Pisa

After travelling for one hour and a half along the highway we found ourselves in Pisa. Like in Florence, in Pisa the greater part of the old city is ZTL protected. We left the car near the city on the parking lot which we had found beforehand.

In 11^th-13^th centuries Pisa was the most powerful city in Tuscany. Maritime trade with Spain and North Africa provided the city’s power and influence in the region. This gave the possibility to construct such magnificent buildings as Duomo. But later Pisa stopped developing as a result of diminished flow of the River Arno and continued wars with Florence.

As soon as you approach the old city you will see the upper part of the famous leaning tower of Pisa. When I saw it I felt like I was going to face something beautiful, outstanding and unusual. I believe everybody has such a feeling when seeing the tower.

The upper part of the famous leaning tower of Pisa

I saw photos of Pisa and the tower of Pisa thousands of times but every single minute you spend on the Field of Miracles right near the tower is worth a thousand pictures. The tower of Pisa is undoubtedly the most well-known construction. But you should take into account that it is only a part of the complex “The Field of Miracles” (“Campo di Miracoli”). The other parts of the complex are Duomo, Babtistery and the Camposanto Monumentale (the monumental cemetery).

There is the entrance fee to all the attractions. Climbing to the top of the tower is the most expensive attraction and costs 15 euro per person. The entrance fee to Duomo and Baptistery is 7 euro and the entrance fee only to Duomo is 2 euro. We chose visiting Duomo and Baptistery. Frankly speaking, I wish we climbed the tower. But what I wish more is that we attended the Baptistery.

The Duomo’s magnificent exterior impresses with its white marble and statues. The interior is great too with its wall paintings and golden ceiling. The same cannot be said of the Baptistery which is beautiful outside and nearly empty inside.

One of the major attractions on “The Field of Miracles” is undoubtedly the game called “Catch the Tower”. By the way that guy was the first who started to play it. At home I had been laughing at the sight of the game but on “The Field of Miracles” I took part in it and even liked it.

Everywhere around the field you will find numerous stalls offering the widest choice of souvenirs the most popular of which is of course a replica of the tower.

“The Field of Miracles”

I am sure that apart from the tower, Duomo and the whole Field of Miracles you can see plenty of exciting places. Every time I was looking through my reports of Pisa I wished we had found more time for it. But that day due to a lack of time, after we got an eyeful of the tower we made our way to the church Santa Maria della Spina which I found beautiful and very interesting.

The church is famous for the Spina, a thorn of the Christ’s crown which according to the legend is in the church. The church is located on the bank of the river Arno. We didn’t enter the church but just walked around it for a few minutes enjoying the architecture, the river Arno and the neighbouring houses. Hope you will like my photos of Pisa.

After that we walked again through the Field of Miracles, said goodbye to Pisa and made our way to San Gimignano.