We’ll meet and soon leave for Pisa, where the whole morning will be devoted to exploring Piazza dei Miracoli. The wonderful piazza, or Campo, hosts one of the world’s seven wonders, the Leaning Tower. But this is by no means its only wonder. We’ll visit the imposing Cathedral or Chiesa Primaziale, the Baptistry, the monumental cemetery with its frescoes, and the two art museums, the one of the “sinopie” (unfinished frescoes) and the Cathedral Museum. In the Cathedral, one can see the wonderful medieval pulpit by the sculptor Giovanni Pisano, and, in the baptistry, also understand how the typical Pisan Romanic style mixes with the Gothic style of the dome, the first Gothic masterpiece of Italy (with Giovanni’s pulpit).
In Pisa there is much more than Piazza dei Miracoli. It is a very nice university town, full of charming lanes and little, elegant squares and churches, and divided into two sections by the Arno river. The bending Lungarni, so loved by Dickens and Leopardi, are more fascinating than those of Florence, and one can breath the air of the sea, only ten miles away
We’ll have lunch in a typical tavern, and soon afterwards reach Lucca, with its still perfectly preserved walls surrounding the small city centre. Within them, with a pleasant walk we’ll discover many real wonders: among them, via Fillungo, splitting the whole city in two across the walls, full of fashion stores and cafes, the unique Anfiteatro square, the Guinigi Tower (on whose top an old oak tree rises), the famous Cathedral, and much more.
Discovering Lucca by foot is easy, but it is also an unforgettable experience.
Return late in the afternoon to the city chosen for the start.