Leaning Tower di Cioffi Alfonso & C

Oh yes, the touristy thing to do when coming to Pisa.
Even from not looking at this tower from an engineering standpoint, it’s still amazing how something this heavy won’t fall down.
Fortunately, our tour guide was smart to take us here early in the morning before Florence, as a whole wave of Japanese & Korean tour groups would arrive by lunch time – he was totally right.
Otherwise, I don’t think it’s worth even 30-​min. to line up to climb this thing. No backpacks allowed by the way if you’re planning to walk it up.
Worth getting a souvenir though.

You’ve seen the photos so you’re going to have a fair idea of what it is like in person, and it really is just as you’d imagine… but better. You want to go on a nice day to get the best shots. The tower really does lean quite a lot, it’s very odd. The surrounding buildings are equally as impressive and are actually very beautiful in architecture. There are plenty of spots to get good shots of you and the tower but it is difficult to get a good shot without the people in the background! Make sure you explore the other buildings too, there’s a lot to see and a lot of history in the area!

The Leaning Tower made a fun day trip from Lucca (short train ride and could also be done from Florence). We had skipped it on our first trip through Florence because it looked to be overrated, but in hindsight it really made for a great day trip. There is a nice walk through the shopping distract from the train station. You can shop, eat, and use the bathrooms on your walk towards the tower. Like most things in Italy it is a bit of maze, but you can see the tower so you will eventually find your way there regardless of your route. Bring a day pack with water, a hat, and rooms for accumulated nicknacks.
When you do find your way to the Tower all the shops fade away to an enormous open field akin to the great lawn in Manhattan. What happens there I will leave to your imagination, but it is awe inspiring. Be prepared for heat, since there is no shade to rest under. After spending time in the cities of Italy it was very refreshing to be in an large open space of green lawns and marble stone. Despite the heat and sun, it was nice to just slowly move about the area taking in the ancient history. Some of which is quite funny in how some of these buildings came about.
Tip — when trying to take a photo of someone pushing or holding the tower up, the person taking the photo has to be laying on the ground.
On your way out you will be passing by the storefronts again to cool off and do a little last minute shopping.

I have to preface this by saying that Italy is my favourite country, so understand that while you read this review!
Pisa itself is not the greatest town. Sure, there are probably gems if you go exploring but you won’t want to be here long enough to do that. When you get off the bus at the station you will be hounded by foreigners asking you to buy their belongings. Want to use the public bathroom at the bus station? Well you’re going to have to pay them a few euros. If you’re near the tower, there will be lots of travelers (obvious) and again people following you to buy their products.
To see the Leaning Tower in person is not worth it. It looks exactly the same like it does in photos. Go to Google and it’ll have the same effect like it does being there in person. You don’t want to sit in front of it and mull over its beauty. However, if for some reason just end up in Pisa, the Cathedral of Saint Ranieri is absolutely gorgeous and I would suggest taking a walk in there!
I guess people come here to take a photo of them holding up the building, but frankly it’s a waste of time when there are so many other breathtaking buildings in Italy, where you can ogle them in peace. I suppose I like finding my own treasures – off the familiar path.

The leaning tower, which is the bell tower of the cathedral or the Tower of Pisa. The height of the tower is 183.27 feet from the ground on the low side and 185.93 feet on the high side.
The tower is sitting on sand. An American engineering team stabilized the tower so it won’t fall down by late 20^th — 21^st centuries. The width of the walls at the base is 8 ft 0.06 in. Its weight is estimated at 16,000 short tons.
Some of the bricks from the Roman Temple was recycled, so words & letters don’t make sense now.
Construction of the tower occurred in three stages across 199 years.
There are gargoyles in some of the columns of the tower.
The tower has 296 or 294 steps; the seventh floor has two fewer steps on the north-​facing staircase. Prior to restoration work performed between 1990 and 2001, the tower leaned at an angle of 5.5 degrees, but the tower now leans at about 3.99 degrees. Two 70 – 79 year olds from our tour were able to climb up & down the spiral stair steps, I salute them for doing that, because I’m too chicken to do that, not only because I’ve got vertigo, but I hate steps climbing up or DOWN.
Hubby and I try to re-​create the same spot, and location as our honeymoon photo, when we first visited Italy, the only thing was now there are 20x more tourists! Back then, you can’t even go up the tower, closed for repairs. I’m older now, so history got more exciting and I understand more now than when I was a newlywed.
I will come back here again, another 40 years from now!