Leaning Tower Of Pisa Concept And Realisation Of A Medieval Masterpiece

Through the use of images, diagrams, and detailed descriptions, this book enables readers to appreciate how the construction, design, and function of famous structures inform our understanding of societies of the past. Buildings and Landmarks of Medieval Europe: The Middle Ages Revealed makes use of significant buildings as "representative structures" to provide insight into specific cultures, historical periods, or topics of the Middle Ages. The explanations of these buildings' construction, original intended use and change over time, and design elements allow readers to better comprehend what life in European societies of the past was like, covering social, political, economic, and intellectual perspectives. Readers will be able to apply what they learn from the discussions of the structures to improve their understanding of the historical period as well as their skills of observation and assessment needed to analyze these landmark structures and draw meaningful conclusions about their context and significance. The book's supporting features—a chronology, biographical appendix, glossary, and subject index—help researchers in successfully completing their papers or projects.

'A Brief History of the Leaning Tower of Pisa' was originally written by Prof. Piero Pierotti, a professor of Art and Architectural history at the University of Pisa, who has spent a good portion of his career documenting the history and enriching the meaning of the Tower relative to contemporary issues. This history covers the 830 years since the initiation of construction in 1173 of this unique and colorful monument. From the fascinating perfection of the tower's 12th century dimensions to the haphazard, but ultimately successful, 21st century restoration, the Tower is presented as a world treasure often embroiled in misunderstanding and conflict. Professor Pierotti, the Tower's most prolific guardian, identifies the likley architect of the Tower, expands the meaning and architectural context of the Tower, develops the circumstances that led to the absurdity of the lean, and elaborates on the foibles surrounding the efforts to correct the lean, including a blunder in 1995 under the supervision of a team of world renowned experts that very nearly toppled the fragile structure. The book is illustrated with contemporary and historical graphics. This history is written by one who is uniquely qualified to interpret the importance of the Tower historically, architecturally, and culturally on both a local and international level. Professor Piero Pierotti is a docent, lecturer, instructor, author, and researcher at the University of Pisa. He is a prolific author on Italian Art and Architecture, with emphasis on civic development, medieval art, archeology and architecture, and historic personalities. He has authored two books and many related publications on the Tower of Pisa: Breve Storia Della Torre Di Pisa, Pacini Editore, 2003 Una Torre da non Salvare, Pacini Editore, 1990 A special area of research has been his discovery of the Architect of the Tower, previously surrounded in much controversy. Through his research, Prof. Pierotti has credited the 12th century architect Deotisalvi as the designer of the Tower. The professor is a recognized authority on the Tower, regularly quoted on the internet and interviewed by media such as National Public Radio, NOVA, BBC, and the New York Times. Prof. Pierooti holds the distinguished position as President of ArtWatch Italia: With permission of the author and editor, the book has now been translated from the Italian into English. Gary Feuerstein was well qualified to provide the translation as he maintains the internet's largest and most popular Leaning Tower of Pisa website. He is an architectural engineer in the US with family in Pisa, and has worked in and traveled extensively through Italy.

This two-volume encyclopedia covers buildings and sites of global significance from prehistoric times to the present day, providing students with an essential understanding of architectural development and its impact on human societies. This two-volume encyclopedia provides an in-depth look at buildings and sites of global significance throughout history. The volumes are separated into four regional sections: 1) the Americas, 2) Europe, 3) Africa and the Middle East, and 4) Asia and the Pacific. Four regional essays investigate the broader stylistic and historical contexts that describe the development of architecture through time and across the globe. Entries explore the unique importance of buildings and sites, including the megalithic wonder of Stonehenge and the imposing complex of Angkor Wat. Entries on Spanish colonial missions in the Americas and the medieval Islamic universities of the Sahara connect to broader building traditions. Other entries highlight remarkable stories of architectural achievement and memory, like those of Tuskegee University, a site hand-built by former slaves, or the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, which was built at the site of the atomic detonation. Each entry focuses on the architectural but includes strong consideration of the social impact, importance, and significance each structure has had in the past and in the present.

