A rest day you might ask. Well, we think the best way to start a new leg of our pilgrimage is with a rest. Why not? Especially after a long journey. It reminds Tom of a Health Safety and Environment Review he once led of an infamous French subsidiary of Rio Tinto which started with lunch!
Tom had to see the leaning tower of Pisa as it featured in his introduction to engineering geology as a student in Plymouth all those years ago, so off we went on the train to Pisa this morning. In the rain. The forecast said we should expect drizzle today, but it was definitely proper wet rain.
After another excellent breakfast at La Boheme we headed across the city to the station again, passing an avenue of magnolia trees in bloom. What a thrill so early in spring.
The train ride to Pisa San Rossore took just 25 minutes and as seems to be usual here the train was spotlessly clean, modern and comfortable.
A short walk from San Rossore past the University brought us to the gates of the Piazza dei Miracoli which is the cathedral complex.
Despite the inclement weather there were many other tourists from all over the world. We joined them to climb the 293 steps to the top of the leaning tower, or torre pendente, with far-reaching views out over the cathedral and city, to the hills beyond.
It’s very disconcerting as you climb up the spiral staircase to find yourself lurching from the high side to the low side of the leaning tower. Even more so at the top, where the central floor slopes away and when the stairs are wet and slippery with rain. As we reached the top the bells began to chime the angelus (it is a campanile) but to our surprise it didn’t affect the tower in the way that the bells in our church at Chew Magna used to cause the tower to sway. Perhaps that is because the bells are quite small relative to size of the tower, and they are struck by hammers rather than being swung.
Once back on terra firma we visited the cathedral next. Like the duomo in Lucca, it was built from the local marble between the 9th and 12th centuries, with one significant period of renovation following a fire in 1595. The duomo owes its extravagance to the haul of treasure from overseas raids made by the Pisan navy on other city states in north Africa and Sardinia, and of course to the skills of the medieval architects and sculptors.
By this time we were in need of some lunch, so wandered into town to find a nice restaurant where we enjoyed freshly made lasagne and a seafood risotto, both delicious. Feeling replete and a little more energetic we next tackled one of the museums. A few of the cathedral’s treasures stood out for us.
The rain had stopped – a couple of hours earlier than forecast – so we went to see the cemetery on the enthusiastic recommendation of our Italophile neighbours. It was built in 1277 and is called the Campo Santo because, according to tradition, the soil was mixed with earth brought back from the Holy Land after the Third Crusade. Apart from the stone carved sarcophagi around the cloistered perimeter, there is a sequence of enormous painted murals all along the outer walls, much faded but still very striking.
On the way back to the station, walking amongst hordes of students disgorging from their University lectures, we particularly liked a dentist’s letterbox.
Back in Lucca, we rounded off the day with an excellent meal at the Osteria very close to our B&B. It had been highly recommended but impossible to get into when we were in Lucca in November because the Lucchesi book tables weeks in advance to sample the fresh local ingredients cooked to perfection and accompanied by well chosen local wines. It was well worth the wait.