Pisa: Not Just the Leaning Tower

After déjà vu visits to Florence and Siena, I was excited about my first ever visit to Pisa. I always associated the city with its Leaning Tower. I remember learning that Galileo Galilei (1564-16442) dropped some balls from the top of the tower as part of a scientific experiment, but that’s about all I knew about Pisa until recently. However, I did a little research before this trip and learned that in earlier times, Pisa was located on the Mediterranean coast and was one of Italy’s four great Medieval maritime republics, along with Genoa, Amalfi, and Venice. Between the 11^th and 13^thcenturies, it dominated Mediterranean trade. It grew wealthy from its commercial activities and its participation in the Crusades. Its decline started in the late 1200s when it suffered defeats at the hands of rival cities such as Genoa, Florence, and Lucca. Pisa finally lost its independence when it was conquered by Florence in 1406. 

 

Due to a gradual build-up of silt, Pisa stopped being a coastal city around 1500. Today, it is located on the Arno River a little less than 10 miles from the Mediterranean coast. If you look at the map below, you’ll see that it’s not far from Florence and our base in Montecatini.  

 

On the 45-minute bus ride to Pisa, Lodo told us about Pisa’s more recent history. Much of the city was destroyed by Allied bombing during World War 2. The reason it was targeted during the period of Nazi occupation is because it was located on a major rail line. Fortunately, the historic part of the city, encircled by medieval stone walls, remained intact. 

 

Within the walls is the heart of Pisa’s historic district, the beautiful Piazza dei Miracoli (Plaza of Miracles). Most of Pisa’s historic buildings, including the Leaning Tower, are located in this main square. When I first caught a glimpse of the tower, it didn’t seem real. I could hardly believe that I could walk right up to it. 

Our local guide, Massimo, told us that construction of the tower began in 1173 and continued for two centuries. By the time the 4^th level of the tower was being built, the structure began to sink. Construction temporarily stopped at several times due to wars and financial difficulties as well as the need to allow the soft soil to settle. Levels five, six, and seven were added at a later time. It was important for the top section to be level because it contained the bells. The tower was completed in 1372. Currently, it tilts about 5 degrees. Walking around the piazza, I could see that the tilt looked different from different angles. 

According to Massimo, the tower tilts because of its shallow foundation and the soil composition. One side of the tower rests on sandy marine clay, that compresses unevenly while the other side sits on standard sand and gravel, which is firmer. Over the centuries, there have been several attempts to straighten the tilt of the tower. Most recently, in 1990, engineers tried pulling it straighter with cables but this was unsuccessful. But don’t worry about the tower falling down any time soon. Engineers say it will be safe for another 200 years. 

 

The Leaning Tower is actually the bell tower of the cathedral that stands a short distance away.  Construction of the cathedral began in 1063. The style, called Pisan Romanesque, blends elements of classical, Byzantine, and Islamic architecture. The building was enlarged in the 12^th century and the marble façade was added, with many of the stones recycled from earlier Roman buildings. 

After a fire damaged the building in 1597, the ruling Medici family paid to restore the cathedral in the Baroque style. The cathedral doors date back to this period. I noticed the beautiful mosaic above the main door.

The interior of the cathedral clearly shows Byzantine influence, especially in the mosaics and the use of gold. While some of the large paintings portray religious subjects, others tell the history of the Republic of Pisa. 

Massimo called our attention to the dome, which is oval, not round.

 

Galileo also performed an experiment in the cathedral. You can see a replica of the chandelier he used to develop his theory of a pendulum’s motion. 

 

A side chapel is devoted to Saint Ranieri, patron saint of Pisa. 

 

Next we visited the Baptistery, which is still used once a month for baptisms. The round building was heavily damaged during World War 2 and required extensive restoration. Its stained glass windows are new. 

It was fascinating to hear from Massimo about the possible Jewish influence on the Pisan baptismal tradition. For example, baptism used to be for teenagers rather than babies, perhaps a reference to the Jewish Bar Mitzvah ceremony. There was symbolism involved in tradition of the individual to be baptized entering the round building on the west side (from darkness) and exiting through the east side (into enlightenment) after being baptized in a pool of water. An additional Jewish influence was having an upper gallery where women were seated. I also learned from Massimo that although Pisa had a Jewish community, there was no separate Jewish district and the old Jewish cemetery was located within the main piazza. 

 

Outside the piazza are the usual restaurants and shops catering to tourists. 

Our group walked to Osteria i Santi (The Saints’ Tavern) where the food was excellent and the décor, with its irreverent depictions of saints, was quite unusual. That’s Saint Sebastian in the painting.

After lunch, we had time to continue exploring on our own. I walked back to the piazza but passed up a chance to climb the 297 steps up to the top of the tower. I’m glad a couple of members of my group who were feeling more energetic were willing to share a few of the photos they took.

