Today it's Pisa

Duomo and Tower (Internet)

Today the world-famous Market Square Singers are visiting world-famous Pisa, with its Baptistry, Duomo (cathedral), and Tower.

Pisa is located on the right bank of the mouth of the River Arno on the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower (the bell tower of the city's cathedral), the city of over 88,332 residents (around 200,000 with the metropolitan area) contains more than 20 other historic churches, several palaces and various bridges across the River Arno.

The city is also home of the University of Pisa, which has a history going back to the 12th century and some of the best graduate schools in Italy.

Wilmer Henninger writes:

"You will get many photos from our Pisa visit, but you may enjoy this video of the whole grounds.

"The place is ringed with vendors, but the real vendor gauntlet is during the walk from the bus stop to the tower -- very aggressive vendors, all hawking "real" Rolex watches and "real" Prada handbags and very cheap umbrellas as sunscreens.

Baptistry (Internet)

"The Baptistry, Duomo, and Tower all cost an entry fee more than it is worth (my opinion), so we all took hundreds of photos and then found shade. Unless one needs one more Duomo or a leaning tower climb, one hour in Pisa is enough (my opinion again).

"The video ends with the top of the tower and a few hearty souls who paid the 15 Euro to climb it."

While loading Wil's video on You Tube, I came across this demonstration of the acoustic inside the Baptistry and thought you might enjoy seeing and hearing a guide demonstrate the incredible reverberation found inside. You'll also enjoy the delightful response from the Italian visitors. Click here to see the video.

Thanks, Wil, for the video and remarks. I look forward to more pictures from Pisa later today. Readers, come back soon!
__________________________________________

Good things come to those who wait. And here are some additional photos from Pisa, received this evening from Lee Gayman.

"I was curious to see what the world around the leaning tower of Pisa looked like," says Lee. "As we entered the gate, I learned that the tower is actually very shy, and peeks at incoming visitors by bending forward to peek around the cathedral."

Echoing Wilmer, Lee adds: "We decided 15€ ($18.84) is a bit pricey to get to the top of a tower -  and they don't even have an elevator! This is a pretty typical photo of the leaning tower. It was after taking this photo that Wilmer and I retreated to a cooler side street for therapeutic gelatos."

 

[Editor's Note: They'd have to pay ME to climb up there!]