Days 10 & 11 30-31st May Levanto - Pisa

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Days 10 & 11 30-31st May Levanto - Pisa

Day 10


Sky blue, temp 25-29 degrees. We took the bikes & went exploring. Down the coast a little we found a secluded rocky beach scattered with a few bronzing Italians. Established base, jumped off and swam out to rocks, sunbathed and read. We ate a late lunch perched on the pavement surrounded by geraniums & jasmine; we overlooked the piazza and watched the world go by. Barbequed & played cards. Another tough day at the office!


Day 11

Another sunny day. Broke camp. El Piloto & I are now pretty slick at this & within an hour we were squeezing Big Bess under the gate & off to Pisa. En route we pass through Carrara, the home of marble. It is to these marble quarries that Michelangelo travelled to pick out the marble for so many of his masterpieces. The scars in the hillside are evidence of the local economy & beside the motorway there are yards full of blocks in varying colours & sizes.


PISA: Ah yes the Leaning City of Italy, for it is not just the Tower that leans but many of the city’s historic buildings. How did the medieval architects get it so wrong? It seems that the city was built upon a precarious mixture of sand and clay and is only some 2m above sea level; the architects simply got their calculations wrong. Wrong they may have been but modern Pisans must be forever grateful that the mistake of their ancestors led to the future of Pisa: tourism. But look beyond the tourism and you can find a compact & attractive city which hosts an elite university and a number of research schools.


Camp Pisa set up the boys went to inspect the failure of the medieval architects. Big Bertha (the bike) and I took to the streets in search of the real Pisa. As in Levanto, bikes abound and I soon grasped the rules: you can cycle anywhere but pedestrians come first…no ringing your bell, just squeeze through the masses or get off & push the bike a few yards before remounting. I cycled over the river Arno & found little piazzas, hidden gems of churches & the main shopping boulevard. Returning to Camp Pisa took me back to cycling through Arras in the rush hour – rule 1: never look behind you, rule 2: hold your course.


The boys had visited the Tower, Cathedral & Baptistry; they had had their fill of Italian art & architecture but had been suitably impressed. That evening we wandered back & up towards the river. We found an old piazza; the buildings overhung the square which was full of tables & chairs. There were few tourists (too far for them to walk?!) but the place was heaving with young Italians, El Piloto & I definitely stood out! Pizzas & beers later we strolled down into the Field of Miracles.


The three marble white Romanesque buildings rose ethereally from the Campo dei Miracoli, the green carpet below the buildings glistened with drops of water from the automatic evening sprayers, the pavements ran clean and there was almost no one there. In the corner of this Cathedral Square the doors of a striking house were flung open and the most beautiful music resonated from therein. Curiosity took us to wander down in front of the building. The sound was that of a choir, the most beautiful choir I have ever heard (but perhaps I was being influenced by my surroundings?). They were some 40 strong, men & woman of all ages and the organist and conductor completed the scene as they enchanted us with their practising. This will be my abiding memory of Pisa.


The boys have flown home and we now head towards Florence.

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Comments

[Nellienoos]

Brilliant photographs!
I love the night photos in particular! Now, I had never thought more than well it's lucky for tourism that everything is leaning or it would just be another bell tower but reading your blog made me wonder, could they have possibly built it crooked on purpose as a crazy idea. The tower leans and then someone tried to built it the other way. There's a kink near the top of it! Just a completely random mad thought inspired by your blog. Can't wait to read about Florence.