The tower of Pisa is one of those places where tourists flock to and taking a mandatory "here's me holding up the tower" or "here's me kicking it down" - typical touristy shot. And then they lament that there isn't much in the area other than the leaning tower of pisa, and find it very underwhelming. At least that is what i've heard. But here's a different opinion :) I think visiting Pisa solely for the Leaning tower of Pisa would definitely be underwhelming. However, there are so many other things around the area that you could enter and visit. Perfect for a half day trip!Just FYI, I took a train to Pisa from Florence, and spent half a day there.
The interesting thing about the area around the Leaning Tower of Pisa is that everything building in its vicinity seems to be leaning as well. The church, the baptistry, and the cemetery. I had much trouble trying to get my pictures "straight". Jerald's camera came with a level rule and even he had slanted pictures!
So my conclusion is: It is a LEANING PLOT OF LAND.
*Its technically true because the sinking ground is the reason why the tower leans, and continues to lean more.
From my other travel posts, you could probably guess that I enjoy visiting churches and cathedrals. With a combined ticket you could enter all the attractions in the region for a small fee.
The church just beside the leaning tower of Pisa is not big, but still rather impressive. I honestly think it is because I haven't been to many elaborate cathedrals in my life (before coming to Europe) that this fascination exists. Other people would probably be bored of churches and cathedrals by now if they were me.
The entrance to the baptistry is free, but I did not have sufficient time to enter, unfortunately. When I first saw the building, I was intrigued by the different colours of its facade. The dome on top has one colour one side and a different colour on the other. Distinctively split up. So if face it from the church, the dome is one colour but if you face it from the entrance to the area, it is a different colour.
Why and how? Can someone enlighten me?
Makes me wonder if they built half the dome and ran out of materials or if they built one half and then the other - which really doesn't make sense. I doubt it is erosion, nothing erodes that evenly and beautifully!
Other than the church, Jerald and I also went to the cemetery. And there was no one there! There were probably 200 people around the tower of Pisa and 20 people in the other buildings around it. What a waste.
The cemetery was a very peaceful place with interesting statues and tomb like structures. They were mostly sealed, and the ones that were open were empty. I absolutely love the details of the carvings and the paintings no the wall behind it. Part of the wall decoration were faded and some have peeled off but I like to attempt to interpret the missing parts with my own (sometimes ridiculous) links as part of a story.
The cemeteries i've been to in my life, and the churches I've been to are so so different from this. I've never been to cathedrals in asia, I go to church back in Singapore, but churches are NEVER that elaborate! Of course, my idea of a cemetery is never one with white stone statues and detailed carvings. I always thought cemeteries were eerie tombstones lined up side by side or just a wall of plaques with some engravings.
After exploring the other attractions, we headed out to join the 200 other people at the tower of Pisa. As I was walking towards the tower, the engineering brain cells in me went "I bet there is an angle where the tower is straight!" and I told Jerald. Henceforth we began our search for the STRAIGHT Tower of Pisa. With some mathematical talk about how if it is leaning in one way, to have it straight, we should be on the other side of the tower.
I swear i'm not a nerd!
But I was very impressed with myself for finding the spot where the tower appeared straight. The things I do when traveling...
Since we went to Pisa in the afternoon, we stayed till the sun started to set, and saw how the pink streaks in the sky were reflected on the tower itself. Sadly, it was a pretty cloudy day, and so the tower wasn't as vibrantly lit up with the colours of the sunset.
After spending half a day there, we went to roam around the streets of Pisa and had dinner before heading back to Florence.
It was a fun short day trip out looking for our Straight Tower of Pisa. Going to Pisa solely for that tourist shot, is not going to be worth it, if you are ever in the area, definitely go into the cemetery and baptistry, admire their architecture and interiors, perhaps watch the sunset too? That will definitely make your trip more worthwhile!
Post a Comment