I chose to visit the Camposanto Monumentale, or Monumental Cemetery, a large cloistered burial ground that extends along the northern edge of the Piazza dei Miracoli.

The cloister, built in 1277, contains a large collection of ancient Roman sarcophagi that were re-used during the Middle Ages. 

 

The oldest sarcophagus actually comes from ancient Greece.

 

The walls of the cloister are covered with medieval frescoes from the 14^th century. The lead framing of the building’s wooden roof melted during the World War 2 bombing and damaged the frescoes. Many are still being restored. One of the most well known is called The Triumph of Death, which was supposedly inspired by Dante’s Divine Comedy. Here are a few of the scenes. 

Biblical figures and stories (Adam and Eve, Noah, Abraham, Joseph, the tower of Babel, etc.) are the subject of several other frescoes. 

I was particularly struck by this late 14^th century fresco. According to the accompanying description, it is a portrayal of cosmogony (the creation of the world), according to Christian theology. The model of the universe shows the Earth at the center, surrounded by 24 concentric rings. The innermost rings represent the elements (water, air, and fire), then the sun, the moon, and the planets that were known at the time. Rings that are further out feature the 12 signs of the zodiac. The outermost rings represent angels and saints. Christ appears at the very top. 

 

We had a very full day in Pisa but I managed to save some energy for a special evening activity in Montecatini. Several of us attended a concert of opera arias at the Tettuccio Spa. We enjoyed a thrilling performance by three talented singers in an unforgettable setting.

I'd like to thank the member of my group (who had a better seat) for the following picture of the performers.  

 

It was late when we returned to the hotel and I went to sleep right away. In less than 12 hours, we’d be visiting Lucca, another Tuscan city that I'd never seen before. 

Florence: Then and Now

As the day of our group visit to Florence approached, I couldn’t help thinking back to my first visit to this Tuscan city in the early 1970s, long before mass tourism became a global phenomenon. 

 

It was April, 1971. I was 20 years old, a junior in college, spending a semester studying in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was my first trip to Europe. I’d been here since January and the winter months had been dismal – gray, chilly, and damp. I was desperate for sunshine, warmth, and green vegetables – anything other than potatoes! When there was a two-week spring break for the Easter holiday, a few of my American classmates and I decided to take the train to Italy. 

 

Rome seemed overwhelming, so after a few days, I hopped on a train to Florence where it was easy to find a cheap pensione near the station. I met up with some of my classmates who were already here. They introduced me to a group of young Italians they’d befriended. 

 

One of the few photos I have from this trip shows me sitting on the steps of the Duomo wearing a peasant blouse I sewed myself and a pair of bell bottom blue jeans. Beside me is a scruffy, bearded Italian student named Roberto. He spoke no English and I spoke no Italian but when verbal communication was necessary over the following days, our shared knowledge of French sufficed.

 

I didn’t come to Italy to delve into history or Renaissance art. I didn’t visit the Uffizi Galleries or the Accademia. Instead, I learned the layout of the city by walking for hours during the day and when night fell. Now that Easter was over, the city was quiet. With my new Italian companions, I discovered gelato at Vivoli. Dinner was half portions of spaghetti Bolognese in cheap restaurants so I could save my lira. Somehow, though, I managed to buy a gold and coral ring at a jewelry shop on the Ponte Vecchio. 

 

Sometimes we crossed the river and went up to Belvedere, the Medici fortress on the highest hill of the Boboli Gardens. From here, we could look down on the landmarks of the city. More importantly, here, we were in our own private world. 

 

That Florence no longer exists, except in my memory. 

 

In October, 2010, I returned to Florence with my husband, Elliott. I was eager to show him the sights of the city, including its art treasures. By this time, tourism worldwide had exploded. I expected Florence to be crowded but the reality of it was a shock. 

 

Unlike in 1971, I have plenty of photos to document our adventures. We stayed in a nice hotel near Santa Maria Novella and ate in good restaurants. 

We visited the Uffizi where I sought out my favorite Botticelli paintings. We marveled at the original statue of Michelangelo’s David in the Accademia. We took long walks along the Arno.

At Vivoli, we waited in a long line for our gelato. 

We even sat at an outdoor café in the Piazza della Signoria like real tourists.

 

Nearly every day, we walked at least once past the crowds in front of the Duomo. For old times’ sake, I sat on its steps once again. 

I even climbed to the top of the bell tower while Elliott waited below.

Florence in 2010 was lovely but it didn’t have the same otherworldly feel as the Florence I remembered from 1971. 

 

I’d certainly changed during the 45 years since my first visit to Florence. I couldn’t stop thinking about who I was at different points in my life, and it wasn’t always a comfortable exercise. What would the city look like to me now in 2026? How would it feel to be back? I could hardly wait to find out what I’d discover in Florence and in myself. 

