Pisa short city tour
The leaning tower is surely the most important monument in Pisa. But Pisa is not only Field of Miracles…
- The Piazza dei Miracoli or Field of Miracles is to the north of central Pisa. It’s an UNESCO World Heritage site and contains the city’s most famous sights:
- Torre Pendente (Leanig Tower): The structure was originally conceived as the cathedral’s bell tower. Construction began in 1173 and the tower started leaning soon afterwards due to subsidence of the ground underneath its base. A project to keep the tower from leaning more and tipping over finally reached a successful conclusion in 2001, and the tower is again open to those wishing to climb it. Climbing the tower requires a reservation-based ticket for 15 Euro. Expect 45 minutes to 2 hours wait, but there is a lot to see while you wait. It is better if you buy tickets online for 17 Euro well in advance at. Warning, the tickets are non-exchangeable, effectively non-refundable, and only good for the Torre, so they’re a bit of a risk to purchase in advance. Make the effort to climb, though, and you’ll be rewarded by the view.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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”.
- 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.
- Museo delle Sinopie Skipped 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.
Piazza dei Cavalieri a small town square with many historical buildings that hosted the political powers of the city in the middle ages and Renaissance, but
most of them are not accessible to tourists, as they are now property of the University of Pisa or Scuola Normale Superiore (a prestigious elitary school).
