1. Basilica of Santa Maria Novella and the Leaning Tower of Pisa

2. Basilica of Santa Maria Novella  Located: across from the main train station in Florence, Italy  First great Basilica of Florence Florence’s principal Dominican- order church. Within it are many little chapels such as the Rucellai Chapel, Bardi Chapel, and Gondi Chapel. These little Chapels store art, commemorate artists, and are used as memorials for donors to the church during its construction.

3. Basilica of Santa Maria Novella  Construction Started in 1279 and it was consecrated in 1420  Its called Santa Maria Novella (new) because it was built on top of the Santa Maria delle Vigne.  When the Dominican Order was assigned to this site in 1221, they decided to create a new church and cloister.

4. Basilica of Santa Maria Novella  It was designed by two Dominican Friars, Fra Sisto Fiorentino and Fra Ristoro da Campi  It is a Gothic Renaissance style church  In 1456, Leone Battista Alberti was charged with designing the upper facade of the church. He wanted to bring humanist archituture and detailing to the church, and did so while maintaining harmony with the pre-existing gothic design

5. Basilica of Santa Maria Novella

6.  Its vast interior is based on a basilica plan and divided into a nave with two aisles, stained glass windows, and a transept.  The nave is 100 meters long and feels austere  The ceiling is pointed arches and four diagonal buttresses in black and white  Also there are Corinthian Columns supporting the arches

7. Basilica of Santa Maria Novella  The church, cloister, and chapterhouse store arts, treasures, and funerary monuments  There are frescoes by masters of Gothic and early Renaissance artists stored there.  The storages were financed by important Florentine families who, by giving, insured themselves funerary monuments on the consecrated site.

8. Leaning Tower of Pisa

9.  The freestanding bell tower of the cathedral of Pisa  Unintended leaning to one side  183.27 feet tall on the low side, 185.93 feet tall on the high side  Currently leaning at about 4 degrees  Reopened to the public in 2001

10. Leaning Tower of Pisa  No one knows for sure who the architect behind the Tower is. Theories include Guglielmo, Bonanno Pisano, and Diotisalvi.  Construction occurred in three stages over 199 years. Ground work began in 1173. By the time construction started on the second floor, the tower already had begun to sink. Before the third phase started, there were battles with other cities which allowed the soil to settle while everyone was fighting. If there wasn’t fighting, it is almost certain the tower would have toppled.

11. Leaning Tower of Pisa  In 1272, construction started back up again under Giovanni di Simone.  To compensate for the already evident tilt, the engineers built one side higher than the other, creating a curve in the actual architecture of the building.  In 1319, the 7 th floor was finally finished by Tommaso di Andrea Pisano, who harmonized the gothic bell chamber, finished in 1372, with the Romanesque tower.

12. Leaning Tower of Pisa  Legend has it Galileo Galilei dropped two cannonballs, of different weights, off the top of the tower to show that gravity acted the same on objects regardless of their masses.  In World War II, the Germans were using the tower as an observation tower. A U.S. sergeant sent to confirm the German presence was impressed by the beauty of the tower and cathedral and refrained from telling the Army and prevented it from being destroyed in the war.

13. Leaning Tower of Pisa  In 1964 the Italian Government asked for help in preventing the tower from toppling over, but retain its tilt so that tourists would still want to come and visit  A task force of engineers, mathematicians, and historians from all over the world met to find a method to stabilize it.

14. Leaning Tower of Pisa  First, they added nearly 800 tons of lead weights to the raised side as counterweights.  In 1990, the tower was officially closed to the public

15. Leaning Tower of Pisa  Starting in 1990, the engineers began their plan. They removed bells from the bell tower, added anchored cables to the third floor, and removed 38 cubic meters of soil from under the raised side. This straightened the tower by 17.7 inches. After a decade of work, the tower was reopened to the public on December 15 th, 2001.

16. Leaning Tower of Pisa  In May 2008, after the removal of another 70 tons of the ground, the tower had stopped moving. It is expected to be stable for the next 200 years.