比萨斜塔是意大利着名的文化遗产，它是比萨中央教堂广场的一个组成部分 (教堂的一个钟楼) 。这个广场有四件中世纪的建筑杰作，那就是大教堂、洗礼室、钟楼和墓地，这些建筑对意大利11世纪到14世纪间的科学文化艺术都产生了重要影响。
比萨斜塔高54.5米，是一个 8层圆柱形建筑。初建于1174年，在兴建第三层时便出现了倾斜现象，被迫停建达一个世纪之久，尔后继续施工，至1350年建成时，塔顶中心点即偏离垂直中心线 2.1米。钟楼建筑以罗马式建筑为范本，吸取了拜占庭、伊斯兰教的一些建筑风格。斜塔从上到下，外围有 8重拱形券门，底层15根圆柱，中间 6层各3l根圆柱，顶层12根圆柱，合计共有 213个拱形券门。全部采用大理石，全塔重达1.42万吨，塔内有螺旋状楼梯 294级，盘旋而上可到塔顶，顶层可眺望比萨城的全景。传说出生在比萨的意大利物理学家伽利略曾在斜塔顶层做了自由落体实验，使这座斜塔更加有了知名度。
斜塔建成后的几个世纪里，几乎每年都有一点倾斜。为了使这座世界闻名的历史建筑物免坍塌之厄运，1990年后曾一度停止接待游客。意大利政府拨出巨资进行维护加固，还多次出高价请各国专家帮助解决改斜归正的问题，取得较好的效果，1993年底斜塔向北矫正了34毫米。后来又恢复了参观，但不让游客登塔。
1987年斜塔和比萨大教堂建筑群一起，被列入世界文化遗产名录。
The Leaning Tower of Pisa (Italian： Torre di Pisa) is the campanilecampanile n.钟楼， 钟塔， or bell tower， for the Italian city of Pisa，s cathedral， located in the Campo dei Miracoli. The tower was intended to stand verticallyvertically adv.垂直地， but began leaning soon after construction started in August 1173. Since then， the Tower of Pisa has become a wellknown Italian landmark and is generally recognized around the world.
The height of the tower is 55 metres from the ground. Its weight is estimated at 14，453 tonnes. The current inclinationinclination n.倾斜， 弯曲， 倾度， 倾向， 爱好 is about ten percent. The tower has 296 steps.
History
The construction of the Tower of Pisa began on August 9， 1173 and continued for two centuries. After the third floor was built in 1178， the tower acquired a leanlean n.倾斜， 倾斜度， 倚靠， 倾向 adj.瘦的， 贫乏的， 歉收的 vi.倚靠， 倾斜， 依赖， 倾向， 偏向 vt.使倾斜 and construction ceased for a century. In 1272， another four floors were built at an angle to compensate for the tilt. Construction again stopped in 1301 and only in 1372 was the last floor built and the bell installed.
At the height of its construction， Pisa was the center of a prosperous sailing citystate that had conquered many lands abroad. Their only main rivalrival n.竞争者， 对手 v.竞争， 对抗， 相匹敌 in the area was the citystate of Florence. So the citizens of Pisa decided to build a grand bell tower to demonstrate their strength and prowess in 1173.
Construction of the entire tower took several hundred years. A few wars in between stopped work for large stretches at a time. Within a decade of slow work (comprising of only the first three floors) it became rather obvious that the tower was leaning off the vertical. Before the Pisans could do anything about it they were in the thick of battle with Florence. By the time they finished the tower it was leaning quite heavily.
Over the years， many different groups have attempted to fix the leaning tower. Unfortunately， most of those attempts actually worsened the situation (like Mussolini，s addition of concrete to the base). During World War II， the American Army almost demolisheddemolish vt.毁坏， 破坏， 推翻， 粉碎 the tower in order to eliminate the threat of snipers.
The tower continued to lean and the results of surveys and tests carried out in the 1990s suggested that it would collapse by the middle of the 21st century. Attempts to prevent further leaning failed and in fact made the situation worse.
The English engineerengineer n.工程师， 技师， 火车司机， 轮机员， 工兵 John Burland came up with a unique solution. His idea was to extract sandy soil from underneath one side of the tower and this， he believed， would reduce the angleangle n.［数］角， 角落 vi.钓鱼， 追逐 of lean. His idea included the use of special drills to slowly remove soil whilst steel cables held the tower just in case the extraction failed and it began to collapse. Work began in 1998 and the system slowly worked the lean was reduced to the same angle as it was in 1838 (this took over two years).
The Tower Today
Today， the Leaning Tower of Pisa has finally been reopened to the public after extensive reconstruction work of the soils immediately beneath the tower. The Tower is now considered safe for visitors.
As a bell tower， it is probably one of the most ornateornate adj.装饰的， 华丽的， (文体)绚丽的 structures built to only hold seven bells. The entire structure is made of stone that has a very soft color and texture. It is easily recognized by the extensive pillarwork along most of its height that allow for a completely openair tower.
The Leaning Tower is not built perfectly straight. In midconstruction the builders attempted to “straighten” the tower by continuing construction at a slight angle toward the vertical. The change is barely noticeablenoticeable adj.显而易见的， 值得注意的 to the eye.
When visiting the Tower， you，ll most likely want to make it just a morning or afternoon tour. There，s no need to stay in the area.
