One of the highlights of our trip to Tuscany last year was to be our visit to Pisa. To be accurate, the main attraction was not so much the city of Pisa itself, charming though it undoubtedly is, but the Field of Miracles*. Well, to be punctiliously precise, it wasn't even the Field of Miracles that had our anticipatory juices flowing, but The Leaning Tower of Pisa in particular.
* The Field of Miracles is the area housing the Duomo, Tower, Baptistry and associated buildings.
To be honest, if you discount the Field of Miracles, I'm not sure that much else in Pisa merits a visit although I expect some Pisaphile will soon put me straight on that count. However, it can't be denied that the seething masses that are constantly disgorged from the tourist buses usually have one thing in mind and that's to take one of those corny snaps ...
Advantages: Breath taking views, easy to get to and around Disadvantages: Them damn bicycles
visited was Cattedrale - Il Duomo di Pisa which is a grand cathedral directing in front of the Leaning Tower which to look at is stunning. Apparently this Cathedral is over 1000 years old and made solely of coloured marble which changes colour slightly in the sunlight. On the guided tour we were told that due to a large fire back in 1595 a lot of precious work was damaged and these have been replaced with more modern Renaissance artists and the interior was also refurbished and replaced. The Catherdal inside is totally mesmerising with artistic works on every wall, which are colossal in size. The Pulpit, which was the design of Giovanni Pisano who is a famous Italian sculptor and was destroyed by the fire in 1595 but has almost been preserved to its former glory.
The next two places we visited were the Battistero (Baptistery), which is ...
kappaslappa 03.10.2005
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Pisa (Italy)
Advantages: Good price, great rooms and breakfast Disadvantages: not best surroundings
This was a definite 'how far can we go on a budget at Easter where it might be warm?' affair. Thank God for budget airlines. Me, the wife and the nipper/satan spawn off to Pisa on Ryanair from Liverpool for about £140 should do it.
But where to stay? I was all for sleeping on a beach but Italy in April wouldn't stop hypothermia I was told. So it was time to scour the internet for somewhere with 5 days availability, vaguely out of season and cheap. We had about £400 to play with. Not too bad. The wonders of the modern family meant that some of our kids were spending time with their real parents so we were down from 5 to 1. It wasn't my idea to conceive a child between us that we couldn't ship out. Damn female hormones. Rather than spend our time mourning, we thought it best to bugger off of on holiday without them to ease the pain ...
Product Information for "Ristorante Il Colonnino, Pisa" »
Product details
Long Name
Ristorante Il Colonnino
Type
Italian
Continent
Europe
Country
Italy
City
Pisa
Address
Via S.Andrea, 37/41 Pisa, Italy
Telephone
050 3138430
Manufacturer's product description
Around a column surviving from the medieval church that once stood here, locals gather to enjoy authentic Pisan home cooking. You can get away with a full meal, including wine, for under 20? ($26), opening with something like brachette alla renaiaola (an antique Pisan dish consisting of large pasta squares in a purée of turnip greens and smoked fish) or tagliatelle alla scarpara (in a sausage ragù). The secondi are simple and straightforward: baccalà alla livornese (salt cod with tomatoes) or maiale arrosto (thinly sliced roast pork), with which you can order fried polenta slices or ultra-Pisan ceci (garbanzo) beans.
