October 5th: Pisa

Having spent two days walking the Cinque Terre we directed the third day, with rain threatening, at Pisa.  We thought we had refined our use of the Trenitalia ticketing system down to a fine art until we were confronted by our first inspector and the realisation that we had forgotten to validate the tickets.  A large fine was reduced to a small fine which made the ticket inspector feel better, but I remained bitter - an innocent abroad!

The strangest thing - look what we found in Pisa!

I was prepared to be unimpressed by this building, but that was not the case - quite apart from the lean, it is a beautiful building with amazing columns and fretwork and built of a pink / grey stone that demands attention.  The famous belltower or Campanile is not a stand alone attraction - it was built to complement the Duomo (Cathedral) along with the Baptistry and the Campo Santo (the monumental graveyard).  All four buildings compete for attention within the Piazza del Duomo which came to be known as the Piazza dei Miracoli (Square of Miracles).

The leaning tower is related to the Duomo,a hulking edifice with its own charms.

Side-altar one...

Side-altar two....

Main altar.

The Baptistery attracts its share of attention.

The view from high in the Baptistery

Pisa - little wet, a little crowded with pesky tourists, a little rushed, but  satisfying nonetheless!