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Santa Trinita, on the Oltrarno side of the Ponte Vecchio, contains frescos by the brilliant and weird mannerist painter, Pontormo, which are to your immediate right when entering.

San Miniato al Monte, uphill from Piazzale Michelangelo, contains a chapel with frescoes by Spinello Aretino. On the cemetry near this church there are graves of famous people of Florence, including Carlo Lorenzi (Collodi) - author of the famous Pinocchio.

A small collection of images of Pisa and Florence.  Soon new images.

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The central shopping area is centered around the Corso Italia, between the railway station and the Ponte di Mezzo (the central bridge) and also in the Via Borgo Stretto, north of the bridge. However, many specialized shops are sprinkled around the city, for example in Via San Martino near Corso Italia.

The area around the leaning tower is geared toward tourists: There are lots of small souvenir kiosks, stands and “flying merchants”, selling all kinds of souvenirs from small statues to hour-glasses - of course the general motif is the leaning tower!

Beware: you can’t buy from one of the “flying merchant” that sell fake replicas. They are very persuasive and if you buy anything you must haggle - they’ll drop their prices significantly.

Every two weeks there is a bazaar with quite cheap books, records and old household items.

And don’t forget to try some of Pisa’s famous Biscotti (cookies). Bakeries all through town will sell multiple varieties, for a low price.

Pisa has regular trains to and from Florence (usually three per hour), to and from Lucca (usually every hour) and is also accessible by bus, and has an international airport.

Also there are trains from La Spezia and Genova.

Pisa Airport “Galileo Galilei” is the main airport of Tuscany and is served by several airlines operating hundreds of weekly flights to national and international destinations. Numerous companies offer charter flights to and from a number of European and non-European destinations. Flying to Pisa is really cheap and easy: the most recognized low-cost airlines serve Pisa. The airport is close to the city center - it takes only a few minutes to reach the center by bus, train or taxi. It is even possible to walk to the center, which takes around 20 minutes.

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Museo delle Sinopie over by many visitors, this museum is a treat for art lovers. After WWII many of the surviving murals and pieces of murals from Pisa’s Campo Santo were detached from the walls to try to preserve them. It was unexpectedly discovered that the artist sketches underneath survived. These were moved to this museum.

Museo del Opera del Duomo has sculptures and paintings formerly preserved in the Cathedral and the cemetery. Some of the more unusual are bronze griffins from Syria captured by the Crusaders.

Santa Maria della Spina, on Lungarno Gambacorti, a very small Gothic church built in 1230 to house a thorn from Jesus’s crown, it’s considered one of the best expressions of Italian gothic. It is so small it moved from the river of the Arno, in 1800, to a place some meters above, one stone at time, to protect it from flooding. Usually it’s not open to the public

Chiesa di Santo Stefano, designed by Giorgio Vasari in the XVI century for the Ordine dei Cavalieri di Santo Stefano (Order of Chivalry of Saint Stephan), a chivalry order founded to fight piracy in 1561.

Campo Santo Monumentale

(Cemetery) a huge cemetery building with lots of interesting art, including a collection of ancient Roman sarcophagi and splendid medieval frescoes by the “Master of the Triumph of Death”.

Battistero (Baptistry) large round Romanesque dome with many sculptured decorations and a fine view up top; climb this if you want a great view with the Leaning Tower visible in your photos. Arabic-style pavement, pulpit by Nicola Pisano (father of Giovanni), and fine octagonal font. At regular intervals, the ticket-checker-guard at the entrance comes into the baptistery and gives an audio-treat of echo-effect. The guard shouts out few sounds which when echoed sound like pure beautiful music. Do not miss it. You can also cast your inhibitions to the wind, stand by the wall, and sing long notes that turn into chords by yourself, as the echoes go round and round the dome of the building.

Duomo di Pisa, (Cathedral of Pisa) the splendid cathedral, contains artwork by Giambologna, Della Robbia, and other major artists. Fine Romanesque style with double aisles and a cupola, a huge apse mosaic partly by Cimabue, and a fine pulpit by Giovanni Pisano in late Gothic / early Renaissance style.

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