Who Built the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy?

Who built the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and why does it lean anyway? What purpose did the tower originally serve? Those are the questions we will answer in today’s lesson.

Pisa is a city in Tuscany, a region of central Italy. The tower is actually a bell tower for the main cathedral in that city. It did not always lean, but the way. It was designed and built to stand straight, like any other bell tower. But the structure’s foundation was unstable, and it could not support the massive amounts of stonework that makes up the famous tower. Thus, it began leaning soon after the construction process began.

Of course, if the tower did not shift into its current position, it would not be the tourist attraction it is today. It would just be another bell tower — albeit a very large one. It would certainly have attracted visitors with its architectural beauty, but not nearly as many visitors.

Who Built It, and When?

So who built the Leaning Tower of Pisa on such a “shoddy” foundation? It was actually built in several stages over a period of more than 150 years, starting in 1173. The base did not start to sink until 1178, a few years after construction began. The project was put on hold shortly after the sinking and leaning became obvious, and it remained inactive for several decades.

Photo of the Leaning Tower of Pisa, taken in 1909. The larger structure is the cathedral mentioned earlier.

Construction started up again in 1272, under the close supervision of architect Giovanni di Simone. The bell chamber at the top of the tower was not completed until 1372. It was designed and built by Tommaso di Andrea Pisano.

So you can see now that the Leaning Tower of Pisa was not built by any one person, because the entire construction process took more than 170 years — longer than any human lifespan. It was constructed by a series of Italian of architects, artists and builders. The same can be said for many ancient structures. They built things much grander back then, and it took a long time to do so.

This article provides a straight answer to a frequently asked question about Italian history: Who built the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy? If you liked this article, you might also like these facts about the Great Wall of China.