Although I had a strong desire and a wish to visit both Siena and Pisa during the visit to Firenze, as the travel dates were approaching I realized that this idea might not be the best one.
We did have a flexible schedule, but I didn’t want to stress with more traveling within the travel itself, so form the list of two destinations, it went to only one – Pisa.
Situated 88 kilometers west of Firenze, on the river Arno, Pisa is easy reachable with fast trains for a 10 euro one-way ticket. Easy and simple with several departures per day it’s a perfect one day getaway destination wherever you’re staying in the near; Firenze, Siena, Livorno and even Bologna.
Although the city is worldwide known for its leaning tower, it’s actually a student city. Pisa is a home to University of Pisa established in mid 14th century and Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa, founded by Napoleon in 1810.
However, there are few that bothers with that info. Students. The tourist visits are destined for something else. Around five million tourists travel to Pisa each year to do a silly selfie with the 14th century bell tower of the Cathedral. We, or should I say, my other half, was no exemption.
The famous bell tower or leaning tower of Pisa is part of one of the finest architectural complexes in the world.
The cathedral complex named Piazza del Duomo is dominated by four religious buildings: the Cathedral, Baptistery, Campanile, and Camposanto Monumentale or Monumental Cemetery.
Partly paved and partly grassed, the complex is also the site of the Ospedale Nuovo di Santo Spirito (New Hospital of the Holy Spirit), that houses the Sinopias Museum and the Cathedral Museum.
Closed during our visit, the Baptistery of St. John is considered to be the largest baptistery in Italy, being 54.86 m high, with a diameter of 34.13 m.
The youngest of the structures in the Piazza is the famous leaning tower.
If you ever find yourself in Pisa, do not think a second about visiting the tower, because the feeling of being sober but standing drunk tilted to one side is worth the wait and the price of the entry ticket 🙂
After a visit to the cathedral complex, there was only few thing left; another church, lunch and gelato : )
Although the complex in the Piazza del Duomo is the most visited religious buildings destination, Pisa has over twenty churches, all worth the visit but not the time. However the one that caught my attention was Chiesa di Santa Maria della Spina.
The small church standing on the river was erected around 1230 in the Pisan Gothic style.
On the way back to the station we found a decent trattoria for a lunch before heading back to Firenze for a dinner 🙂
The restaurant had several lunch options and decent prices so it was a perfect choice.
If I had to summaries the food experience in Pisa that would be; delicious! But, we haven’t had bad food in Italy. Never. Maybe better in some locations and fantastic in others.