April 9th Rome - PISA - Florence

Itinerary:

9:50 am        Depart Roma Termini  Train Station

1:00 pm        Arrive Pisa Centrale Train Station

                     Check our luggage (5€ / bag) at the train station.  They are not permitted at the sites of Pisa.  Directions to get there:  When you disembark the train, the deposito bagagli is to the right at the far end of Platform #1, past the police office. Have your passport ready for ID.

1:30 pm        Walk  (22 minutes) to the Plaza of Miracles (Unesco World Heritage Site)

One of the convenient things about visiting Pisa is that it’s not an especially large city, so getting around it isn’t much of a challenge. Travelers will find that it’s easy enough to walk between each of the attractions mentioned in this itinerary, even though some are north of the River Arno and others are to the south.  If you don’t fancy spending your day walking around Pisa, the good news is that the city has a local bus network that covers the entire inner city area. The main bus station sits outside Pisa Centrale train station with routes that include the city’s riverfront and the Leaning Tower. Bus tickets are available for purchase from newsstands and kiosks, with a single trip ticket valid for 70 minutes costing €1.50.  

Recommended Route:  From the train station walk north on the Corso Italia until it ends at the Lungarno (the river walk). Instead of going towards the tower, go in the other direction turning right at the end of Corso Italia, without crossing the river. Walk until the second bridge after Ponte di Mezzo (Ponte della Vittoria). You will pass beautiful buildings, among which you'll find Shelley's last house, where he wrote great poems. A few meters after that there is Giardino Scotto, a park where you can walk on the walls meant to be the enormous garden of the palace that the Medici family wanted to build in Pisa (the city was their Summer residence).

Cross the river, and turn left to go back. You will pass part of the medieval town. You may wish to visit San Matteo, which is the second Italian museum for Sacred Art. 

On this side of the river, there is the City Archive, which was Lord Byron's palace.

Walk until the Ponte di Mezzo again. The square with the statue is called Piazza Garibaldi. When traveling towards Sicily, Garibaldi, the general who guided the unification of Italy in the XIX century stopped in Pisa and arrived here.  Besides... there is the best ice cream shop ever in this piazza: La Bottega del Gelato!!!

Leave the river bank and walk in the street with all the arches: that is Borgo Stretto, the most expensive street in town and where you'll find Galileo's house... and the best pasticcieria, Salza.

If you continue straight, after the arches end, and turn left at the Deutsche Bank, you can go to Santa Caterina Square. Santa Caterina is an amazing church, very similar to Santa Maria Novella in Florence and to San Domenico in Siena.   The park is also great.

Go back to where you turned left and cross the street, taking the little street opposite to you. You will end up in Vasari's magnificent Piazza dei Cavalieri, home to the most prestigious University in the country and to Count Ugolino's tower, mentioned in Dante's Divina Commedia. Translated as Knights’ Square, Piazza dei Cavalieri is a gorgeous Renaissance square surrounded by several interesting buildings. Attention is immediately drawn to the striking sgraffito facade of the Palazzo della Carovana and the statue of Cosimo I de Medici in front of it. The palace and square were once the headquarters for the Knights of St. Stephen but today are used by the city’s university.   Cross the square towards Via Santa Maria, also designed by Vasari, and go see the Tower.

Come back to the Square and take the road called Curtatone and Montanara which takes you towards Lungarno again. After 50 meters, if you turn right, you end up in Piazza Dante, where the faculty of Law is located.

Or you could turn left and go see my favorite spot: the medieval Pisa, still the liveliest, il Campano (great restaurant there), Piazza delle Vettovaglie, the heart of Pisa's nightlife and the place of the first settlement during the Roman era.

You will be back in Borgo stretto, turn left and go back to Piazza Garibaldi. Turn left again and enjoy this side of the river, until the ancient Cittadella, the ancient port. Pisa was one of the powerful Sea Republic.

You will see the red tower. There are great buildings, dating back to the XXII century on this side of the river and opposite la Cittadella there are the Arsenali Medicei, with the 3 roman ships found few years ago intact!

Cross the bridge, and walk to San Paolo a Ripa d'Arno, the most ancient church in town and once the cathedral.

Go on and pass Santa Maria della Spina, a little gothic jewel on the bank of the river, the only part left of an ancient monastery.

Go on until the end of Corso Italia and walk back to the station, but if you are not tired take the first on the left, Via San Martino: it is the Renaissance part of the city with great buildings. And moreover, enjoy the shops in Corso Italia.

