A Real Pisa of work…Actually Breathtaking

Iconic images of Italy undoubtably include the Leaning Tower of Pisa. And while you may have seen it in pictures countless times, you will still be struck by how much it really leans!

The bell tower (aka Leaning Tower) is part of the field of miracles including the baptistery, Cathedral, Camposanto  Cemetery, and Museum of Sinopias. These buildings, each a testament to God and faith and powerful rich benefactors, stand majestically white and strong against a brilliant blue sky and a rich green lawn.

The combination ticket gets you in to two of the  three building with a separate timed entrance to the reason everyone is here… the tower!

The setting itself is dramatic and postcard worthy.  If you were put off by the 294 stairs climb up the tower, it would still be worth the trip.  We possess the golden ticket however! The admittance to the tower at 19:15(the 24 hour clock has been the bane of our existence… 7:15 pm for those who share the lag in translation). This is the magic hour( moments) for sunset.  Vantage point high above the city… at sunset… priceless( well actually about $17…we’ll save you the euro conversion)

We have arrived early to enjoy time in Pisa.

The crowd ambles across the pathways clustering to take pictures comically trying to recreate the saving of the leaning  tower. It is pretty funny to see random people posing with their arms up  pretending to support the empty air while their friend aligns it to the leaning tower and even more funny when it works in a photo…

In the afternoon the sun stretches across the sky casting  long shadows on the lawn. As people walk around the far wall, their movement appears like giants looming over those resting on the lawn below.

There are many wanting to visit the buildings and others who are picnicking on the lawn.  We came prepared with a lunch from the take away panini shop with cookies from the patisserie.  We people watch for awhile.

The cathedral actually closed early today in part because there is a wedding and tonight there is a concert. Some are disappointed. They came all this way and will miss seeing it. This week, Pisa is hosting Anima Mundi, a sacred music festival, not a cartoon convention. I know it sends tingles down your spine, but go with it.The acoustics in a majestic cathedral full of stunning art work and marvelous ceilings with choirs  singing with orchestras playing could win over hardened music critic at least for an experience. We have tickets for the 20:30 concert.. (8:30 pm) which , given that the concert is in the Cathedral, we will see the Cathedral anyway!

◦The Baptistry has intricate patterns of inlaid marble on the floor and around the

altar and baptismal font.  The inner walls echo the bright white stone of the facade. There is a doorway on either side to allow passageway to the upper balcony of the dome. As we hike the stairs to the dome we wonder how they compare the the hike up the tower. Signs demand Silencio as you have entered a sacred place. A young woman enters in uniform and stands beneath the domed ceiling. It is important to know that the Baptistry is know as a place where a single note can reverberate for 10 seconds, allowing an individual to actually harmonize with him/herself. You know what’s coming don’t you. This very unassuming woman opens her mouth, lets out a beautiful note followed by another filling the space with a beautiful chord.  Like I said… in this space with that sound it is hard not to be taken in.

When it is finally our time to ascend the tower, we are anxious to get to the top to maximize our time for photos and breath taking views. The breathtaking begins in the tower as we start our climb.  The 294  marble steps are polished from the wear of hundreds of years of foot traffic. The grade is steep vertically and the pitch of the lean really throws to one side as you round the lean in and the to the other as you round out.  We are winded when we reach the top, but the reward is even better than hoped for!

Fifteen minutes later we are shoo’d to head back down as the last of the evening’s climbers are there.  Soon the brass fanfare (a kickoff for the Anima Mundi ) will begin and the concert goers will flood into the Cathedral.

The half moon is high in the sky as the last of the fading sunlight is extinguished.

But I do wonder … will the tower ever fall?