The Leaning Tower of Pisa is a freestanding bell tower located in the city of Pisa in Italy. Like its name suggest, it actually does lean to one side. The tower started to lean during construction because the foundation was built on soft ground that had difficulty supporting the weight.he tower weighs about 14,500 tons. That's a lot of weight for a building to have to support when it has been leaning since it was built. There are approximately 294 steps on the north side and 296 steps on the south side of the tower. The Leaning Tower of Pisa took 344 years to build, beginning in August 1173.