We set off with great anticipation. This is not my first time here, but I knew I was going to be just as gobsmacked as I was on my previous visits. On the way we stopped to admire the gorgeous little church of Santa Maria della Spina which sits beside the Arno and supposedly houses a precious relic, namely a thorn from the crown of thorns worn by Jesus. We crossed the nearby bridge over the river which was very brown and swiftly flowing from recent heavy rain. And then we approached it.
Begun in 1173, it is only due to the massive efforts of engineers that it still stands. The treacherous mix of sand and clay, 40 metres deep, caused not only the tower to lean, but also the Duomo, the Baptistry and several other bell towers throughout the town. On my first visit the tower was closed to climbers; on my second visit I climbed it, but it was surrounded by scaffolding as it was still being cleaned. In April 2011 work was complete and for the first time in 20 years it could be viewed free of scaffolding. This is how we saw it today, dazzling white like a delicately decorated tier of a wedding cake.
On Tony's first visit it had also been closed to the public, so he was thrilled to climb it today. Only 40 people are allowed up at any one time, but tourists are so few at the moment that I think there were maybe 20 in our lot. We climbed the 300 stairs spiraling around its hollow core and emerged to a clear and breath-taking view of the surrounding area. The 7 bells at the top encircling the floor are quite beautiful, and each play a note of the scale, though no one knows why there are only 7 and not 8.
Again we had this hauntingly beautiful place mostly to ourselves. The resting place for many prominent Pisans is a huge building arranged around a garden in a cloistered quadrangle. Soil shipped from the Holy Land during the crusades was spread here and is reputed to reduce cadavers to skeletons within days. Beautiful frescoes adorn the walls, but sadly many were destroyed by artillery during WWII.