Sights

Leaning Tower
The Leaning Tower is, of course, Pisa's main attraction. Even before three of its eight stories were constructed (building began in 1173 and continued until 1350), it had begun to lean. In 1990, the instability of the tower made it necessary to close it to visitors. Fortunately, an extensive program to rebalance the tower was successful in slowly righting the structure to its original degree of "lean." Now, thanks to modern engineering, the tower and its 294 stairs are once again open for climbing.

Campo dei Miracoli
The ‘field of miracles' is home to the Leaning Tower, the Cathedral and the Baptistery. It is also home to dozens of souvenir stalls, but little can detract from the incredible sight of these three buildings rising from their green lawns.

The Cathedral - Il Duomo
The Duomo of Pisa is built in the much imitated but never surpassed ‘Pisan Romanesque' style, much seen throughout Tuscany. It was started in 1064 and as such predates the leaning tower by one hundred years. Much of the interior was badly damaged by a fire in 1596, therefore much of what we now see dates from the Renaissance or later.
Not to be missed are the original bronze doorway (Portale di San Ranieri), the pulpit by Giovanni Pisano, the tomb of the Holy Roman Emperor, Henry VII, and the mosaic of Christ in the apse.

Battistero
The Baptistery (Battistero) is the largest of its kind in Italy. Like so many buildings in Italy, it was started in one style and finished in another; the first three tiers are Romanesque whilst the pinnacled layer supporting the unusual dome is Gothic and was added in the latter half of the 13th century.

Piazza dei Cavallieri
This charming square was at one time the ‘civic centre' of mediaeval Pisa, and before that may have been the site of the Roman forum. The intricately decorated Palazzo dei Cavallieri (now a school) is alongside the Palazzo dell'Orologio, with its ornate clock and archway.

Chiesa della Spina
Situated on the south bank of the river Arno (it was originally even closer to the river, but was moved to its current position in 1871 due to fears of flooding), the church is Pisa's finest example of Gothic fancy. The ‘spina' refers to a thorn from Christ's crown that was acquired by the merchant who rebuilt the church in 1323.

The Camposanto
The long wall of white marble running along the northern side of the square is a perimeter wall of the Camposanto. Legend has it that towards the end of the twelfth century, the then archbishop returned from the Crusades with a cargo of soil from Golgotha, that the cemetery's more noted occupants may be buried in holy earth.
At one time over 2000 metres of the cloister walls were frescoed. It was these frescoes that led Ruskin to value the Camposanto as one of the three most treasured buildings in Italy. Sadly, it was these frescoes that were all but completely destroyed by allied incendiary bombs in 1944.

L'orto botanico di Pisa   
Pisa's botanic gardens are the oldest university gardens in Europe. To be found just off Via S. Maria (in Via Ghini), the gardens are a couple of minutes walk from the tower and offer a quiet haven from the hustle of the Campo dei Miracoli.

Festival Pucciniano 
Festival Pucciniano (Puccini Operas) in August.
Torre del Lago Puccini
Piazzale Belvedere 4 - 55048 Viareggio (Lucca)
Tel. 39 0584 350562
Fax 39 0584 350277 or 350562