SATURDAY AUGUST 21, 1847
A Report on the Earthquake in Pisa of July 18, 1847 and Collapse of the Leaning Tower
An Account Reported in the Odd-Fellows Family Companion, but Wholly Inaccurate
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FALL OF THE LEANING TOWER OF PISA
The Colonist, a paper published at Toronto, Canada West, gives the following account of the fall of the celebrated Leaning Tower of Pisa. The occurrence has not been mentioned in any foreign paper that has come under our notice. The narrative of the event is in the form of a letter received by Mr. JOHN DUGGAN, of Toronto, from a friend now traveling, and is dated at Paris, July 1st. The building to which the extract refers was called the Campanile, and formed the Belfry of ( the Duomo or Cathedral, a Gothic edifice at Pisa, and was known to most Europeans as the "Leaning Tower of Pisa." It was finished in 1174, and was about 190 feet high, and 12 feet out of the perpendicular this beautiful edifice was adorned with morre than 200 columns of granite and other marbles; the ascent. to the top was easy, and the view extensive. The letter says: “I was fortunate enough to be at Pisa during the earthquake on the 18th of July, which I would not have missed for the world. I was an eye witness. I hasten to communicate the description, so far as my scribbling powers will permit me. Were I to commence by telling you that the Tower of Pisa had fallen to the ground, you would no doubt consider it a hoax, I was myself present within ten minutes or a quarter of an hour after the catastrophe. I had put up on the evening of the 17th at the Dongella, which you may recollect, is situated on the Arno, kept by Mons. Deverarde, when about 7 o'clock in the morning of the 18th I was suddenly awakened by shouts from the streets. I immediately dressed and repaired to the place of confusion, where all Pisa seemed to have been collected. The crowd was Immense. The Campanile, or Leaning Tower, which had been much shaken by the earthquake in September last, and which had stood the siege of time since 1174, has now become, I may say, almost a total ruin, having fallen to the southward, reaching nearly to the Strada across the green. Strange to say, the upper portion is comparatively little shattered, having been so admirably clamped with iron. The center is a completely mutilated ruin, from the extreme weight of the superstructure -which remained whole. The marble pillars, of which there were nearly two hundred, were very much shattered, though some of these from the extreme top were but lightly injured, fortunately the bronze doors, which were brought from Jerusalem, are uninjured - the Tower, up to the first landing, (about 20 feet) remaining immovable, so that, as it now stands, the great secret of whether the building was purposely constructed 12 feet out of the perpendicular or not still remains a mystery. It is proposed to deposit the piIlars on the 'Campo Santo' until the Government takes some steps as to what is best to be done; the marble pillars are very valuable. I left for Leghorn on the 20th, where 1 took the steamer Ercolano for Marseilles, where I remained one day, and then proceeded to Paris, where I arrived two days since. I can hardly tell you how proud I feel at being the first to bring the news to Paris. No doubt you will see many garbled accounts of the destruction of this wonder of art, and though my account has not been so descriptive as I could wish, you will at least have it in your power to contradict any misstatements made in your papers. There were no lives lost. You may recollect that the Tower stood on the green and no houses within reach on the leaning or south side; the height was 180 feet only. Reports were current in Leghorn that the Duomo, or Cathedral, had suffered, but this is wholly incorrect. |
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