My Tuscan Weekend - Day 1 Pisa

This past weekend was the AUR trip to Tuscany!  We visited Pisa, Florence, and Trequanda.  The trip so amazing, I have to split it into three parts to tell you about.  So here is Day 1 - Pisa!

In the wee hours of Friday morning, Becca, Brigid and I tiptoed out of the apartment and trekked up to school.  Under the arches and across the street is a little cafe called Archi Bar.  It's a popular meeting point for the AUR community and, as a result of all the American customers, once in a blue moon they sell bagels.  I've yet to experience this magical event, but I hope too soon.  I've been craving a bagel with cream cheese for a few weeks now.  Anyway, we got on the bus and promptly fell asleep for the first part of the five-and-a-half-hour ride.

At noon we pulled into a bus depot and staggered out into the sunlight.  We were immediately surrounded by street vendors aggressively trying to sell us knock-off designer sunglasses.  After shaking them off, we walked towards a small pair of arches where we met our tour guides.  Two steps around the wall and-oh, look! It's the tower!

When you see photos of the Tower, it always looks like it's standing on its own, rather isolated.  But in reality, it is only twenty meters away from some other very impressive structures.  The main square is a very large rectangle with tall stone walls all around.  There is green grass surrounding the Tower, the Cathedral, and the Baptistery.  Along the south wall you can buy any Pisa-themed souvenir you can imagine.

Fun Fact!  The Tower has always leaned.  In 1170, the people of Pisa, decided they wanted a beautiful free-standing bell tower to compliment their Cathedral and Baptistery.  The footprint of the tower is very small, but the materials are very heavy.  The people of Pisa wanted something so grand, visitors could ride a horse up to the top.  So, instead of making the steps out of timber, they chose stone.  By 1178, the first three stories had been built and the tower had started to lean.  Construction stopped for about 100 years until another architect picked up the project.  Construction continued, and to solve the problem the architect made the columns taller on one side to offset the leaning.

Our guide says this is probably the most primitive architectural solution to the problem, and obviously didn't work.  In the 1980s, construction stopped again.  It was finally finished in the 1370s with a bell chamber that was offset from the center.  Thanks to a group of engineers from around the world, the Tower stopped leaning in the 1990s.

Next to the Tower is a beautiful medieval cathedral that was built in the mid 1000s.  Another Fun Fact!  The Cathedral leans too!  If you look carefully at the foundation, you can see it leans in the opposite direction of the Tower.  Our guide says "Everything leans in Pisa."  Along the side wall, we saw an interesting pattern on a block of marble.  Italy is very superstitious.  Every town has their own legends, and Pisa is no exception.  So here is the story: One day the Devil came to Pisa and said "This is so beautiful, it must be the work of God. I will destroy it!" So he sank his fingers into the marble and began pushing the Cathedral over. God saw this and froze the Devil's fingertips in the marble. The Devil was so scared, he ripped out his own nails and ran away.  To this day, they are stuck in the marble.

Next to the Cathedral is the Baptistery.  Completed in the mid 1300s, it is dedicated to St. John the Baptist.  The outside is very ornate, but I was surprised to find the inside almost completely bare.  At 3:30, I found out why.  A guard walked to the center while her partner shushed the crowd.  Becca and I had walked up to the second level and were looking down at the floor.  The guard started singing a series of scales to demonstrate the acoustic perfection of the building.  I recorded the last minute of it below.  This is only one person.  Can you imagine a full choir!?

We finished the day with...you guessed it! Gelato.  Mmmm.  We piled back on the bus and drove to our hotel where we slept like logs.  For more photos, click HERE!

Stay tuned for Day 2 - Florence!