Leaning Tower

Pisa is only about an hour or so out of Florence on train and given it’s famous monument, we couldn’t resist. Every guide book I had read basically said the same thing: “get your picture taken holding up the tower and head back, not much else to see here.” However, when we arrived we found Pisa to be a great little town. First of all, there were not hoards of tourists blocking every road and path through the city. The street we walked to the main Duomo complex from the train station was pretty much empty, it was just us.

When we got to the complex, there were quite a few more visitors but there was also a large group of locals lounging and enjoying the warm afternoon. We got to visit the Duomo and the Medieval cemetery, both of which were amazing. It took us a while to realize that the marble floors were all grave markers and that we were walking across graves that were very old along side some that were more contemporary, even some as early as the 90s. The Church was as beautiful as any we had visited and featured the last work by Chime Bue (an early Renaissance artist) a wonderful mosaic above the altar.

After exploring these two monuments, we had some dinner. Right after we sat down for our pasta, a parade went by that turned out to be for a special annual festival that takes place in Pisa. I didn’t get any good details but I felt better knowing that people weren’t just getting all dressed up in Renaissance clothes and walking around for the tourists. The parade included a drum line that was just amazing. After making a large circle of the city they came back to the Duomo complex and finished their parade. The whole thing was kinda cool.

Afterwards we headed back and caught a train home. Overall an eventful day and I would highly recommend Pisa on any Tuscan trip.

Ciao,

Shaych

Pictures and video are posted for this trip.