Around the World: Part Nineteen
To the city of the Tilted Bell Tower
It is a
campanile bell tower. The height of the tower is 55.86 meters (183.27 feet)
from the ground on the low side and 56.67 meters (185.93 feet) on the high
side. The width of the walls at the base is 2.44 m (8 ft
0.06 in). The tower is currently tilted to 3.97 degree.
The
largest baptistery in Italy, it is 54.86 m high, with a diameter of 34.13 m. The
Pisa Baptistery is an example of the transition from
the Romanesque style to the Gothic style: the lower section
is in the Romanesque style, with rounded arches, while the upper sections are
in the Gothic style, with pointed arches. The Baptistery is constructed
of marble, as is common in Italian architecture.
It is a
medieval Roman Catholic cathedral dedicated to
the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. It is a notable example
of Romanesque architecture, the style known as Pisan Romanesque.
It is the seat of the Archbishop of Pisa.
It is a
square in the Oltrarno district, and
provides a panoramic view of the city, on the banks of the river Arno. The square is most famous for the
statue of David, a masterpiece
of Renaissance sculptor, created by Italian artist Michelangelo.
Later we
headed towards Park Hotel, Arezzo for dinner and night stay. Our coach captain Lubisha would
be on his journey back to Paris tonight. We gifted him a wallet as a token of
gratitude. Later we checked into our rooms and had dinner. This was the last
dinner in the European country tonight. Post dinner we gifted a jacket to
Akhilesh as a token of gratitude. We got into our rooms and packed most of the
stuff. Tomorrow was our last day of the tour. It was surprising how the days
passed by in the blink of the eye.
16.05.2019:
Tour Day 10, Country 9, City 3&4
We had our
breakfast and checked out of the hotel. Our bus was parked away from the main
hotel; so, we had to drive the luggage till the bus. Today the road journey was
longer, we were moving to the city of
the tilted bell tower. I have seen the image of this tower on the cover of my
classmate long books; and now I was going to view it in real. We arrived in the
city of Pisa, Tuscany, central Italy by noon. Here again the bus dropped us at
the queue for the tram ride to the Pisa monuments. We queue up for the tram;
meanwhile there were many umbrella and handbag sellers around. Some of us did
purchase the umbrellas and bags. The tram dropped us in the vicinity of the
tower. We had to walk further to the main monuments. There were many souvenir
stalls, coffee shops, ice cream shops on the way. Unlike the other countries we
travelled till now, Italy was the most crowded country and the weather was
pleasant and sunny. So, we left our woolens in the bus itself. We headed first
towards our lunch Ristorante Rajasthan, Via Capponi. The seating
arrangement was in a big tent. The food included the basic Indian food plus
there was an Italian pizza and pasta.
Piazza dei Miracoli (Square of Miracles)
It
includes the Pisa Cathedral, Pisa Baptistry, the Campanile and the Camposanto
Monumentale.
The Leaning Tower of Pisa
The Pisa Baptistery
The Pisa Cathedral
After the
sightseeing, we had free time for shopping on the streets of Pisa. Then we
queued up for the Tram, which took us to our bus, and we headed to the next
city. We arrived in the city of Firenze
(Florence) in the evening. It is the capital city of Tuscany, central Italy.
Piazzale Michelangelo
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