Pisa: More than just a leaning tower

Shannon O'Leary
Feb 1, 2017
2 min read

Saturday, January 28th I awoke at 4:30am to make a 6am train ride down the coast to the beautiful city of Pisa.

My friend and I were prepared for the four hour ride that would take us to our destination, we knew seeing Pisa was something we needed to check off the bucket list.

The trip down the coast was smooth and beautiful, even if it was a bit overcast for most of the ride.

Pisa, like many European cities, has a modern section of the city and a historic area full of beautiful old buildings, cobblestone streets, and, of course, the once in a life time monuments.

After a delicious waffle on Corso Italia and a quick walk over the Ponte di Mezzo bridge, the "Leaning Tower of Pisa" came into view. It felt surreal to see it. You see pictures, you imagine what it's like, but when you're there in person you feel like it can't be real.

The pictures we took were touristy (but necessary) and as I looked over the Piazza del Duomo I saw grand, beautiful buildings that I'd never heard of.

In that same square there is the gorgeous Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta, begun in 1063 it was still unfinished when consecrated in 1118. When you're inside you can feel this weight of awe at the shear detail and vastness of the space. Every inch is thought out and constructed (by hand!). You do not have to follow the religion to appreciate what went into building such a beautiful place.

Next to the Cathedral is the Baptistery, begun in 1153 and worked on for over two centuries. Thinking about such a building being made by hand was also astounding. Going inside usually includes a demonstration of the amazing acoustics but, unfortunately, we missed that part.

The Campo Santo (Sacred Field) is what originally brought people to Pisa long before the tower. 1278 is when construction on the cemetery began. The floor is made up of the graves of Pisan patricians and around the edges rest Roman sarcophagi. This was a quiet and pensive experience, in spite of walking on top of the dead.

La Torre Pendente, or better known as the Leaning Tower of Pisa, begun in 1173 and was built over the next hundred years. From the beginning it had begun to sunk on the south side halting construction at one point. The tower continues to tilt one millimeter each year but it has stayed standing in spite of predictions that it would collapse by the year 2000.

Aside from these beautiful pieces of history I was unaware existed, the historic district of town was beautiful and worth a walk around. Being a Saturday it has it's fair share of out door markets and, being a bit farther south from Milan, was also a beautiful 55 degrees F.

Pisa is worth the day trip, I recommend seeing all it has to offer. While that picture of you leaning against the tower is a necessity there is an incredible amount of history in such a small space, you have to experience everything.