PIsa is the queen of that Italy that surprises. Few cities in the world evoke such a precise image in the traveler’s mind. Just pronounce the name to think of the leaning tower, that incredible crooked bell tower that defies the laws of physics and which has attracted millions of visitors for centuries. In reality there is much more and for everyone, even in the Cathedral square itself, better known as Piazza dei Miracoli, as it was renamed by the poet Gabriele D’Annunzio.
The size of eight regulation football pitches, the perfectly mowed mega lawn tells of the magnificence of medieval Pisa. In that magical perimeter the largest Baptistery in the world in terms of size has coexisted for centuries, the monumental Camposanto, so called because according to legend Archbishop Ubaldo Lanfranchi, returning from the Holy Land, filled the internal field with the earth of Mount Calvario, the Cathedral and the famous tower.
In addition to individual visits to the monuments, it is worth enjoying the overall view of Piazza dei Miracoli by walking along the three kilometers of walkways on the medieval walls. Perfect and accessible for those seeking culture and beauty, Pisa is a break of authenticity.
A spectacle of 294 spiral steps, all sloping
Square of Miracles, in Pisa. The Tower of Pisa is a global icon, capable of surprising for over eight centuries. Photo Getty Images.
If the tower, with its 294 spiral steps and steep inclination, is not for everyone, the Opera della Primaziale Pisana has set up parallel routes even for those who cannot climb. In the Bell Tower Hall of the Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, a multimedia and tactile itinerary has been created which allows you to explore the tower with the help of scale models, 3D videos and sound aids. In just 800 meters on foot you enter Piazza dei Cavalieri, renovated by Giorgio Vasari, which overlooks, among others, the Scuola Normale Superiore, commissioned by Napoleon in 1810 in the same way as the École Normale Supérieure, and the Palazzo dell’Orologio, now the library of the Normale. Here, during one of the last restorations, elements of the Tower of Fame were recovered, linked to Count Ugolino della Gherardesca by Dante in the Divine Comedy. The two buildings can be visited free of charge, accompanied by the students and staff of the Normale, upon reservation.
Giovanni Pisano and the centenary of the pulpit in the Cathedral
The nineteenth-century model of Giovanni Pisano’s pulpit, one of the symbols of European Gothic sculpture.
Giovanni Pisano (1248-1315) is one of the most innovative sculptors of the European Middle Ages. On the occasion of the centenary of the relocation of the pulpit built inside the Cathedral of Pisa (1926), the artist is celebrated with the exhibition Giovanni Pisano. Memory of a sculptorat the Palazzo dell’Opera del Duomountil March 8th. A rare opportunity to appreciate the sculptor’s technique and his extraordinary ability to inspire contemporary artists such as Henry Moore, Marino Marini and Giacomo Manzù. For the occasion, after almost two hundred years, three elements of Giovanni Pisano’s Pergamo (pulpit) that arrived in the Big Apple with John Ruskin’s collection return to Pisa – on loan from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
The exhibition on Giovanni Pisano at the Palazzo dell’Opera del Duomo in Pisa.
And ancient Roman ships re-emerge at the museum
The exhibition itinerary at the Palazzo dell’Opera is divided into eleven rooms and recounts the modern fortune of Giovanni Pisano, comparing his works with those of the heritage of the Opera della Primaziale Pisana, which has managed the monumental complex for a thousand years. The last room is beautiful, where the model of the reconstruction of the pulpit shows the interventions that have taken place over the centuriesattributing a different color to each period, until the relocation in 1926. Not to be missed, then, is the Museum of Ancient Ships, set up inside the Medici Arsenals on the Pisan Lungarno: it displays Roman ships and the finds discovered and restored. Several intact boats are on display: the flagship “Alkedo” with 12 rowers and the Ship “I” a large river ferry (the museum is open from Tuesday to Friday: 8.30am-2pm; Saturday and Sunday: 2pm-7.30pm).
On the seafront between cliffs and factories
Marina di Pisa among Art Nouveau villas, cliffs and the Tyrrhenian seafront. IPA Agency.
There is a beautiful cycle/pedestrian path that goes from Pisa to Marina di Pisa, a path full of memoriesmentioned in the guide Green Ways (Cinquesensi Publisher). The so-called Via del Trammino follows the route of the historic electric tram line inaugurated in 1892, one of the first in Italy, which for decades accompanied Pisans and holidaymakers towards the sea. The tram left from the city center, and today you can get on the bike right in front of the Pisa train station, where bikes are rented from Smile & Ride. With a short ride you reach the sea through fields, pine forests and the suggestive Basilica of San Piero a Grado, built between the 10th and 12th centurieswhere legend has it that Saint Peter landed in 44 AD The landscape changes gradually: the Arno widens, the countryside gives way to pine forests and the air becomes salty. The arrival in Marina di Pisa has the flavor of a small escape. Born between the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century as a holiday resort, it preserves Art Nouveau villas and a relaxed atmosphere, far from the most crowded seaside destinations. The seafront, with its cliffs and establishments, invites you to walk leisurely to the mouth of the Arno, while the restaurants tell of a simple and authentic seafood tradition.
The protected area of the Migliarino, San Rossore, Massaciuccoli Natural Park extends over 23 thousand hectares of nature. IPA Agency.
A mosaic of ecosystems on the sea
Marina di Pisa is the sea of the Pisans, perfect for those looking for a quiet break a few kilometers from the city. A little further on is the Natural Park of Migliarino, San Rossore, Massaciuccoli (Parcosanrossore.org), a protected area of great ecological and landscape value. Thirty kilometers of nature, silence and lush vegetation along the Tuscan Tyrrhenian coast less than five kilometers from the white marble of Piazza dei Miracoli in Pisa. A mosaic of unique ecosystems divided between many municipalities in the Lands of Pisa and Lucca.
Where to sleep in Pisa
Royal Victoria Hotel (Lungarno Pacinotti, 12, royalvictoria.it). Among the oldest hotels in Italy, with original period furnishings and wooden floors. The junior suites are dedicated to the greats who stayed there: D’Annunzio, Guglielmo Marconi, Virginia Woolf, Umberto Eco and Charles Dickens, and overlook that Lungarno which inspired Giacomo Leopardi’s masterpiece To Silvia.
Feroci Palace (Via della Faggiola, 2, palazzoferoci.com). A few steps from Piazza dei Miracoli, a few rooms in a very well-kept sixteenth-century noble residence which maintains its old-fashioned charm.
Where to eat
Opera Bistro Italian cuisine with a view is the motto of this restaurant on the first floor in the Museo dell’Opera del Duomo building which offers a stunning snapshot of the tower-cathedral-baptistery. Excellent cuisine and service. bistrotdellopera.com
The Pergola Via delle belle Torri 40. In an alley, a stone’s throw from the Lungarni and the Teatro Verdi, a large, bright and welcoming space. Traditional Tuscan cuisine that dares contemporary combinations with excellent results. bistrotdellopera.com
Buy
La Petite pastry shop Via Carlo Matteucci 20. In the former eighteenth-century convent of the Bigi Friars, artisanal desserts and breakfasts in an elegant setting. pasticcerialapetite.it
The park shop Beach honey, cured meats and other products made in the laboratory within the Regional Natural Park of San Rossore and Massaciuccoli. Loc. Cascine Vecchie, Tel. 050.820225
