Lean wit it, rock with it.
What the Leaning Tower of Pisa can teach us about embracing imperfection.
You should embrace your imperfections.
If not for self-acceptance, creative dominance.
Consider the leaning Tower of Pisa.
The original architect is one of history's great mysteries. Some believe it was the great architect Bonanno Pisano. Others believe it was the master builder Gherardo di Gherardo.
We'll just call him or her somebody.
One day, somebody had an ambitious idea for a freestanding bell tower.
This somebody laid out the design, employed a bunch of builders, laced up their boots and got to work. Unfortunately, somebody royally fucked up.
Not only did somebody build the tower atop a poor foundation, they underestimated how long the project would take.
Fast-forward 200 years, several wars and an unbelievable number of budgeting mishaps—the freestanding bell tower was finally complete.
But, there was a serious problem.
It leaned.
There are a lot of things that are designed to lean:
Dams
Ladders
A-Frames
Kickstands
However, a freestanding bell tower isn't one of them.
The history of trying to save the Leaning Tower of Pisa is as interesting as the tower itself. When construction first began, builders noticed it was off-kilter. Just three stories in, they decided to pause construction.
When the project continued, they attempted to compensate for the lean by building upper stories higher on the side the tower leaned.
Visually, it appeared to lean less.
But, this crutch didn't prevent the tower from sinking deeper into the soft clay it was built on (the very thing that caused the lean in the first place).
When Mussolini came into power, he too tried to straighten the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Apparently, the leaning monument embarrassed him.
Engineers drilled holes into the foundation of the freestanding tower and pumped it full of cement in hopes of stabilizing it.
This had the opposite effect—the added weight caused the tower to sink even further.
The solutions kept on coming:
Steel cables
Clay removal
Counterweights
Underground anchors
After Mussolini came and went—and with him his insecurity—something rather ironic happened.
Italy embraced the tower’s imperfections.
The designers, architects and engineers working to save the Leaning Tower of Pisa were no longer attempting to straighten it.
Instead, they were trying to preserve the lean without it toppling over.
Many people see the Leaning Tower of Pisa as a lesson to build on a sturdy foundation. But, I see it differently.
There are 650 freestanding bell towers across the world.
You know the name of only one.
That's because it leans at precisely 3.97 degrees.
By Cole Schafer