by Debbie Rix
Sleepily, he fingered the ruby ring he wore round his neck and a vision of the beautiful Berta floated into his mind. He thought of her as she lay dying, her hair fanned out around her like a halo of fire, and a tear rolled down his weathered cheek.
Letter from Debbie
Thanks for choosing Secrets of the Tower - I hope you enjoyed it!
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It was both a huge pleasure and a major commitment writing this book. I'm the daughter of two architects so it was especially important that I got the architectural detail right. I was also determined to get the historical backdrop as accurate as possible; there's nothing worse than finding anachronistic anomalies in a historical novel. But the major issues with this book were the same as for any novel: does the story grab you, and did you love the characters?
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Berta di Bernardo was a real person but very little is known about her, so I had carte blanche to create a character from scratch. Funnily enough, her personality took shape in my imagination very quickly. A woman who had the money and the determination to see such an historic building created was bound to be quite a strong personality. That she was beautiful - in a very Tuscan way - was a given. The other elements of her character, such as her enormous pragmatism, also seemed very clear to me. Maybe I secretly wish I could be like her! My modern character Sam was harder to find - which is odd because I had experienced much of her 'journey' myself - when my dear husband also had a stroke in Pisa whilst making a documentary about the Tower. The rest of Sam's story however is just that - a story!
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I'd be really delighted if you could find the time to write a review of the book in order that others coming after you have some idea what it's about. I'm a debut novelist so it's important that readers give me feedback! I'm already hard at work on my next novel and I hope you might take a moment to look at that and read it when it comes out.
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Thanks again and if you would like to take a look at some of the inspirational images I used whilst I was writing Secrets of the Tower then go to my website and to keep up-to-date with all my latest releases, just sign up here:
Connect with me:
@debbierix
www.debbierix.com
Postscript
It may be helpful to the reader to understand how much of this story is based on fact. Historical novels are always rooted in real events and often feature real people, but the novelist is at liberty to mix the real with the fantasy, and it can be frustrating to find yourself wondering what is fact and what is fiction.
All of the modern characters are, of course, fiction, except one. I occasionally refer to Professor John Burland of Imperial College in London. He is one of Britain’s leading civil engineers, and in the 1990s was widely credited as having stabilised the Leaning Tower, ‘saving it for the next 300 years’.
Of the medieval figures, Berta di Bernardo was a real historical figure. We know nothing about her beyond what is contained in her will, dated 5th June, 1172. In it, she is described as a ‘widow’ and a faithful servant (‘devota’) of the Opera della Primaziale di Pisa, the organisation in charge of the three magnificent ecclesiastical buildings whose construction began in the eleventh century in the Campo (‘large field’) just inside Pisa’s city walls. Written almost entirely in ecclesiastical Latin, the will says that she wishes to bequeath solidos sexaginta (‘60 coins’) specifically ‘for the stones of the campanile’, the building now known as the Leaning Tower. The will also tells us that, at the time of its drafting, she was living in premises owned by the Opera, and thus overlooking the Piazza del Duomo. She would presumably have ended her days there.
That her legacy was not only substantial, but also that she was a substantial figure in her own right, can be inferred from the fact that the chief witness to the will was no less than the notary of the Emperor Frederico himself, a man called Ugoni Belacto (sometimes referred to as Ugo). The will also contains signatures of four other witnesses, including that of Gerardo di Gerardo.
Who was Gerardo? Documents deep in the Opera’s archives list Gerardo as a lapicida, a master mason. He is also recorded as being Deotisalvi’s assistant. A lapicida is today’s equivalent of a Clerk of Works, thus ranking significantly below an architect.
So there’s something odd here. Why was Gerardo asked to be a witness at the will-signing ceremony of such a distinguished figure as Berta di Bernardo? This was the starting point for the novel.
All the other individuals I have described as connected with Berta are fictitious. She did have a husband called Calvo, but it is mere guesswork that he was a maritime trader – although that was how most wealthy Pisans made their money.
The rest of the medieval characters, however, are real historical figures, with known occupations: chief among these are Benetto Vernacci, the Operaio, or Rector of the Opera; Deotisalvi, the architect; and Bonanno Pisano, the architect/sculptor.
