The Leaning Tower of Pisa

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, ...
...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 of someone 'holding' up the famous tower (yes, of course I did).

We stayed in the ... more

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 of someone 'holding' up the famous tower (yes, of course I did).

We stayed in the Holiday Inn just outside town which actually afforded a view of the Tower (the Field of Miracles lie right on the edge of the city) - pretty impressive. But a view isn't the same as getting close up and intimate...so that's what we did. Then we went into town...
Although we were only about a mile away, we drove into the city and surprisingly managed to park up (quite inexpensively) just a few hundred metres from the F of M's.

Everyone must surely be familiar with The Tower. At the very least they must have seen pictures of it - even if it was only when the bad superman 'straightened' it. Luckily for us, and the Italian tourist industry, the real superman 'unstraightened' it again.
However, nothing prepares you for the first sight in the flesh. It leans. No, it REALLY leans. It leans at an impossible, scary angle. So much so, that I had grave doubts about walking underneath the overhang as I'm a firm believer in gravity and flip knows how this thing doesn't topple over. I suppose that since it was built over a 200 year period from 1173 (well before Sir Isaac Newton's time) gravity wasn't a major concern as it hadn't yet been invented...

Staying close by, we managed to arrive there fairly early and beat most of the crowds so it was a relatively painless experience waiting in line for tickets - you can buy single or combination tickets for all the attractions - Cathedral, Baptistry, Tower etc but it's far too complicated for me to list here.
Mrs P didn't bother with a ticket for the tower - she doesn't like spiral staircases. In fact she's terrified of them so nothing could persuade her to venture forth. The bold proxam, on the other hand, doesn't know the meaning of feer...why, I can't even spell it.

So, as soon as our party had gathered and the guides were in place, it was up that winding staircase to the top.
What a weird experience.
The staircase is enclosed on both sides and there are only occasional 'windows' so you could really be anywhere. Except. Except as you climb, you sometimes feel like you're actually descending. When ascending with the incline, it's ridiculously steep. But against it, it's almost like going downwards. Throw in the spiral effect, and I didn't know if it was New York or New Year. It's a dizzying, disorientating experience.

At last I surfaced into daylight at the gallery. From here you can walk around the outside to a small spiral staircase which leads to the very pinnacle. This would be about the point that I became awestruck. Aye, aw struck with the sudden memory that I suffer from vertigo. Although to be fair, it's not so much the falling from a great height that worries me as the sudden stop at the bottom. I suppose I should have worn my light fawn jacket (that's a Scottish joke, son).
"It's OK", said the guide, "you can go to the next level."
-"Aye?" says I digging my broken and bleeding fingernails deeper into the marble pillars, "and you can go...(expletive deleted)!"

I did try, But nothing could force my weak knees to step out onto those shiny, slippery marble steps on the overhang - even though there's a massive 3ft railing to prevent you spilling over the side and shattering your bones on the craned-necked gawpers a mile below. Anyway, I didn't reckon the view would be any better with the addition of another 10-12 feet climb.

So, I took a few photos and headed back down to ground level (the slow, safe way) to team up with an unsympathetic and highly amused Mrs P.

Don't get me wrong, it was an amazing experience so I wouldn't discourage anyone from going up no matter how apprehensive you are about heights - you don't have to go out onto the steps. The views are stupendous from the gallery and the experience of climbing the stairs is so strange, it's almost worth the entrance fee alone.

So, what else did we do in Pisa?
Well, we visited the Cathedral and the rest of the attractions. Pretty impressive normally, but after you've spent 10 days in Tuscany, they're just another collection of magnificent medieval religious buildings. Oh, one can become just so blase, can't one?

Shopping?
Well, the area on one side of the F of M's is given over to a row of wooden stalls which sell all kinds of tourist trivia and tat. If there's a souvenir that's yet to be made featuring the leaning Tower, I can't imagine what it could be. It's not the most sophisticated shopping in the world, but it's good fun (and it does wonders for the Chinese economy).
There are some decent shops and stalls around as well though, however I didn't think the souvenir shopping was too 'in your face'. Especially considering the volume of tourists that visit.

There's plenty of places to grab a bite to eat in the area, from junk to fine restaurants, and all points in between.

Because we were staying close by, we also visited in the evening and what a totally different experience. Gone were the hordes of digicam-waving tourists. Gone were the stallholders and their wares. Gone was the noise, hustle and bustle, and stress.
In their place, we had moonlight, backlit world heritage monuments, lovers strolling hand in hand, and the gentle murmur of happy people eating and drinking at the pavement cafes.
We joined them.

One of my abiding memories of Tuscany is this:
Sitting at a restaurant terrace with the Leaning Tower so close, I could have splashed Chianti and Carbonara on it (I'm a messy eater) whilst leisurly working my way through an fabulous 3-course meal with delicious wine and coffee for a fraction of what it would cost in the UK, even in a pub.

In conclusion, Pisa is well worth visiting. Don't expect the cultural attractions of Florence, or the medieval idiosycransies of San Gimangio, but the Tower has to be one of the wonders of the world. Even if you don't climb it, just to walk around it and try to comprehend the sheer impossibility of it is a lifetime experience. But...it's even better in the evening when you almost have the whole lot to yourself.

©proxam2007  

...less