Pisa: the city of Leaning Tower

Pisa with its leaning tower is one of the most popular places in the world, but it is also the city of the discoveries of the famous University .

A visit to the city of Pisa can only start with from the Piazza dei Miracoli where stands out in all its beauty the Tower of Pisa. But this is only the starting point. Following is a brief list of points to be missed to get to know this city. 

Tower of Pisa 

The leaning tower of Pisa is nothing but the bell tower of the Romanesque church of Santa Maria Assunta. Its construction began in 1173 (and was completed about two hundred years later) at the behest of the architect Bonanno Pisano who had not calculated that the tower would have rested on unstable ground. And 'one of the most visited monuments in Italy, but every day, for safety reasons, only a limited number of people allowed to visit this tower. It is a real challenge to gravity.

The tower is 56 meters high, weighs over 14,000 tons and is inclined at least 5 degrees from the vertical axis due to subsidence that occurred as early as the first years of its construction. Fears for his safety have meant that over the years the tower was closed to the public came in 1990. The re-opening of the tower took place three years later, when, after careful study, engineers stabilized the tower by placing 100 tons of lead ingots on the northern side of the tower and the steel bands on the second floor of the tower. Its specificity and its typicality led him to request that the leaning tower fell among the seven wonders of the modern world. 

Field of Miracles

     The square where the Leaning Tower is one of the most beautiful not only in Italy but all over the world. It 'also known as the "Cathedral Square" because in this square is the Cathedral, together with the Baptistery, the other two of the most important monuments of the city. It is a square very experienced between the Pisans, the students are used to come here to read on sunny days, tourists are always plenty and families love walking through the square every Sunday and on holidays. The square has a predominantly Romanesque structure.

     The Cathedral

     Called Duomo or Cathedral of Santa Maria Maggiore, is a medieval church built in 1064 and is characterized by alternating bands of dark green marble and white: its bell tower is the famous leaning tower of Pisa. The mosaics of this church have an influence that goes back to the Byzantines. 

     The Baptistery

     The circular Baptistery is a work that bears three signatures: it was begun in 1153 and completed by Diotisalvi first by Nicola Pisano and his son Giovanni. The fact that it is made ​​by many hands in this architectural explains why there are more different stylistic fingerprints, ranging from Romanesque architecture (found in the lower arch) to the Gothic style of the dome and pinnacles.

The Cemetery

     In the Square of Miracles is also the Cemetery, which is the monumental cemetery, where there are beautiful frescoes (such as the "Last Judgement" or "Triumph of Death" Buonamico Buffalmacco) and beautiful greek-Roman sarcophagi, where they were buried the illustrious Tuscans.

Borgo Stretto

     This is the most well-known neighborhood of Pisa and is located near the medieval arcades of Lungarno. Here are the other two leaning towers of Pisa, that of the church of St. Nicholas (2.5 degrees of tilt) and that of the church of San Michele degli Scalzi (5 degrees of tilt). Among the churches of this district is worth visiting the Romanesque religious building of San Michele in Borgo.