                      Grab lunch on the way.

Arrive at Piazza.  Decide when and where to regroup to go back to train station.

                    The name of the complex is Piazza dei Miracoli, which became a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1987.   There is no need to spend anything to enter this open area. You can enter, take a famous photo holding the tower and leave without having to pay a single euro. However, if you want to get to know the attractions better, you will have to buy the ticket on site (or through the Internet.) It is possible to buy the ticket just to go up the Tower or combine it to visit the museums, the baptistry and the cemetery. Entrance to the cathedral is already included from the moment you buy a ticket. The price just to visit the Tower is 18 euros. If you choose to include these other attractions, you will have to pay up to 8 euros more.

Sites: 

1. THE CATHEDRAL OF PISA  The Cathedral of Pisa is dedicated to the Virgin Mary and is the seat of the Archdiocese of Pisa, being the greatest example of Romanesque art in Tuscany. Construction began in the 11th century and ended in the following century. During World War II, the entire region where the Cathedral and Tower is located was bombed. Inside it is richly decorated with marble, gold accents and many sculptures and paintings.

2.  THE BAPTISTRY  The Baptistery of Pisa is dedicated to Saint John the Baptist. Its construction began in the twelfth century on top of another existing building. Its dome is 54.86 meters high and 107.24 meters in circumference, making it the largest of its kind in Italy. In Romanesque style, it has a portal decorated in relief, but the interior is practically undecorated. When we were there, there were some people singing. The place is known for its different acoustics, which aid in the propagation of the echo.

3.  THE CEMETARY  (EL CAMPOSANTO)   There is a legend that believes that the bodies brought there would rot in less than 24 hours. It was built on top of the old Baptistry. The site was the last to be built in the complex, back in the 13th century. In the cemetery there are 3 chapels and the place houses several Roman sarcophagi. During World War II, a shrapnel from a bomb started a fire, destroying much of the site, including most of the frescoes. It is possible to watch a video in Camposanto that portrays what happened at the time. Visiting the site, we saw that the restoration started after the war has not yet ended. There are still many destroyed walls that have not been fully restored.

4.  THE TOWER   The Leaning Tower of Pisa began to be built after the Cathedral and the Baptistery, still in the 12th century and lasted about 177 years. It is a bell tower, a very common structure in Italian churches built at the time. Due to a poorly made foundation and a soil that did not support its structure, it began to slope shortly after it was built. The height from the ground to the top is 55.86 meters on the lowest side and 56.70 meters on the highest. The weight of the tower is almost 15,000 tons, it has 296 steps and is entirely covered in white marble. You need to pre-book a time to go up. The steps have been restored, but still caution:  you may suffer dizziness as you climb, due to the lean of the building. 

5. THE PISA MUSEUM   Officially referred to as The Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, meaning the Museum of Cathedral Works, is a former seminary located adjacent to the tower.  It displays art and medieval sculptures.

Arno Riverfront  Florence may be more well known for its riverfront along the Arno, but the riverfront in Pisa has its charms as well. Pisa is much less hilly than Florence, so the waterfront scenery feels flatter but also more crowded with noteworthy buildings. One such landmark worth finding due to its elaborate Gothic design is the gorgeous little Church of Santa Maria della Spina. As for where to go for the best views, head for the Mezzo Bridge, which sits near a bend in the river.

Palazzo Blu   One of the premier cultural attractions in Pisa is the Palazzo Blu art gallery. This distinctive blue house on the south bank of the Arno, but it’s really what’s inside that makes this a great place to visit. The permanent exhibitions feature a wide range of Italian artists across the centuries, as well as the palace’s stately apartments. Temporary exhibits here are far less constrained and tend to explore art in any of its forms. 

Cittadella Nuova Fortress  Finally, to see a slightly different side to Pisa, make your way to the gardens of Giardino Scotto on the east side of the modern city center. There among the greenery you’ll find the remains of the Cittadella Nuova, an old fortress from the 15th century. Besides the city walls along the north side of the historical center, these ruins are the only place where you get a glimpse into the many conflicts in Pisa’s past, often fought against its Florentine neighbors. Don’t expect much in the way of information here, but it is quite a scenic spot.

Just after sunset catch train to Florence.

Arrive 10pm Florence.  Go to Apartment..

Costs:

€280  Train Rome to Pisa to Venice   (8 tickets)

€ 5       Luggage storage per bag

Admissions and food on your own.