Pisa!

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We went to the trainstation first thing in the morning to catch the bus, and the most striking thing was track number 16. Our guide Marcello informed us that Fascist Italy shipped off dozens of Jews to concentration camps and they never made it out alive. Track 16 was where the train departed with Italians for the Death Camp, and every year they remember the sins of the government and the lives lost by holding a memorial service there. The Memorial was on January 28th, thus the wreath still lay next to the track. Track 16 was empty when we walked by, and when I scanned the departure board, no trains were scheduled for Track 16. Was this a part of the memorial? Or was it just an eerie coincidence? I boarded the bus with my stomach in knots....

So Pisa is actually a really dumpy city. There isn't really anything there except for the Basilica Complex. It was a little unsettling when we got off the bus and walked through the projects to go to the Complex, especially given the gypsies who stalked us. One of the gypsies had a baby and she stole this chick's wallet, and the girl whipped around and stole it back. It turns out it was a babydoll and the gypsy was hoping the ruse would get her donations. How wierd....
Once we arrived at the Basilica I felt better. There were all sorts of tourists and street venders and yes the occassional gypsy. But at least this area was familiar. It was the Italy I know and love. I think I hated the projects we walked through because it was a reality check. The real world was invading on my romantic ideas of Italy, and I didn't like it. It was not until much later that I realized that I'm not on vacation, and Italy isn't my own personal paradise, it is my temporary home, both the good and the bad.

So I had a "Stupid American Moment" when I arrived at the complex. Fortunately I was the only one who knew how ignorant I was. What exactly was my stupid moment? Ironically it is a notion I've had for years, or perhaps the lack thereof: I had no idea that the leaning Tower was part of a Church complex. I hadn't really given it much thought, I'd just slappd it on my bucket list because it's a tower that leans, and not on purpose. I never asked myself, "Gee Sarah, they wouldn't build a random tower in the middle of no where, would they? What did they build it for? Why?" Nope, I'm usually the girl with a million questions about everything, especially the questions no one knows the answer to. Yet, I'd failed to ask such a fundamental thing!?! I vaguely recall learning about a famous Baptistry in Pisa, but it never ocurred to me to figure out where it was in relation to the tower. So there I was, frozen in front of these four massive structures, absolutely mortified because of my own stupidity! I can only imagine the look on my face and the flush on my cheeks! And you know what I did? I immediately snapped back to attention and followed the rest of the group towards the Baptistry, as if I'd known about all four buildings all along. And when my fellow architecture students made fun of the ignorant communications majors for not knowing about the whole complex. And I just bit my tongue and rolled with it. If my silence makes me a bad person, well so be it 'cause there was no way in hell that I was going to admit that I was that stupid!

Once I got over my mortification, I was totally awestruck by how intricate and detailed the facades of each building are. The stunning white marble is hand carved on almost every square surface, and I can't help but wish we had such craftsmenship and devotion to detail in the 21st Century.

We entered the Church first and while our guide Marcello reeled off all sorts of facts and history, I got totally lost in the art and architecture. I honestly don't recall I thing he said because I was so focused on the interior of the building. The beauty and grace of it all was overwhelming! I felt like I could never take it all in! my eyes were too small of a lens, my mind too slow to comprehend all the detail and craftsmanship, the lighting too dim to appreciate the building's glory! And then all of a sudden I was yanked out of my thoughts, not by Marcello, but by a group of Asian tourists. They were near one of the Chapels that contained a statue of the Blessed Mother and they were posed in mock prayer for pictures. I went from zero to 60 in a nano second and if I hadn't been in a basilica I would have screamed at them for such disrespect! I don't go into temple and pretend I'm Buddah! I don't sit in a Zen garden and mock the meditating monks! And if I ever did I'd be accused of racist tendencies and kicked out! So why in God's name did they think it was okay to come into a place of worship and openly mock the religion! For the first time in my life I was contemplating murder in a Church! And you know me, I'm not one to keep my mouth shut, so I nearly waltzed on over and screamed at them for being so disrespectful. But something stopped me. Maybe it was disillusionment at the state of the world that chased the anger out of me, or maybe it was the logically part of me that doubted their ability to speak English. All I know is that I turned around and calmly walked out the church doors, and I never looked back. I'd like to think an angel soothed the anger out of me... Either way I left the church with a bad taste in my mouth and a surreal calmness about me, and the dicotomy was a little disturbing.

Then we visited the Baptistry and while in the exterior is stunning in its ornateness, the interior is glorious in its simplicity. White Carrara Marble from Florence, and Green Marble from Prato contrast in gorgeous clean lines. It took my breath away. I was feeling so totally overwhelmed by its near perfection, when all of a sudden one of the complex staff entered and stood right in the center of the Baptistry. We were all shocked when he suddenly belted out a single note, and then another, and another. The acoustics in the baptistry are so incredible, it sounded like an entire choir was singing, when it was really just a single man's echo. It was so beautiful, it brought tears to my eyes. And when he was finished and the music gave way to an even louder silence, everyone remained still; eyes locked on the humble man who had just made the entire building resound like a chorus of angels. You could have heard a pin drop in quiet. Once he had left the building, everyone started looking at eachother, and the whispers began. I have never heard anything so beautiful, and I doubt I ever will again.

After such a monumental experience, the rest of the visit was sort of anticlimatic. Don't get me wrong; the entire place was beautiful and I had a wonderful time, but nothing could compare to my experience in the Baptistry. We the Masoleum next and then we stood beneath the tower gawking. Some people actually climbed the tower, but I decided to stay on the ground. I am so accident prone; I'm fairly certain that had I climbed the stairs, I'd have been the asshole that knocked the whole thing down. We grabbed some lunch at a local pizzeria. It was away from the main piazza so it was more authentic than the tourist traps right next to the Tower. The pizza was amazing and my friends practically had to roll me out of the restaurant because I ate so much! Then we took all sorts of silly pictures with the tower, posing as if we were hercules holding the whole thing up! We were totally obnoxious tourists! hehee. Shortly thereafter we got back on the bus and headed to Lucca for part two of our adventure!

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