Pisa Things to Do Tips by Jefie

Il Camposanto Monumentale The Cemetery Review

The Camposanto Monumentale, or monumental cemetery, is the most recent of the four main structures composing the Piazza dei Miracoli. Its construction began in 1278, and the cemetery was given the shape of a really big cloister, supposedly built around sacred soil from Golgotha that had been brought to Pisa by Crusaders. Very early on, the cemetery began attracting visitors, and it became especially popular with 18th century Romantic poets who would walk around its cool and quiet walls in search of inspiration. These walls were once entirely covered by frescoes painted by Francesco Traini and Bonamico Buffalmacco. Unfortunately, during World War II, the cemetery was hit by a bomb that started a fire, and the frescoes were badly damaged. They're in the process of being restored now, and those who'd like to find out more about the different techniques involved can visit the Sinopie Museum (part of the combined ticket), which presents the sketches used to paint the frescoes. Also, in the cemetery's Chapel Dal Pozzo, it's possible to see different relics, including some belonging to the 12 apostles. I'd never seen relics before and to be honest, I thought it was pretty weird to see a bunch of bones on display!

Directions: Piazza dei Miracoli

Other Contact: http://www.opapisa.it/en/home.ht

Phone: 39 050 83 50 11/12

Pisa's botanical garden

Pisa's botanical garden, or "Orto botanico di Pisa", was created in 1544 under Cosimo I de Medici, making it the oldest university botanical garden in Europe. It still belongs to the University of Pisa, and although it's not that big, it offers a nice relaxing break from the noise of the city. All native and exotic plants and trees are identified, and there are information panels in Italian and English about the garden's most interesting specimens, some of which are several centuries old. That's how I learned that Goethe made a special trip to Pisa to see a palm tree planted in the garden in 1786 - and the palm tree still stands today. Although the new botanical school building is more recent, the 16th century botany institute, with its facade entirely covered with sea shells, can also be seen.

Pisa's botanical garden is open from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm on weekdays (8:30 am to 1:00 pm on Saturday, closed on Sunday). Admission costs 2.50 Euros.

Address: Via Luca Ghini, 5

Directions: Just a short walk away from Piazza dei Miracoli on Via Santa Maria

Other Contact: ortomuseobot@biologia.unipi.it

Phone: 050 221 13 16

Website: http://www.biologia.unipi.it/ortobotanico/pagina.html

A nice public park in Pisa

If you're not that much into botanical gardens and would rather go for a walk around a public park, I'd recommend the Parco della Fortezza Sangallo. This park consists of a nice little stretch of green located between the Arno River and the old fortezza, which used to be one of the focal points of the city's fortifications system. The fortezza is not open to the public, but visitors can walk around the park where they'll find benches, a small playground for kids and public restrooms. Admission is free.

Directions: The fortezza is located west of the Piazza Vittorio Emanuele, at the end of Viale Benedetto Croce.

Museo Nazionale di Palazzo Reale Museums Review

The Palazzo Reale was designed by Bernardo Buontalenti and built between 1583 and 1587 as the summer residence of the Medici family who would often spend time in Pisa when it got too hot to stay in Florence. Many parties were thrown at the Palazzo over the years to which royal families from all over Europe were invited. As with the majority of Medici residences, the Palazzo is large but rather unassuming, at least from the outside. Many rooms of the building now house city offices, but some 20 rooms were restored to their original appearance in the 1980s and are now open to the public. The collection on display is actually made up of several private collections that, taken together, give a nice overview of Pisan culture through the ages. Several portraits of the Medici, Lorraine and Savoy families can be seen, along with a group of 35 Flemish tapestries, paintings, manuscripts, and a collection of plaster casts by Italo Griselli.

