Private Day Trip to Pisa Round Trip from Rome

A few meters from the central station is this elliptical square, recently redeveloped. In the center stands the statue dedicated to the king of Italy. Several important buildings overlook this area, such as the Palazzo delle Poste and the Palazzo della Provincia. A stone's throw away is the Church of S. Antonio, whose external wall is immediately noticeable for a real explosion of colour. I'm talking about the largest mural in Europe, the Tuttomondo by Keith Haring. If you love street art, this work is certainly one of the unmissable things to see in Pisa in one day. The American artist gave life to this important project in 1989, invited to the city by a Pisan student he met in New York. The mural shows thirty figures joined together to represent peace in the world. In the centre, ocher in colour, the Pisan cross stands out, formed by four linked figures.

From Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II begins Corso Italia, the main street of Pisa. It is the shopping street, full of bars and shops of all kinds. Along Corso Italia are the Church of S. Domenico and the Church of S. Maria del Carmine, with a rather simple interior but with a very nice cloister.

Among the things to see in Pisa in one day, there is the Church of S. Maria della Spina, so called because it housed a relic of the thorn from Christ's crown.

Piazza Garibaldi waiting for us, with the bronze statue of the famous leader. Here I stopped in the afternoon for a relaxing beer overlooking the river. From Piazza Garibaldi begins Borgo Stretto, one of the oldest districts of Pisa. A pleasant walk under the arcades that characterize this street, full of historic shops and cafes, overlooked by medieval palaces that belonged to nobles and merchants.

The walkway on the walls was regularly reopened to the public on 18 May 2018. The walls are one of the oldest in Italy and have undergone several restoration and redevelopment interventions over time. This is a route of about 3 km with four access points: Torre di Legno (Piazza Federico del Rosso), Piazza delle Gondole, Piezometric Tower (Via S. Francesco – Via Vittorio Veneto) and Torre di S. Maria (Piazza of miracles).

Inscribed in the Unesco World Heritage list in 1987, Piazza dei Miracoli appears to our eyes as a large green lawn reserved exclusively for pedestrians. Here are the famous Leaning Tower, the Cathedral of S. Maria Assunta, the Monumental Cemetery and the Baptistery of S. Giovanni.

The Leaning Tower, symbol of Pisa. In reality it is the bell tower of the Cathedral, located a few meters away. Since its construction in 1173, the ground gradually yielded more and more, leading to the leaning of the tower. Fortunately, the axis passing through its center of gravity falls into the support base, so there is no chance that the tower will fall. No less than 294 steps, a somewhat complicated climb due to the slope, but the effort is repaid by a beautiful 360° panorama of the city.

It is striking both externally and internally for a very strong use of marble: white and gray for the external cladding, black and white for the interior. Since its construction, the architect has been able to combine classical, Arab and Byzantine elements. Inside this beautiful Romanesque cathedral, a rich heritage of works of art unwinds, to which the elegant coffered ceiling gives majesty.

Leaving the Cathedral, we see the Baptistery of S. Giovanni in front of us. It is the largest in Italy and was built with different materials (red tiles and lead plates), probably due to lack of money. I took the photo of the facade of the Cathedral here, on the first floor, from an open window.

The Camposanto Monumentale is a sacred place because here the Crusaders brought the holy land taken on Mount Golgotha. The leading figures in Pisan history have been buried for centuries. In the 19th century the ancient cemetery was rearranged: all the sarcophagi were moved inside under the arches. Exploring this place we notice the richness of the frescoes, whose sinopias, i.e. the preparatory drawings in red lime, are kept in the Museo delle Sinopie, included in the admission ticket.

It takes its name from the headquarters of the Order of the Knights of St. Stephen, commissioned by Cosimo De' Medici, and has been the seat of city power for centuries. Today it houses the prestigious Scuola Normale Superiore of Pisa, inside the Palazzo della Carovana, a jewel seen from the outside. Also interesting is the Palazzo dell'Orologio which incorporates the so-called Torre della Muda, or Torre della Fame. Here, as Dante's Divine Comedy says, Count Ugolino della Gherardesca, his children and grandchildren were imprisoned. The archbishop gave orders to throw the prison key into the Arno and let them die of hunger.