Today we took a train over to Pisa. I did not know much about the little city, but they say there is a tower that a lot of tourists visit. Turns out the tower is also attached to a giant cathedral complex that is also pretty cool!
Before traveling over we purchased tickets that allowed us to climb the 296 steps up to the top of the famous leaning bell tower (campanile). We had a very easy trip over, made the 20 minute walk with no trouble, and so ended up arriving a bit earlier than our assigned time. However, given that it is off season, there were much smaller crowds so we were able to get a table right under the tower. The sun was shining and it was a great excuse for a lovely cup of coffee (maybe mixed with a little sambuca…), and bit of pizza.
Look ….The Leaning Tower of Pisa with a Leaning Piece of Pizza
When our time arrived, we made the climb. It was a bizarre feeling inside trying to go around the circular staircase inside. You can totally feel the tower is leaning and at certain points it gets a little disorienting. I did not love the feeling. Once we made it to the very top level it felt very high and I don’t love heights. But the view was spectacular!
We then climbed down and walked in and around the cathedral campus. Seeing all the green grass was wonderful. It is weird that we have been living in cities for so long that I almost was used to cobblestone and pavement all around me. Being in Pisa made me realize I miss grass (and my tractor).
I joked about the tower also having a cathedral, but in all seriousness, as an art history student I had to study the Cathedral of the Assumption of Mary (Cattedrale Metropolitana Primaziale di Santa Maria Assunta) in Pisa. The associated bell tower was never the focus of our studies. And while we were on site, there was a huge class of architectural engineering students sitting in front of the huge baptistery and studying the cathedral facade with their professor. And in fact nobody was studying the tower!
Of course, as a major icon of European Travel, Tommy did a report for Nathaniel Morton Elementary School News. His focus on the engineering and physics is really cool!
P.S. we all refused to do the clichéd picture pretending to hold up the tower…
Leave a Reply