We recently returned from our first long school trip of the year. This time it was 5 nights and 6 days in Pisa, Torino and Milano. I will be organizing my thoughts and editing my pictures as I post over the next few days.
Our first stop was Pisa while in route to Torino. It was a quick stop, a total of 3 hours, just as our previous visit had been. Again, there isn’t really that much to see in Pisa once you get beyond the Duomo and surroundings including the Leaning Tower. The weather was similarly dark and foreboding as it was for our last trip which provided some interesting contrasts for exterior pictures.
The main doors are covered with copper panels depicting biblical scenes. The copper weathers to a lovely green patina which is sometimes removed by constant rubbing of visitors. One of my favorites is below. I’m not sure what the scene is supposed to be, but the dog and the fact that he has been touched often enough for the copper color to still be bright makes me smile.
During this trip, however, for some reason unknown to man or beast, the Duomo was open and free to visitors, so in we went. It is easy to say it is just another monstrously large, impressively decorated church, because it is. It has a very nice mosaic nave in the Byzantine style with a twelve foot tall pulpit which looks out toward both the altar and the back of the church.
You get a sense of the layout in this picture taken from the rear as you enter the main doors of the cathedral.
The city fathers made an interesting choice when siting the church. Rather than placing it in amongst the other buildings of the city, they created a large, open space for the Duomo and its associated buildings. The baptistery is an polygonal building opposite the main entrance to the Duomo.
Amy opted to purchase a ticket and explored the inside while taking pictures for the rest of us. The centerpiece is the octagonal baptismal font with associated altar.
You can go up to view the plan from above. The building has marvelous acoustics which are, for obvious reasons, impossible to reproduce here.
Amy enjoyed the lion holding up a column on its back.
Along one side of the grassy piazza is the Sinope, a sort of burial area which has an aura of a cloister when toured, as was possible with Amy’s entrance ticket.
We didn’t attempt to climb the tower and, in fact, never got terribly close to it. But, a trip to Pisa wouldn’t be complete without the obligatory picture including its impressive lean.
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