Let the count down begin

Europe, unlike, India is a continent not a country. Therefore, as vast as the sites were from region to region in India, I can imagine that there will be even more to try to soak in from country to country in Europe.

Most people know that the countries that make up Europe range from the Greece to Russia, Amsterdam to Brussels, Norway to Ireland and much, much more. With all the countries encompassed within Europe one would expect it to be extremely large, but in actuality, Europe is the second smallest continent in area, larger only than Australia. It is, however, the third largest in population.

As a side note, some Geography purists count Asia and Europe as one continent because they are one land mass (remember Eurasia from Social Studies class). If you count it from this perspective, the addition of Asia makes Eurasia the most populated and the largest. Nevertheless, categorizing Europe as just Europe is how we will concentrate our research.

Similar to our reasearch in Count Down To India, our curiosity and imagination is going to out run our ability to keep up with the research, I am sure; but as always, I will try to hit on the highlights that we are most curious about and topics that may intrigue our readers. AND try to do it all in an exciting, non-Social Studies class kind of way.

One such subject is the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Like the Taj Mahal, I have always wanted to explore this almost quirky and fascinating piece of architecture. Spring of 2012 we will get our chance, but before we depart, I thought I would find out a little bit more about this bell tower that was built on sinking sand.

THE LEANING TOWER OF PISA

Photo courtesy of TLC.COM

This Tower sits behind the Cathedral in Pisa’s Cathedral Square. It is located in Pisa, in the district of Tuscany, Italy. The most interesting fact about the tower is that it was built in three phases over 177 years (and I thought it took a long time to build the Taj Mahal). Wars, civil unrest and change in power delayed the construction.

The design of the Tower was flawed from its inception. In 1178, five years after construction had begun, the Tower began to sink as construction on the second floor began. It was built on weak, unstable subsoil with a flimsy foundation. Luckily for the endurance of the Leaning Tower, battles were waging on and off and the stalling made time for the soil to settle. If weight had continued to be piled on without the time to settle, the structure would have most likely toppled over before ever being completed.

Clocks were added and several other floors over the years. There are seven bells in the structure, one for every note of the musical major scale. The final addition was that of the bell chamber added in 1372, well after the construction of the rest of the tower was completed. Ongoing preservation takes place to maintain this historical wonder as an awe inspiring tourist attraction.   

Believe it or not, there have been structures since the erection of the Leaning Tower of Pisa that were built to lean…purposely. One such contender is the Capital Gate Building in Abu Dhabi, UAE. It is in the Guinness Book of World Records (2010) as the “World’s Furthest Leaning Man-made Tower”. I personally don’t think it should count, since it was constructed intentionally to tilt, but that’s just me. Another leaning piece of architecture is the Leaning Tower of Wanaka in New Zealand. This structure was also built with an intentional lean.

Given the above facts, I am still more intrigued by the construction, modifications and durability of a structure that was built to be perfectly vertical, sank into the ground due to poor construction and now still remains standing as historical monument for over 800 hundred years.

I have no clue what we are going to explore next in our European study. My mind is overwhelmed already by all the possibilities. Check back soon to find out where this research journey will take us next…