Lean Wit' It

As you may have guessed by the title of this post, yesterday I visited Pisa- along with the charming walled city of Lucca. 

I woke up around 7:30 to eat a quick breakfast and get ready, and then met Deanna (my travelling companion for the day) at the Duomo at 8:40 to walk to the bus.

Once we arrived in Pisa, we met up with our tour guide who gave us small amounts of free time every now and then because she was giving the tour in both English and German. So while she explained the first part in German we did our initial exploring and walking around the Piazza Dei Miracoli and took the typical Pisa pictures. I kicked the tower a few times, but don't worry, it's still there. :P


We returned to the group to learn some background information on Pisa and the buildings that were around us. The Cathedral, Baptistery, and bell tower (the leaning one) are all built in a Romanesque style, but with a Pisan flair. 

The cupcake and the paradise path

The Pisans were very religious- and catholic. No one was allowed to enter the cathedral until they had been baptized, which they were able to do at age 21. Immediately after baptism in the Baptistery (or as our guide called it- "the cupcake"), they would walk to the cathedral over a stone path. This walkway eventually became known as the "Paradise Path" because it brought you one step closer to getting to heaven. 

The guide also told us about why the leaning tower...leans. There isn't one reason- there are several. For starters, the main square of Pisa was built on an old riverbed; but the Pisans had no idea how soft the soil there was until after they began construction. The bell tower was made with imported marble that today still looks white even though the cathedral and the cupcake are dirty and yellowed. However, this marble was much heavier. Also, in the plans, windows were supposed to be included in between each arch going around the tower- but they forgot. So- poor and soft soil, heavy marble, and no windows- the tower started to lean before they even finished building the 3rd floor! 

Our walking tour also included entrance into the Cathedral, which was truly spectacular and unique. I think it's so interesting to see the inside of the cathedrals and churches here; you can never guess what they will look like just from seeing the outside- or vise versa. 

Inside, we learned that the gallery of the church where we were standing was the place that men would stand to listen to the sermon (that the priest would preach from the pulpit). There was a strong gender separation during this time, as the women were not allowed to listen to the sermon in this spot with the men. Instead, they stood one floor up on a balcony during mass. Our guide also told us about the particular patron saints of Pisa- Rainerius and Bona. Both are saints of travel and pilgramage. Bona was a nun who assisted pilgrims in reaching their final destination- usually Jerusalem and the Holy Lands. Every year on May 29, the day she died, flight attendants from all over flock to Pisa to tell stories of their work from the year about how they encouraged passengers (just like Bona did). The stories are judged, and for some reason the best stories are usually from the German airline Lufthansa. 



After our tour ended, Deanna and I searched out for a place to get lunch. We found a small Trattoria that was almost hidden behind another building and offered a nice view of the leaning tower. We both got pizza- I had "Pizza with mozarella and salad" which turned out to be just that- and delicious. :)

We finished up our pizzas and our wine, bought postcards, and took a few more pictures. Then we rushed back to the meeting point to join the rest of the group. We were standing there for a while (kind of wondering what the hold up was), when Deanna's received several calls from an unknown caller. Eventually she decided to answer- it was the tour company wondering if we were okay and had made it back to the meeting point because we hadn't checked in! We had never had to check in before, so we had no idea! We quickly did, and then our group started to walk back to the bus. Oops. 

About 30 minutes on the bus later (aka a short nap), we arrived at the Porta Santa Maria (or the gate of Saint Maria) of Lucca. 

Arial view of the city- I obviously didn't take this picture!

The original walls were only a standard depth, and were built by the Romans to protect the city and provide a spot to easily see enemies coming and shoot them down with arrows before they got to close. Much later, the city wanted to adapt and change the walls to withstand blows from cannons. The walls standing now were originally added for protection against war and invading forces, however once they were finally finished the region was at peace and they really weren't necessary. They've never been used for war, but they have protected the city from a flood- when the gates are raised and shut they make a waterproof city that shuts the city center off completely. 


When Italy became one unified country in 1861, the government told Lucca that the walls could be torn down because they were not necessary anymore. However, the city was proud of their walls and their heritage so they bought the walls and turned them into a public park with many gardens that is maintained by the city. I really wanted to rent bikes (you can get them for 3 euros per hour) and ride around the city on the walls, but we unfortunately did not have enough time. :(



As I mentioned earlier, Lucca used to be an ancient Roman city. Along with the walls, the amphitheater and the "forum" from this ancient city are still standing in Lucca. The walls of the amphitheater now show where the city center is and have many apartments and restaurants built into them now. Many of the original arches from the amphitheater are still viable, although filled in with cement. 

We ended our walking tour at a small cafe, where we got to try Buccellato- a traditional cake of Lucca. It was good, although a little dry. It would have been fabulous with coffee!

The free time we did have wasn't long enough for a bike ride, but it was enough time to go shopping on one of Lucca's historic streets. Deanna and I found some nice spring clothes (on sale!) to help our mostly winter wardrobe. 

Around 4:20 we met up with the rest of the group, but not before getting a small treat of gelato! I had pineapple, cream, and Rocher (a type of candy) flavors. Then we loaded back into the bus to drive back to Flo-town. 

On the way back from the train station where the bus dropped us off, Deanna and I stopped at the  grocery store to get bread and wine for dinner. At her apartment, we made a light summer salad- peaches, mozzarella, and basil along with a little olive oil. We ate dinner while watching a movie- a lovely end to such a great day.