The most interesting part of the museum for me had to do with the "Gioco del Ponte", or "Joust of the Bridge". This fairly dangerous game was played in Pisa during a tournament established by the Medici. Two teams wearing armours and bearing weapons would take a spot on either side of the Arno River, run across a bridge and fight until a team managed to take possession of the bridge - injuries were numerous and death wasn't unheard of, especially when men wearing full metal armours would fall off the bridge and drown. A few towers were built along the river to allow upper class people to watch the tournament, including the Palazzo Reale's Torre della Verga d'Oro. The museum houses a nice collection of decorated armours and weapons that were used during the tournament.

The Museo Nazionale di Palazzo Reale is open every day from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm. Admission is 5 Euros, which I thought was rather expensive since there isn't that much on display, but at least I got to learn about the Gioco del Ponte :o)

Address: Lungarno Pacinotti, 46

Directions: Facing the Arno River, near the Ponte Solferino

Other Contact: sbaaas@ambientepi.arti.benicultu

Phone: 050 92 65 39

Website: http://www.ambientepi.arti.beniculturali.it/flash/musei/palreale/index.html

The historic churches of Pisa

Most visitors will be happy to visit the Cathedral of Pisa and then move on. Others, however, might find it interesting to know that there are over 20 historic churches located in the downtown area of Pisa, with the majority dating back to the 11th, 12th or 13th century. While most of them don't boast the same quantity of art treasures as the churches in Florence, walking from church to church is still a nice way to get a taste of the city, especially since admission is usually free. During our day in Pisa, we picked up a city map and visited a dozen churches or so. Most of them were Romanesque in style, but perhaps the most famous one of all is the little white church of Santa Maria della Spina (built in 1230), partly thanks to its location (on the main street leading to the Piazza dei Miracoli, next to the Arno River), but mostly thanks to its remarkable Gothic architecture.

Directions: Within the walls of the old city

Home of the Scuola Normale Superiore Cavalieri square Review

Whereas Piazza dei Miracoli has been the religious heart of Pisa since the 11th century, Piazza dei Cavalieri - or Knights' Square - was for many years the political and social centre of the city. The piazza stands where the old Roman forum used to be, and it was almost entirely remodeled in the 16th century by Giorgio Vasari, the favourite architect of the Medici family, when Pisa became part of the Tuscan empire ruled by Florence. The Palazzo della Carovana, for example, was built between 1562 and 1564 to become the headquarters of the Knights of St. Stephen (hence the name of the piazza). The church of San Stefano was also designed by Vasari in a style that is very reminiscent of the Renaissance-style churches in Florence. Most of the buildings now belong to the Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa, a highly selective private university. The Palazzo della Carovana has become the university's main building, while the Palazzo dell'Orologio houses the school's library.

Directions: Piazza dei Cavalieri

Other Contact: info@pec.sns.it

Phone: 050 50 91 11

Website: http://www.sns.it

Museo dell'Opera del Duomo

The Museo dell'Opera del Duomo is located in an old seminary that stands right behind the cathedral, at the edge of Piazza dei Miracoli. The museum was opened in 1986 and it presents different works of art, especially sculptures, that used to be found in the cathedral but that were removed during the restoration work that occurred at several points during the cathedral's history; the pieces were then either relocated some place else in Pisa or they were simply misplaced and lost until a massive search was conducted to bring them back to the museum. Also on display are some of the Roman, Etruscan, Moorish and Egyptian treasures that were brought to Pisa after the city's different conquests, all of which greatly influenced the type of art and architecture that developed in the region over the 11th century. The old seminary's cloisters also offer an interesting view of the leaning tower.

Admission to the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo is included in the combined ticket (10 Euros) that also gives access to the cathedral, baptistery, cemetery and Sinopie museum.