*Includes pictures *Includes accounts of the tower's construction *Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading It may be human nature to strive for perfection, but flaws and imperfections can bring character and create unique, unrivaled beauty in a league of its own. Old scars, burns, pockmarks, and other so-called blemishes of the like serve as reminders of disasters and adversities one has survived, no matter how grave or trivial. The uncooked macaroni shells glued to the card might be slightly askew and the glitter dispersed unevenly, but one tends not to even notice these mistakes, as they have already been won over by the endearing effort the child has put into the project. Curiously enough, as much as humans steer away from imperfection, they can be inexplicably drawn to it. In 2012, the otherwise obscure Spanish town of Borja was thrust into the global spotlight, and had gone viral overnight. A well-meaning 83-year-old widow by the name of Cecilia Gim�nez, armed with a paintbrush and a small array of poster colors, trotted up to the 82-year-old fresco in her local church named the Ecce Homo, and gave it the eye-watering restoration no one had asked for. What began as a beautiful, but somewhat faded and spotty depiction of Christ crowned with thorns and dressed in blood-red robes had become an overly-simplistic, ape-like character with misaligned eyes, a pair of dots for noses, and an unfinished gaping mouth. The Good Samaritan's masterpiece was ruthlessly ridiculed and circulated around dozens of social media and news platforms, but the embarrassment would soon prove to be sweeter than it was bitter. Thanks to the accidental publicity, over 150,000 tourists flocked to the village for a picture with the fascinating fiasco, more visitors than the "sleepy town" had seen in over a century. Perhaps the most renowned of all the perfect imperfections history has ever known is also one of the largest of its kind. Visitors can often be spotted strewn across the lush bed of grass in front of their cameras with scrunched up faces and their hands in the air as if holding up the tower, and striking other versions of the clich�d pose. This architectural conundrum-turned-iconic landmark, of course, is none other than the legendary Leaning Tower of Pisa. Unlike the Ecce Homo, visitors from near and far have been marveling at the tower for centuries, its chin-scratching admirers speculating about just how all 8 stories of the structure seem to defy gravity. The Leaning Tower of Pisa: The History and Legacy of Italy's Most Unique Building examines the origins of the fabled Meadow of Miracles and the birth of the lopsided bell tower, its 3 phases of construction, and the multiple restoration attempts to rectify its trademark tilt. Along with pictures depicting important people, places, and events, you will learn about the Leaning Tower of Pisa like never before.

This book introduces readers to the tower's history, examines why the tilt developed in the first place, and discusses the methods that have been used to stabilize the tower and keep it safe for visitors.

This book, uniquely shaped at a steep angle to reflect its subject, reveals how the campanile, or bell tower, in Pisa's Campo dei Miracoli became the iconic Tower of Pisa. Its distinctive tilt, which measured 1.6 degrees from vertical when construction was completed in 1370, has long been a mystery. The tower still stands (more than 4 meters -- or 5 degrees -- askew) in defiance of logic, gravity, & soaring odds. Envisioned as a display of wealth & power in Pisa's medieval heyday, the tower was revolutionary in its design. The tower also has a storied past associated with such notables as Galileo, Lord Byron, the Shelleys & their Romantics, & Mussolini. Encapsulates the tower's history in an entertaining & informative narrative.Ó Illus.

Today we associate the Renaissance with painting, sculpture, and architecture—the “major” arts. Yet contemporaries often held the “minor” arts—gem-studded goldwork, richly embellished armor, splendid tapestries and embroideries, music, and ephemeral multi-media spectacles—in much higher esteem. Isabella d’Este, Marchesa of Mantua, was typical of the Italian nobility: she bequeathed to her children precious stone vases mounted in gold, engraved gems, ivories, and antique bronzes and marbles; her favorite ladies-in-waiting, by contrast, received mere paintings. Renaissance patrons and observers extolled finely wrought luxury artifacts for their exquisite craftsmanship and the symbolic capital of their components; paintings and sculptures in modest materials, although discussed by some literati, were of lesser consequence. This book endeavors to return to the mainstream material long marginalized as a result of historical and ideological biases of the intervening centuries. The author analyzes how luxury arts went from being lofty markers of ascendancy and discernment in the Renaissance to being dismissed as “decorative” or “minor” arts—extravagant trinkets of the rich unworthy of the status of Art. Then, by re-examining the objects themselves and their uses in their day, she shows how sumptuous creations constructed the world and taste of Renaissance women and men.

Here is a clear and enthusiastic introduction to building methods from ancient time to the present day, illustrated throughout with line drawings. In addition, Mr. Salvadori discusses recent advances in science and technology that have had important effects on the planning and construction of buildings.

Since precious few architectural drawings and no theoretical treatises on architecture remain from the premodern Islamic world, the Timurid pattern scroll in the collection of the Topkapi Palace Museum Library is an exceedingly rich and valuable source of information. In the course of her in-depth analysis of this scroll dating from the late fifteenth or early sixteenth century, Gülru Necipoğlu throws new light on the conceptualization, recording, and transmission of architectural design in the Islamic world between the tenth and sixteenth centuries. Her text has particularly far-reaching implications for recent discussions on vision, subjectivity, and the semiotics of abstract representation. She also compares the Islamic understanding of geometry with that found in medieval Western art, making this book particularly valuable for all historians and critics of architecture. The scroll, with its 114 individual geometric patterns for wall surfaces and vaulting, is reproduced entirely in color in this elegant, large-format volume. An extensive catalogue includes illustrations showing the underlying geometries (in the form of incised “dead” drawings) from which the individual patterns are generated. An essay by Mohammad al-Asad discusses the geometry of the muqarnas and demonstrates by means of CAD drawings how one of the scroll’s patterns could be used co design a three-dimensional vault.