 

The sky was a flawless cerulean blue when we departed Montecatini at 8:30 in the morning. Once we were on the highway, we passed neat rows of small trees on both sides of the road. Lodo told us these were plant nurseries. In fact, this is the biggest district for plant (not flower) nurseries in Europe. The ideal climate here is one factor. Another reason is the tradition of formal Italian gardens that developed in this area during the Renaissance.

 

Last words from Lodo as we descended from the bus at a tram station outside the city center: watch out for pickpockets. After all, it’s going to be wall-to-wall tourists, perfect opportunities for petty crime. About 10 minutes later, I got my first shock of the day when we arrived at a big, modern railroad station across from Santa Maria Novella, the 15^thcentury church. I knew exactly where I was, but aside from the church itself, nothing looked familiar.  

 

We met our local guide, Silvia in back of the church. She told us that the history of Florence began in 59BCE. The Romans established the city as a way station for soldiers on their way to and from the city of Bologna, which the Romans had founded earlier. Probably because there were many flowers (especially irises) growing in the area, they named the city Florentia, derived from the Latin florere, to flower or bloom. In medieval Italian, the name shifted to Fiorenza. So that explains why the city is called Florence in English. And that also explains why the symbol of Florence is a local iris called giglio in Italian and Florentine Lily in English. 

 

Santa Maria Novella stands at the site where the entrance to the old Roman city was located. The medieval church was under the care of Dominican order of monks. You can buy the perfume they invented in the 1200s at their pharmacy, which has been open to the public since 1612. 

 

Today, Florence has a population of about 360K people in the city proper and nearly a million in the metro area. It is the capital of the region of Tuscany. Every year, it receives 10 ½ million visitors, making tourism its most important source of revenue. The second most important industry is leather. The traditional wool and silk industries are still somewhat important but they suffered from competition with England dating back to the Industrial Revolution.  

 

Silvia took us through the historic Mercato Centrale on Via Antonino. In operation since 1865, the bustling market was filled with stalls selling leather goods, clothing, and groceries. 

We came out of the market facing the back of the 16^th-17^th century Medici Chapels. They’re connected to the 4^thcentury basilica of San Lorenzo, a church of honey colored stone which faces the Piazza San Lorenzo. It’s the oldest church in Florence, built right after the emperor Constantine changed the official religion of the empire to Christianity. The Medici rulers reconstructed the building in the 15^th century and all of the important members of the Medici family are buried here. Although the façade is quite austere, the interior is very ornate. I didn’t recall having seen this forbidding looking building before.

Unfortunately, there was no time to go inside the basilica because we were on our way to Ground Zero of the historic center of Florence, i.e. the Duomo. The crowd grew as we continued in the direction of the Duomo. First, however, we passed a fortress-like unadorned corner building. Designed by the Florentine architect Brunelleschi, it was the headquarters of the Medici family for 100 years. Silvia informed us that the ground floor was reserved for business and the family lived on the upper floors.

 

And then, there it was, the sight I’d been waiting to see again for so many years: the Duomo’s beautiful façade of white, pink, and green marble rose up in front of me. I was thrilled despite the unsightly mob interfering with my view. (I realize I’m sounding very misanthropic.)

 

The Duomo, officially the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, is the fourth largest church in the world. Construction began in 1296 and it took 175 years to complete. From Silvia, I learned that the scenes above the doors are not paintings but extremely detailed micro-mosaics. 

 

Numerous statues of religious figures adorn the façade.

 

I recognized a detail carved into the façade – the iris, symbol of Florence.

 

Scaffolding at one corner of the cathedral partially obscured my view of the famous dome. It was designed by Brunelleschi, built in the 15^th century, and served as an inspiration for Michelangelo when he designed the dome for St. Peter’s in the Vatican. 

 

Weekly masses in both Latin and Italian are still held in the Duomo. Until 1975, baptisms took place in the Baptistery, which faces the main entrance to the cathedral. The octagonal 11^th-12^th century building is now used a museum.

 

Ghiberti designed two sets of the building’s monumental bronze doors. The East Doors, known as the Doors of Paradise, depict scenes from the Old Testament while the 24 panels of the North Doors feature scenes from the New Testament along with portrayals of saints. A section of the Doors of Paradise is pictured below.

 

The Duomo’s bell tower stands adjacent to the cathedral. On this trip, I was not climbing the 414 steps to the top, as I did in 2010. 

 

Seeing the carousel still operating in the Piazza della Republica gave me a certain pleasure. I remembered seeing it from the top of the bell tower 16 years ago.

photo taken in 2010

There were more opportunities for shopping in the Mercato del Porcellino, located in a 16th century Renaissance arcade. It’s primarily a market for vendors of leather items (purses, backpacks, belts, vests, jackets, etc.) in every color imaginable. 