Address: Piazza dei Miracoli, 17

Other Contact: info@opapisa.it

Phone: 39 050 83 50 11/12

Website: http://www.opapisa.it/en/home.html

Battistero di San Giovanni The Baptistery Review

The Cathedral of Pisa's baptistery is the largest baptistery in all of Italy. Built between 1152 and 1363, it's the second oldest structure on the Piazza dei Miracoli after the duomo. The baptistery is 55 m high, with a circumference of over 100 m. Like the cathedral it's made almost entirely of marble, and its exterior combines two architectural styles, Romanesque and Gothic, into a surprisingly homogeneous design. There isn't that much to see inside the baptistery - the font designed by Guido Bigarelli isn't especially remarkable, but the pulpit carved by Nicola Pisaro (the father of Giovanni Pisaro who carved the cathedral's pulpit) is very nice - so much so that many art historians date the beginning of the Italian Renaissance back to 1260, the year Pisaro completed the pulpit. Another really interesting feature of the baptistery is its accoustics. Every 30 minutes, one of the staff members gives a quick demonstration of how one single note can last for several seconds as it travels through the dome, allowing a person to sing a chord all by herself. The effect is kind of eerie and it's truly worth sticking around to hear it.

Directions: Piazza dei Miracoli

Other Contact: info@opapisa.it

Phone: 39 050 83 50 11/12

Website: http://www.opapisa.it/en/home.html

Next stop: A temple of snow-white marble The Duomo/Cathedral Review

When its construction began in 1064, the goal of its architects was that the new cathedral of Pisa should reflect the city's power and glory. At that time, Pisa was indeed one of the most powerful cities in Italy, and the treasures conquered by defeating other rival cities were either included in the design or provided the funds necessary to the construction of the new Romanesque-style cathedral. Covered in white and light grey marble, Pisa's duomo has been described as "a temple of snow-white marble". Its remarkable facade also shows a touch of Byzantine influence in its design.

Although some of the cathedral's original art work was destroyed in the 1595 fire, one of the elements that did survive is the beautiful mosaic fresco above the main altar, the work of Cimabue (he died in Pisa while working on the mosaic) and his students. The dome painted by Riminaldi with a scene depicting the ascension of the Virgin is also quite impressive. Giovanni Pisano's richly carved pulpit is another one of the cathedral's must-see features. And the good news is that if paying 15 Euros to go up the leaning tower sounds a bit excessive, at least there's a combined ticket available for 10 Euros that allows you to visit the cathedral, the baptistery, the cemetery and two museums - you definitely get your money's worth with that one!

Directions: Piazza dei Miracoli

Other Contact: info@opapisa.it

Phone: 050 83 50 11/12

Website: http://www.opapisa.it/en/home.html

Start your day at the tower The Tower Review

Next to the Eiffel Tower, the leaning tower of Pisa probably is the most famous tower in the world. Construction of the cathedral of Pisa's campanile began in 1173, but after only 5 years (they were working on the third floor at that point) the tower began sinking due to shallow foundations and unstable soil. It took nearly 200 years to complete the tower, both because architects were trying to figure out a way to make the tower stand and also because the city was frequently involved in battles against the cities of Florence, Genoa and Lucca. The top floor was finally added in 1319, and the tower was officially completed with the addition of the bell chamber in 1372. At that time, the tower was already leaning by about 1.5 m and it kept on sinking until major works were undertaken in the 1990s to stabilize the structure. The tower is now leaning by about 4 m and, since 2001, visitors are once more allowed to climb to the top.

My first impressions of the tower were 1) that its Romanesque architecture was truly beautiful, something that is often overlooked in favour of its more obvious characteristics, and 2) that it was much more tilted than I imagined it to be! I'd seen pictures, of course, but when you're standing next to the tower it's even more impressive. I hadn't really planned on climbing to the top of the tower but since we got to Pisa early on a Monday morning, there were still tickets available so we decided to forget about the price (15 Euros per person!) and go for it. Climbing the tower's circular stairs is a bit of an experience in itself since it's almost like climbing up a boat that's rocking back and forth. Even though the morning mist still hadn't lifted by the time we got to the top, the view of the city, the Piazza dei Miracoli and the surrounding countryside was amazing. So all in all, I'd say it was a bit of an extravagance but it was still money well spent!

Directions: Piazza dei Miracoli

Other Contact: info@opapisa.it

Phone: 050 83 50 11/12

Website: http://www.opapisa.it/en/home.html