Was the Leaning Tower of Pisa an architectural failure?

When I was a child, I thought the Leaning Tower of Pisa was beautiful. What a masterpiece, how original… Magnificent! It made me proud to know that she was Italian like me, visited and admired all over the world .

Then as a boy I saw it (it’s really crooked), but every time I mentioned it to a Tuscan they all started sneering. Oh dear . The people of Livorno and Florence in particular were the most ferocious with swear words: “there’s nothing more ridiculous in the world!”, “that tower is a fool’s errand!”, “the city is crooked! “ etc etc, with untranslatable speeches that ended with the inevitable “Pisa is shit” .

My childhood certainties quickly vanished. Soon I stopped talking about them. I thought with dismay that the world I was discovering was very different and more “crooked” than the one I had imagined. I know that disappointments must be accepted. It’s reality, it’s the world we live in.

Even today, when I see her, I’m moved and could spend hours admiring her. I still find her beautiful. However, the more time passes, the more crooked we both become.