Italy, Day 10
The day after we returned from Rome, Scott and I took it easy. After three days at a break-neck pace seeing all the sights in Rome, we were tired. We slept late, did some laundry and in the afternoon headed to Pisa with my parents to pick up my sister who would be arriving at the airport later that day. Pisa is a lovely city but there's really only one major sight to see there and that is the famous Leaning Tower. The tower is actually part of a composition of three buildings begun in 1173. The Cathedral, bell tower and baptistery make up a beautifully harmonious assemblage of structures on the emerald green grass of the Campo dei Meracoli (Field of Miracles). The leaning tower aside, the buildings themselves have much architectural importance. The cathedral is a beautiful example of Romanesque architecture with a beautiful interior and a pulpit carved by Pisano. The baptistery, modeled after a Pope's hat has perfect acoustics inside. And the tower--well--leans, although originally not on purpose. The tower has now been reinforced to keep it from toppling over, but also to maintain it's signature lean. Below are some pictures.Below are photos of Pisa's Cathedral, Leaning Tower and Baptistery.
Labels: European Travel
posted by Michael @ 8:14 AM
4 Comments:
Love Pisa! I had great gelato there once. I'm so glad you're continuing to blog your trip.
I've not been to Italy since I was five, but am enjoying the virtual return trip.
Thanks for the lesson. I had no idea that there was anything really around the leaning tower. The other buildings are beautiful. Too bad they're never in any of the pix of the tower.
Talk about perfect examples of Romanesque architecture. These building are positively dripping symmetry. :) Thanks for sharing the pics.
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