Leaning Tower of Pisa Coloring Pages

Leaning Tower of Pisa

The Leaning Tower of Pisa is a leaning tower in a town in Italy called Pisa.
It was built to be the bell tower for the big cathedral next to it.
People started building it in 1173. It took almost 200 years to finish because the work stopped many times.
It is made of white marble and has round rows of arched pillars all around it.

Why did it lean?

The tower started to lean soon after people began building it.
This happened because the ground under the tower was soft soil mixed with clay and sand.
One side of the heavy tower sank right into the ground.
At its worst, people say it leaned by more than 5 degrees.
After some repair work, it now stops leaning at about 4 degrees.

The cathedral and the tower

The first coloring page shows the Leaning Tower of Pisa and the cathedral behind it on the right.
You can see many floors of arched pillars stacked on top of each other.
The very top floor is a small room for the bells.
The second coloring page shows a close-up of the front and side walls of the cathedral, along with its round dome roof.
You can see the Leaning Tower of Pisa standing in the back on the right.

The whole square is a World Heritage Site

The open space where the Leaning Tower of Pisa stands is called Piazza del Duomo.
The whole square, with its cathedral, baptistery, Leaning Tower of Pisa, and cemetery buildings, became a World Heritage Site in 1987.
People also call it the "Square of Miracles" because of the beautiful white buildings on the green grass.

You can climb the Leaning Tower of Pisa

You can climb the spiral stairs inside the Leaning Tower of Pisa all the way to the top.
The stairs feel funny to walk on because they tilt along with the tower.
From the top, you can look out over the town of Pisa with its orange roofs and see mountains far away.
Big bells still hang on the top floor today.
Many people take pictures in the square posing like they are holding up the tower.
A lot of people love to sit on the grass around the tower and relax while looking at it.
At night, lights shine on the white tower and make it glow in the dark sky.

Leave the White Marble White

The Leaning Tower of Pisa and the cathedral are made of white marble.
Do not color everything. Leave lots of the paper white! Only put light gray or light light blue inside the arches and shadows.
This will make the white buildings look bright and shiny.

Compare the Tilt to Straight Lines

The Leaning Tower of Pisa leans, and you can tell because the buildings around it stand straight.
If you color the shadowy side of the tower a little darker, its round shape and tilt will really stand out.
Try coloring the bells at the top of the tower ocher or gold.

Green Grass and Blue Sky

Color the grass in the front with bright yellow-green and green.
If you make the sky dark blue, the white buildings will pop out clearly.
It looks nice if you color the cathedral's dome roof gray or light brown.
Put this next to the Colosseum coloring page and enjoy famous places in Italy!

The Pillars and Arches of the Cathedral

On the second picture, the cathedral has many thin pillars and arches lined up.
Color inside the arches with light gray or light light blue, and leave the pillars white. The pillars will look like they are popping out!
Sharpen your colored pencils to color the small details.
For the dome roof, make the top light and the bottom a little darker. This makes it look round!
Color the trees around it green.

The Legend of Galileo's Experiment

Pisa is the town where the scientist Galileo Galilei was born.
There is a famous story that Galileo dropped balls of different weights from the top of the Leaning Tower of Pisa to show they hit the ground at the same time.
However, no one knows for sure if he really did this experiment!

Fixing the Tower So It Won't Fall Over

As the Leaning Tower of Pisa kept leaning more and more, people worried it might fall over.
So, starting in 1990, they closed it and began work to fix it.
They carefully took out soil from under the ground on the opposite side of the lean to pull the tower back just a little bit.
Now, you can climb the Leaning Tower of Pisa again!

A Plaza Full of White Marble Buildings

All the buildings in the Piazza del Duomo are made of white marble.
The walls have gray stripes and decorations made of tiny pillars, making them look very elegant.
The green grass of the plaza, the white buildings, and the blue sky look beautiful together, so many people come to take pictures.
The Baptistery next to the plaza is a big, round building, and people say that when you speak inside, your voice echoes beautifully!