The Tuscan city of Pisa is most famous for it's leaning tower. It's the tower where, thanks to the lean, Galileo was able to perform his famous experiments which demonstrated that all weights fall at the same speed. Odd as it may seem to us today Aristotle had declared that a ten kilo weight would fall at ten times the speed of a one kilo weight yet nobody had bothered to check this theory until Galileo carried out the experiment in Pisa over 1000 years later.
That very experiment reminds us that Pisa has been a centre of learning for a considerable time with the university being founded way back in 1343 and which is today one of the most important schools in Italy.
There's so much to see in Pisa that our list merely touches the highlights:
The tower (Pissa Torre). This is what usually draws tourists to the city and therefore you can expect throngs of tourists at peak times. It's been leaning for over 700 years now but recently engineers have become worried that it's leaning a little too much and there have been various attempts to ensure that that the lean doesn't increase any more. The tower is merely one of a number of works in the city's main square (Piazza di Miracoli). In fact, there are two other leaning towers: one at the southern end of central Via Santa Maria and the other near Piagge.
Piazza dei Cavalieri is another of the main attractions, containing the impressive Palazzo della Carovana and the church of Santo Stefano dei Cavalieri where you can view the treasure captured from a number of naval battles from the 16th to the 18th century. In the same area you'll find the romaneque church of St Sixtus dating from 1133.
Churches abound in the city, including St. Francis (1276), San Frediano (1061), San Nicola (1097), Santa Maria della Spina (1230), San Paolo (952) and San Michele in Borgo (990). The impressive palaces include the Medici Palace (1392) and the Palazzo Reale (1559) where Galileo demonstrated his telescope.
Although the churches and palaces house collections, there are also a number of stand-alone museums which include the Museo del l'Opera del Duomo, Museo delle Sinopie and the Museo Nazionale di S. Matteo.
Getting Here:
The Pisa International Airport (PSA) is 2km north of the city centre and is served by discount (Ryanair, Easyjet) and regular airlines.
The city is well served by the Italian train network.
Photo courtesy of Pisa Tourism
For an alternative guide see Pisa Guide
