Pisa has its place in the world map of "wonders" with its leaning tower. And most make the day trip to visit it along with its adjoining architectural miracle the Campo deli Miracoli square. But you would be missing much if you concentrate only on Pisa's perpendicularly challenged tower. Apart from the cathedrals, botanical parks, museums et al, Pisa university once had a certain illustrious physicist who changed our world view ---Galileo
THE NATURAL PARK OF MIGLIARINO, SAN, RASSORE, MASSSACIUCCOLI
Located along the Tirrian coastline, the vast expanse stretches for about 2300 hectres. The area includes sanoroso estate, farmlands, lakes and marshlands. The thick coverage of stone pines gives way at many places to dunes, hygrophilous forest, sandy shores, and marshlands. But it is water that dominates with bogs, ponds, ditches, swarms, and channels interlacing the woods of deciduous and Mediterranean trees. Not surprisingly, this part is home to over 200 species of birds including herons, egrets, wild ducks, moor -buzzards and stilt-plovers. A keen eye would help you ferret out such rare botanical species as sun-dew, the perploca, the marsh orchid, the pink hibiscus and the royal or florenda fern CHARTREUSE OF CALCI Built in stages, it is perhaps one of the earliest conscious attempts to harmonize human construction with art, nature and the space outside. The rich decoration that imbues every detail makes it an organic and unified entity. Get acquainted with the daily life of the monks at the historical and the artistic museum. Feast your eyes on the best of the paintings above the alters ---- like Franceschini's "St. Bruno offering the charter house to the Madonna." It is an ethereal masterpiece. CAMPO DEI MIRACOLI Though the wondrous leaning tower of Pisa overshadows everything else in this magnificent square, the medieval architecture in the cathedral, the baptistery and the cemetery are equally arresting. Built after the defeat of an Arab attack, the cathedral is as much a statement of power as of religion. The façade explicitly lists Pisa's victorious vast exploits. The 4 galleries of arches in the upper part are repeated in all the four buildings here. The aisles also follow a specific architectural pattern and open doors to the sublime marble pulpit. The stained glass and the paintings are however -a class apart. THE LEANING TOWER OF PISA
It is actually the bell tower of the cathedral and is made of a large cylinder tapering into smaller ones. A combination of shifting subsoil and the sheer weight of the construction, contributes to its spectacular tilt. The six levels of open galleries proved to be the unifying element , architecturally.BAPTISTERY While taking the unifying design elements it melds it with the gothic transfusion of pinnacle and cusps. The conspicuous dome has nine conic sections. The cone stands on a dodecagon, the columns of which are divided into four groups by pillars. The pulpit also is exquisitely beautiful and represents the transition from Romanesque to the gothic art. It is compact polygonal and is closely adapted to the surroundings. Scenes from life of the Lord decorate the walls. Its renowned for it acoustics and you sing a few notes to hear it reverberate in every direction.THE CEMETERYa rectangular enclosure made of marble marks the boundary of this cemetery. This is supposed to be the place where the crusader spilled the soil they had brought from the Holy Land. Outside there are blind arches and two simple portals. On the inside ,you can find a rectangular area surrounded by a porch whose arcades were successfully transformed into gothic ones during the remarkable period of Renaissance. Fresco's made by Traini Puccio and Gozzoli are found in the northern wing. You can also revel in the monuments, sculptures and ancient sarcophagi of immense historical and artistic value in the places where luminaries were buried. Unlike in the present times, local people and even foreigners used to congregate at the symmetry to pray, chat and take rest.PIAZZA DEI CAVALIERIThe night square; designed by Vasari it bears the characterstic late renaissance architectural shape. It was actually the ancient center of the town and contains some magnificent buildings. There is a Roman tower at Palazzo dell'orologio which was build during renaissance period. The cavalry was erected to celebrate the order of St Stefan's night that had a stellar roused during the crusades. The façade is curved and is decorated by Graffiti that is reached by a two-flight staircase. The building is now a seat of an important university. There is a Church of Santo de Steffano dei Cavaleri on the right, which was also designed by Vasari. Its marble façade is also fascinating.