Get Sleepy: Sleep meditation and stories - Great Mistakes: A Leaning Tower (Premium)

Starting point is 00:00:00 Hi, Thomas here. You're listening to a preview episode. You can enjoy the entire story tonight by subscribing to our supporters' feed. There you'll get access to the entire back catalogue, bonus episodes, and more, and it's all completely ad-free. Click the link below to learn more. And thank you so so much. Me and the team really appreciate your support. Pisa is a historic city located in central Italy along the banks of the River Arno. It's a picturesque setting and the city itself boasts a air of mystery and magic, along with its old-world charm. It's an enchanting place, and the location has a rich history of inhabitation, dating as far back as the 5th century BCE. Situated within the region of Tuscany, not far from the Ligurian Sea on Italy's west

Starting point is 00:01:34 coast, its architecture bears all the hallmarks of that famous Tusccan design. Typically, homes include tiled floors, sprinkled with patterns and mosa sea, and the great rolling hills visible along the horizon. Farnishing and décor seem to bring the best of the outdoors indoors, and the result is nothing if not welcoming. The same warmth and character is visible on the outside as well. In fact, the city is crowded with tall buildings of limestone and travertine, painted various shades of beige, orange, brown and yellow. Gardens, trees and potted plants add colour and life amongst the cobbled driveways and smooth stone streets.

Starting point is 00:03:10 Even the window shutters throughout the city display cheerful hues of grassy green. It is also a city of wrought-eying gates and balconies, patios and fountains, with no fewer than 20 historic churches and several medieval palaces. Of course, none are as well known as the leaning tower and surrounding cathedral complex. It's easy to see why. Amidst a sea of terracotta roofs, one cannot help but be drawn to this patch of white marble elegance and the tower that currently tilts at an angle of just under four degrees. For all its beauty, it's interesting that this wonderful city should perhaps be best known for a single historical mishap. Standing atop a square of brilliant emerald green grass, the tower is a cylinder

Starting point is 00:04:38 encircled by row upon row of elegant white pillars. row of elegant white pillars. Stretching upwards towards the sky, the uppermost story narrows in, revealing large arched windows, adorned with huge bronze bells. At its very top, the red and white flag of Pisa blows in the breeze, displaying the piecing cross, a coat of arms dating back to the 11th century. Needless to say, that when work began in 1173, it certainly wasn't anyone's intention to build it at such a precar 180 ft, free-standing bell tower. It was meant as the third and final building of the complex, which also included the cathedral, built between 1063 and 1180 and the Baptist tree Tree constructed between 1153 and 1363. Around this time, the Republic of Pisa was a major trading power and one of the richest

Starting point is 00:06:22 cities in the world. These striking buildings were to signify the wealth and prosperity of the town, as much as they were to be places of worship. As such, the architect designed a building that would be perfectly vertical. And it was, right up until the first floor was completed.

Get Sleepy: Sleep meditation and stories - Great Mistakes: A Leaning Tower (Premium)

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