It was Deotisalvi who designed the splendid rotund Baptistery (the second building to be constructed on the Campo after the Duomo, the cathedral) as well as the church of San Sepulcro and the Tower of San Nicola – making him a major architectural VIP of the day. Almost as famous was Bonanno Pisano, who designed the magnificent bronze doors of the Duomo. These authorships are well established, partly through contemporary documents, but also because it as was customary for architects and sculptors to sign their work in situ. You can still see the names of Deotisalvi and Bonanno engraved on their creations today.
However, there is no signature on the Leaning Tower; what’s more, the Tower’s designer is not named in any original documents. So who was the architect of this immensely celebrated building?
Over the centuries, scholars have debated about his (obviously ‘his’!) identity. A number of candidates have been suggested, including Gerardo, Bonanno Pisano and Deotisalvi. The latter is the current favourite, but the question remains: why did such a great man choose not to put his name to the Tower?
Although there are theories, nobody has come up with a satisfactory explanation.
So the Leaning Tower of Pisa is an enigma. Here stands a remarkable construction, whose unique imperfection has made it the world’s most recognisable building, whose grace and elegance has few equals, and which attracts over a million awed visitors a year. But nobody really knows who designed it.
Timeline
1063 – Pisa raided Palermo, the capital of Saracen Sicily, and made off with galley-loads of precious cargo which funds the building of the Duomo.
1064 – Building work on the Duomo was started by architect Buscheto di Giovanni Guidice.
1081 – Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV grants Pisa full independence as a commune.
– the Pisan Republic is born.
1095 – Pisa participated in the First Crusade, with a Pisan the first to scale the walls of Jerusalem.
1111 – Pisa concludes a treaty with Byzantium, gaining free transit for Pisan trade in the Holy Land.
1118 – The Duomo was consecrated by Pope Gelasius II.
1153 – Work began on the Baptistery; designed by architect Deotisalvi.
1171 - Work ceases on the Baptistery due to lack of funds.
1172 – On January 5, Berta di Bernardo, a widow and resident of the house of dell'Opera di Santa Maria, bequeathed solidos sexaginta or ‘sixty coins’ to the Opera Campanilis petrarum Sancte Marie. This money was to be used toward the purchase of a few stones which still form the base of the bell tower today.
The legacy is witnessed by builder Gerardo di Gerardo.
1173 – August 9th: The first stones are laid on the Campanile. Records are unclear as to the architect’s identity, but possible contenders include Deotisalvi, who also designed the Baptistery, or Bonanno Pisano who was a well-known sculptor. However, modern scholars believe Deotisalvi the likeliest contender.
1178 – Work stops on the tower when it reaches only four storeys. It has already begun to lean.
1250 – Work starts again
on the Baptistery.
1272 – Work on the tower begins, now led by Giovanni di Simone and Andrea di Pisano.
1278 – Work comes to a halt once again, with the tower at seven storeys.
1350 – The Baptistery is completed.
1370 – The tower is officially completed – leaning 1.6 degrees from the vertical. Over the years the Leaning Tower becomes a worldwide tourist attraction.
1589 – Galileo, a young professor at University of Pisa, conducts experiments on falling objects, using the tower.
1838 – The Leaning Tower has become an international tourist attraction; work is done to clear the base for visitors, but this opens up an underground spring, causing the Tower to lean further.
1934 – The Tower, now tilting at the rate of about half an inch every ten years, has concrete injected into its foundations… but the lean continues.
1990 – After a medieval bell tower at Pavia collapses, the more famous Tower of Pisa is closed to the public and the bells silenced. British Professor of Soil.
Mechanics, John Burland, offers his ‘soil extraction’ technique to correct the lean.
1995 – One summer night, subsequently dubbed ‘Black September’, the tower nearly collapses while stabilising cables are installed.
1987 – The Piazza del Duomo, including the Tower, is declared a World Heritage site.
1999 – After years of bureaucratic delay, English Professor of Engineering John Burland is allowed to proceed with his ‘soil extraction’ technique. The Tower slowly starts to tilt backwards, the lean being halted at 3.9 metres from the vertical - a position which will remain stable "for the next 300 years."
2001 – June 16th: Official ceremonial opening.
- December 15 Public opening.
