Pisa: Everything Leans in Pisa

Our weekend in Tuscany ended with a twenty-four hour stint in Pisa. The afternoon train from Lucca had us within city limits by early evening, although; our arrival was delayed an hour. This normally wouldn't be a stressor, however; we were meeting someone at the station to drive us to our apartment and had no way to contact him (payphone was out of order). In the end it all worked out, our driver/temporary landlord was waiting for us at the designated meeting point. Having settled into our rental, there was just enough sunlight left to visit Piazza del Miracoli - the location of a cemetery, Baptistery, Cathedral, and Bell Tower. Also known as Piazza del Duomo, the famous Pisa square must have changed pseudonyms due to potential confusion with a more famous square of the same name in a city (also) on the River Arno, Firenze (also one in Milan, but not on the Arno nor Tuscany).

Piazza del Miracoli (Piazza formerly known as Piazza del Duomo) at sunset

Approaching Piazza del Miracoli

Cathedral and Bell Tower

At sunset

The Piazza was relatively empty when we arrived, a great time to take pictures without the hundreds of people taking their "hold the tower" pictures. Upon first sight, the tower has a more severe lean than both of us previously imagined. We stayed until the sun set and grabbed a drink at a restaurant with a view of Torre di Pisa. The diners behind us were rather irritated with their table, it had an egregious unevenness displeasing the party. We overheard the waiter quip, "It's Pisa, everything leans." The family remained unimpressed despite the well crafted anecdote. We finished our beverages, proceeded down the street, and had dinner at a restaurant close to our apartment. The food was adequate and the atmosphere strangely uncomfortable.

San Ferdiano

Courtyard outside San Ferdiano

Altar of San Caterina

Opposite our street-side table, a gentleman played his guitar, providing tolerable background noise - yet, falling shy of entertainment. Between restaurant patrons and those sipping espresso at the cafe opposite us, there was (maybe) twenty people involuntarily in attendance. We were seated close enough where inadvertent eye contact was unavoidable, and sunglasses not an option post sunset. After the completion of each song, the burden to applauded was more perfunctory cordiality than unanimous delight. Clearly, the performer could see exactly who wasn't clapping, thus, we obliged. The set lasted twenty minutes; an eternity for pantomimed approval, but the boorishness wasn't over. He came through peddling for change, standing at each table with hat in hand - majority of which were eating their meals. I am not sure of the appropriate social etiquette in this situation. But the way I see it, if I didn't pay money to attend, I shouldn't be obligated to pay for something I didn't want to hear in the first place (or feel guilty for not "donating" to the cause. Gratitude should in no way be synonymous with gratuity). Following dinner, we made our way back to the apartment to rest our arms - we had a leaning tower to hold up in a few hours.

The following morning

Everything leans in Pisa

Crowd gathering to climb up

The next morning we returned to Piazza del Miracoli, now teaming with tourist; the difference from our first experience was literally and figuratively, night and day. We didn't take a picture holding the tower for one main reason, we didn't want to; the process of watching others was painful enough (we are old curmudgeons). We didn't climb the tower either based on our stark opposition to price gauging (exception: Disneyworld) - the admission was €18 and time specific. Instead, we "purchased" our free tickets to visit Santa Maria Assunta (Saint Mary of the Assumption), the cathedral between the Campanile (Leaning Bell Tower) and Baptistery. Following our tour of the cathedral, the rest of the afternoon was dedicated to walking around the city; visiting the Palazzo della Carovana, Palazzo delle Vedove, Torre dei Gualandi, and the Mezzogiomo (historical center). We attempted to see Santa Maria della Spina, but the entire church was scaffolded and closed to the public - along with a few other churches we passed. To end our tour of the city, we returned to the Piazza del Miracoli and observed the beautiful structures one last time.