This day was bus tour day. Our first destination was Piazza del Duomo in Pisa, also known as Piazza dei Miracoli.

The excitement

We were talking about this bus tour while still on a walking tour in Florence. It was exciting. The destination will be the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa. We will finally tick off one more item in our bucket list when we are standing in front of the famous tower in Pisa.

It was a brisk walk to the bus station

It was a brisk walk to get to the bus parking station. One thing we can say – Italians, can walk fast! We settled in our assigned seat quickly. Soon, the bus driver began expertly maneuvering the bus through the narrow streets of Florence. The roads were just as narrow when we reached the outskirts of Florence. Mist and fog were limiting road visibility but the drive didn’t feel dangerous. We reached Pisa safely.

Piazza del Duomo

Piazza del Duomo was an open grassy space with buildings surrounding it like a wall. Four magnificent structures were in the piazza – the Baptistry, the Cathedral, the Leaning Tower, and the cloistered cemetery. We entered the piazza through one of the arched gateways – Porta Nuova. The baptistry was closest to the entrance and the leaning bell tower was on the farthest side.

I was surprised upon seeing the place because most of my readings focused more on the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Even postings on social media focused more on the tower. It was not the only magnificent structure in Pisa. In fact, it was not even the biggest structure. The Baptistry, the first structure that I saw upon entering the piazza, was already massive and magnificent by itself.

The cathedral was built forming the shape of a cross. Its architectural design was Romanesque and similar to the other structures in Pisa. The characteristic symmetry and rounded arches were unmistakable. Inside the cathedral, it was cavernous and was as intricately designed as similar buildings we saw in Italy.

Try “the push”, “the poke” or ” the finger pinch”

Surrounding the Leaning Tower of Pisa were scores of people trying to pose for a good photograph. I guess the most popular pose was “the push”. This was followed by “the finger poke” or “the finger pinch” off the tower top. It was fun watching successive groups of people do the same pose in Pisa.

We spent one hour exploring and seeing the buildings and art works in Pisa. In the end, we wished we could have had more time and explored at a more leisurely pace. We hope to be back in the future. The next stop of the tour was the medieval town of San Gimignano.