Field of Tourists (and Miracles) (Pisa)

Member Name: Hunting_Bears

Product:	Pisa
Date:	05/06/03 (186 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: great architecture, Campo Santo

Disadvantages: too many American and Japanese tourists

Last year, 2002, I went on a holiday to Tuscany and one day we travellled from our base in the lovely town of Ronta in the Mugello valley to Pisa. It was about a two hour drive through the 'heaven on earth' likeTuscan countryside, passing the beautiful town of Lucca. The main attraction of Pisa is obviously the famous 'Leaning Tower' which does lean at a freakish angle. The great suprise about Pisa is that in the Campo di Miracoli (Field of Miracles) there are other wonderful surprises namely the Campo Santo.


To gain access to the Campo di Miracoli, you have to park in a huge car park and get a free bus to the outer wall. Walking through a market that sales lots of cheap tacky rubbish (that Americans and Japanese tourists buy in bulk) you enter the Field of Miracles and go to the ticket office. To gain access to the Church, Baptistry, Campo Santo and Museum it costs around 13 Euro's which is quite cheap. The Leaning Tower was about 30 Euro's and it only let's a certain number of climb to the top every hour, so I decided that I didn't need to climb up because there was too much to see.

The first thing that I noticed was the mathematical geometry and symbolism of the field of miracles. The church, baptistry and cemetary are linked to symboise the journey from birth to death which is quite interesting. The geometry of the buildings is unbelievable and incredible to look at. It is worth pointing out that the church also leans like the tower but it just looks like it is sinking at one end.

The Baptistry is a wonderful way to spend twenty minutes, the pulpit is amazing and carved out of wood and is propped up by carved lions. I enjoyed the Baptistry because it was cool and outside the weather was pushing 30c. The Italian sunshine can be unrelenting in July.

The Campo Santo is actually more amazing than the Leaning Tower. During WW2 Allied planes bombed it and ruined priceless statu
es, frescoes and I was shocked because it is a beautiful looking cemetary. The highlight of the Campo Santo is the fresco 'The Triumph of Death'. It fills an entire room and offers grisly images of torture, suffering and death. The art work is absolutely stunning and I spent forty-five minutes staring in awe.

Pisan architecture is very unique and the only other original examples of the style can be found in the town of Lucca (more later). The architecture is very layered and there is excessive use of marble and the colour white. The Baptistry looks like a giant wedding cake and also it is unique because the roof is egg-shaped rather than dome-shaped.

The Church is typical of most Italian churches; beautiful and full of priceless renaissance artworks. It could not match any of the churches in Florence or Rome but it was a lovely way to spend ten minutes.

After doing the cheesy tourist pictures of standing in front of the Leaning Tower, I headed over to the Museum which again was a great suprise. My favourite thing in the museum was the wooden cross with a gaunt looking Jesus hanging from it. Other things of interest are crosses, flags etc from the Holy Crusades. Another bonus is that you can capture some nice pictures of the Leaning Tower without having some fat American tourist blocking the view.

Pisa is a university town and main regret is that I never explored the town-proper. There meant to be some lovely piazzas and resteraunts. The big thing I noticed about Pisa was that apart from a few piazzas and the Campo di Miracoli there didn't seem to be a lot to do. On the way into Pisa it is pretty bland and not how I imagined.

I know Lucca is not in Pisa but I have to add that if you have time and are staying in Tuscany you must go to Lucca, a tranquil and serene medieval town that is truly quaint and chilled out. I remember watching a documentary about a demon posession that happened in L
ucca and it certainly looks like the Devil could drop in with it's narrow streets and overall spooky feel. Lucca is famous for the birthplace of Giacomo Puccini who wrote 'La Boheme and Tosca'. There is a statue of him in the street piazza where he was born and I was excited by the discovery. Another nice touch to Lucca is the Pisan architecture which I find just so cool in a bizarre way. The oddest thing I saw in Lucca was a dead bird with its entrails and guts strewn across a beautiful piazza, it had been run over and it was an odd contrast with the beautiful surroundings. Lucca is a walled city and they don't allow outside traffic, so find a parking space and a map and just spend the afternoon mulling around this gorgeous town.

I hope you have enjoyed my little review of Pisa and Lucca because they are really great places to visit. I would not go to Pisa again (once you've seen it,you don't really need to see it again) but I could live in Lucca easily. Ciao!

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