 degrees. This was due