The Duomo seen from the Baptistry, with the leaning tower behind, Piazza dei Miracoli, Pisa, 1064-1372. A breathtaking composition reduced to a tilted tower we take for granted. Only when you get there do you realize how amazingly graceful and luminous the whole place is… [1280×853] [OC]

…Fun fact: Construction of the tower took 199 years. Work began in 1173. The tower began to sink after construction had progressed to the second floor in 1178. Construction was halted for almost a century, because the Republic of Pisa was almost continually at war with Genoa, Lucca, and Florence. This allowed time for the underlying soil to settle. Otherwise, the tower would almost certainly have toppled. So the tower was saved by war…

The tower’s tilt was caused by an inadequate foundation on ground too soft on one side. The tilt increased in the decades before the structure was completed, and kept growing gradually until the structure was stabilized in modern times.

The height of the tower is 183.27 feet from the ground on the low side and 185.93 feet on the high side. Prior to restoration between 1990 and 2001, the tower leaned at 5.5 degrees, but the tower now leans at about 3.99. This means that the top of the tower is displaced horizontally 12 ft 10 in from the center.

Construction of the tower took 199 years. Work began in 1173. The tower began to sink after construction had progressed to the second floor in 1178. Construction was halted for almost a century, because the Republic of Pisa was almost continually at war with Genoa, Lucca, and Florence. This allowed time for the underlying soil to settle. Otherwise, the tower would almost certainly have toppled.

My apologies for inaccuracies and mistakes.