[ 06.2016 | Pisa ]

on my way home from my road­trip through Italy in 2014, I drove by Pisa. and turn­ed round and went right into it to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa. the free­stand­ing bell tower of the city’s cathe­dral is known for its un­intend­ed tilt. after the cathe­dral and the baptis­tery, the ‘torre pendente di Pisa’ is the third oldest structure at the ‘Campo dei Miracoli’ (= ‘Field of Mira­cles’). its cons­truc­tion began in 1173 but wasn’t finished until 1399. its ori­ginal height was 60m; today the tower measures 56.67m on its highest side and 55.86m on its lowest. its tilt already began during cons­truc­tion, due to an error in the foun­da­tion, and has grad­ually increased since. before the res­tora­tion work that started in 1990, it leaned at an angle of about 10degrees. the tilt is said to have been reduced to an angle of 5.5degrees.

a gonio­meter is an instru­ment to measure an angle for e.g. rotat­ing an object to a pre­cise angular posi­tion. its name comes from two Greek words: gōnia (= angle) and metron (= measure). invent­ed in 1900 by the American geo­logy profes­sor Samuel Lewis Penfield, the gonio­meter is used in various profes­sions, including physio­therapy. measur­ing the world. complexity.

sources: towerofpisa.org | leaningtowerofpisa.net | americanhistory.si.edu