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| Here you can see all four of the sacred buildings in Pisa's Campo dei Miracoli: (l to r) the Campo Santo, the Baptistry, the Duomo and the leaning bell tower |
Tuesday October 12, 2021
Today, we drive from Volterra to Lake Como. Along the way, we wanted to visit Pisa again. Pisa is a special place for me, as my Dad was there during WW II and spoke about the Campo dei Miracoli and the Leaning Tower. We had packed some food and thought we'd stop there for lunch.
Pisa was a hugely important maritime port, straddling the Arno River where it flows into the Ligurian Sea. It was/is renowned for the University of Pisa, founded in the 12th century.
The area around the Leaning Tower (Il Torre Pendente) is an open lawn - the Piazza del Duomo - often now called the Piazza dei Miracoli (miracles). A large green space, walled and protected, it contains the beautiful Duomo, Baptistry and the Campo Santo, a cloistered quadrangle which is a cemetery with legendary holy ground.
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| Many souvenir stalls line the outside the city walls which enclose the Piazza dei Miracoli. Clever how they fold into pyramids for storage. |
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| These "new" city walls were constructed in 1156. |
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| An impressive medieval gate - with many enjoying the warm sunny day on the surrounding grass. |
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| We decided to have our picnic lunch here at the corner of the Campo Santo. (It's in the grey bag!) |
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| Our lunchtime view - the little collie was very interested in what we were eating. |
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| The rest of our lunchtime view - the delicately decorated Duomo |
The Duomo's famous bell tower leans 4 degree. According to Wikipedia: "The tower began to lean during construction in the 12th century, due to soft ground which could not properly support the structure's weight, and it worsened through the completion of construction in the 14th century. By 1990, the tilt had reached 5.5 degrees. The structure was stabilized by remedial work between 1993 and 2001, which reduced the tilt to 3.97 degrees.
You can climb the tower, it has 300 steps and takes about 30 minutes. You must reserve your time with a ticket. The climb is a tight, interior spiral staircase - which makes me feel claustrophobic just thinking about it!
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| A copy of Rome's famous Romulus and Remus Capitoline Wolf statue on the Piazza del Duomo |
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| Il Angelo Caduto - The Fallen Angel |
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| Details of the Duomo facade - marble patterns, statues and drainspouts and mosaics |
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| The main door of the Duomo - bronze scenarios, marble carvings and mosaics |
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| Details of the Baptistry facade |
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