Having already visited the two most popular cities in Italy, it was a must to visit the third, so here is the last and no less important city - Pisa. In my penultimate post, I wrote about Venice, and after that the next place on our way to Hivefest was Pisa, and upon arriving in the city, we, being hungry, quickly stopped at the grocery store and settled into a rented apartment, we went on our first exploration of this magical city. The moon illuminated the night, dark and empty streets while we headed from our parking lot to the main square where the tower is located.
Having found the entrance, we entered, and felt this mysterious atmosphere. In front of me is the Square of Miracles - the pearl of Pisa where the most important architectural wonders of the entire city are located. This square got its name due to the unsurpassed harmony of the buildings that decorate it.
This place looks like a museum of giant buildings that amaze with their size and decorate the green lawn. These buildings may seem simple at the same time, but when you see them in reality, you will understand their uniqueness. In front of us was a huge lawn, and in the middle stood two majestic buildings with spires. The moonlight fell on the large figures of the buildings, illuminating their white marble surface. It seemed as if we had fallen into a magnificent era. Back then, when people created not just buildings, but works of art. Walking around the park, there was a magical air of Pisa around. It felt different than in any other part of the world. Everything looks so beautiful. It is interesting that all these buildings have been standing here for more than 700 years and they still look as fresh and majestic.
In this beautiful setting, we decided to take some cool photos with the tower, which is the base, and the duty of every tourist visiting Pisa. Each of us approached the camera opposite the tower so that you were the same size as it, put your hands in the right positions and voila! An exotic photo where you're "holding" the tower is available! After a few photos we went home because the next day we had an even bigger walk.
Having got up and gathered for the next study, we went to see everything in the daylight of truth. But the truth was the same, and even brighter than the previous day. The lawn was bright green and the massiveness of the buildings was impressive.
The first building we saw was the Baptistery of St. John. It looks like a large round building with a spherical dome. I honestly don't remember why we didn't go inside, but I regret it now, it seems to me that I missed a lot of beautiful and interesting things this way. They say that its dome has unique acoustics: even a whisper under its vault sounds like a melodic choir. The architectural style of this building combines Romanesque and Gothic styles, and the interior is decorated with elegant reliefs and marble sculptures.
The next temple hidden behind the first building turned out to be the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta. Built in the Romanesque style, it impresses with its snow-white marble and rich decor. I was fascinated by the texture. It feels so high-quality. This white and large stone is such a magical material.
Its facade is decorated with columns, arches and masterful carvings. God, I'm looking at the photo of the temple from the inside now and I'm almost crying 😭😭😭. Inside you can see magnificent frescoes, massive bronze doors and the famous pulpit created by Giovanni Pisano. The mosaic drawings on the ceiling are so colorful and diverse. It looks cool. The columns inside the temple are lined with black and white marble in stripes. It looks so chic.
And now, after looking at these brilliant creations, we began to move towards the main attraction. And now, finally, we see this MIRACLE with our own eyes. This is the LEANING TOWER OF PISA.
The Leaning Tower of Pisa is a mistake that made the city famous. The most famous landmark of Pisa is undoubtedly the Leaning Tower of Pisa (Torre di Pisa - the Italian name). Most people, even without knowing about the existence of the city, dream of going and seeing the famous building. And only later do they find out that it was named after the city and not vice versa.
This building was created in 1173, long before all this, and was built with sweat and blood for almost 200 years, ending in 1372. The construction took so long because it was interrupted by many wars, skirmishes, etc. The tower was built to become the bell tower of the Cathedral. But due to the unstable soil, which could not support its majesty, the tower began to lean during construction, which gave it extraordinary charisma and eventually made it not only the highlight of west-central Italy, but also a world-famous tower on the same level as the Eiffel Tower.
Despite the fact that the tilt created serious problems, the tower survived for centuries. Scientists and engineers have repeatedly tried to stabilize it, and thanks to modern technology, it was possible to stop its further fall. Once, after years of the tower sinking only a few millimeters, the tower began to rapidly fall centimeters, and sank by as much as 10 degrees, which forced the authorities to close it for 11 years of restoration until it was safe for people to enter. Today, the tower's tilt is about 4 degrees, and it is open to tourists.
This is a very mystical fact, but once, after the tower tilted to the north, the tower straightened up on its own, and then tilted again, but to the south.
In order to take a photo with the tower, my sister had a very interesting idea. We went to an ice cream stand and bought a simple cone. I think everyone has already understood the idea. I present to you ice cream with the taste of the Leaning Tower of Pisa!
My precious sister @bugavi
@bugavi
In general, this tower looks cool, and its height reaches 57 meters! By the way, the famous scientist and physicist Galileo Galilei himself conducted experiments on gravity, dropping various objects from the top of the tower and commenting on everything in detail. Haha, I'm surprised because I didn't know that two such famous things were connected (and now I have to study physics).
Another important building is the Camposanto Cemetery, a historic necropolis with long arched galleries and ancient frescoes. According to legend, the earth for this cemetery was brought from Golgotha, which made it a sacred place. I usually don't like to write about cemeteries, but Galileo Galilei was mentioned again. Through one of the chapels in the cemetery, Galileo discovered the theory of the pendulum. Walking past the cemetery, by the way, we didn't even know what it was, thinking it was just a wall.
And thus we explored the entire Square of Miracles. This is such an amazing place, and when you go to Italy, visit this place immediately! Bye bye everyone! 🏛️🌿
Credits to @olga.maslievich, because without her i wouldn't have most of the photos!