 

I recognized the side of the Palazzo Vecchio ahead. This meant that in a moment, we’d find ourselves in the Piazza della Signoria.

 

I wasn't surprised to see hordes of tourists occupying the piazza's outdoor cafe tables. And I recognized the 14^th century Loggia dei Lanzi, at one corner of the piazza. It is filled with statues, including Cellini’s 16^th century bronze statue of Perseus with head of Medusa. 

The tall tower of the Palazzo Vecchio, located in the Piazza della Signoria, was instantly recognizable. I’d always associated its distinctive profile with the city without understanding its historical significance. The palace served as the seat of government for the council that ruled Florence starting in the early 1300s. In 1540, the fortified building became the residence of the Medici Grand Dukes of Tuscany. 

 

At the entrance to Palazzo Vecchio, the crush of people made me uncomfortable. Many of them were staring up at the marble copy of Michelangelo’s David. The original stood here for over 350 years until it was moved to Academia in 1873. On other side of entrance is an original 16^th century marble statue by Baccio Bandinelli of Hercules defeating the monster Cacus. 

 

You can enter the first courtyard of the palazzo without purchasing an entrance ticket to the museum on the upper floors. It was designed in 1453 and decorated by Giorgio Vasari in 1565. A statue by Andrea del Verrocchio of a bronze cherub (putto) holding a dolphin stands in the center of the courtyard. (It’s actually a copy of the original which was moved to an upper floor.) Why had I never taken the time to wander in here before? 

 

This impressive marble statue of Samson striking down a Philistine, carved around 1550 by Pierino da Vinci (nephew of Leonardo), is located in one of the niches of the courtyard.

To the left of the Palazzo Vecchio, Neptune, Roman god of the sea, surveyed the crowd. Four sea horses pull his chariot. The marble and bronze Fountain of Neptune was commissioned by Grand Duke Cosimo I in the mid-1500s.  

 

From the Piazza della Signoria, Silvia led our group to the nearby long narrow courtyard where the Uffizi Gallery is located. Our tour was now officially over. Many members of our group had tickets to the Uffizi Gallery while others headed off to see the original David at the Accademia. Since I was on my own now, I walked in the opposite direction, to the far end of the courtyard, to the Arno River. Looking out over the river took me back decades, to my first trip to Florence. Remembering the ring I bought in 1971, I was almost tempted to stroll across the Ponte Vecchio.  

 

But I didn’t really want to try to retrace my footsteps from years past. Instead, I wanted to approach my remaining time in Florence as if I were seeing a new city. I’d seek out unfamiliar sights and streets, starting with the via dei Neri, a street off the Piazza Signoria that’s lined with traditional sandwich shops, since my stomach was reminding me that it was time to eat lunch. 

 

Lodo told us this street is where we could find several shops known for their schiacciata Toscana, genuine meat-filled Tuscan sandwiches. Although I’m not much of a meat eater, I’m always interested in sampling the local specialties. I couldn’t even finish the hearty sandwich I ordered but it was quite tasty.

To make some room in my stomach for gelato, I devoted the next couple of hours to walking through the crowded streets, seeking shade whenever possible. There were all kinds of shops that were clearly catering to tourists, but I wasn’t not in the mood for shopping. However, I recalled from earlier visits the beautifully decorated paper that came from Florence. After much searching, I was able to find a shop specializing in these distinctive paper goods and I purchased some items to use as gifts and some for myself. 

 

I paused when I reach the Church and Museum of Orsanmichele to examine the 14 statues on the 14^th century building’s façade. I recalled learning about this building in an art history course I’d audited at George Mason University about 10 years ago. Each of Florence’s powerful trade guilds was given an exterior niche to decorate with a statue of their patron saint. St. Luke is portrayed in the statue below, which was commissioned by the Guild of Magistrates and Notaries. Knowing what I was looking it made this visit much more interesting.  

 

By this point, I was ready for my gelato. One of the shops recommended by Lodo was beside the Duomo so I was back in familiar territory. I also wasn’t far from our meeting point at the Baptistery.

There was a lot to think about on the drive to Montecatini. I’d been very curious about Florence, wondering how it had changed, so it was satisfying to be back there after all these years. At the same time, it was exhausting to be there – both physically (because of the heat and the walking) and psychologically. It aroused so many deeply buried memories of earlier times in my life. It reminded me of my advancing age and how my life has changed over the years as I went from being a college student, to a wife and mother, and to a widow and grandmother. This third visit to Florence was likely my last. Now, I could look forward to tomorrow’s excursion to Pisa, which I'll be seeing for the first time.