MacsTravel Blog

We woke up Tuesday morning to threats of torrential rain in the forecast which put our plans to visit Pisa on our way to Lucca (where we had plans to stay for a few days) in some doubt.

However the rain held off, which made our drive out of Monterosso a little less harrowing and we found ourselves heading south towards Pisa and an obligatory visit to its famous tower.

Pisa and Lucca are less than 40 minutes apart, and we thought it would be a good idea to visit Pisa first so we could concentrate on Lucca for the rest of the visit.

The tower is one of three structures in the large grassy acreage of the Duomo square, which also includes the Duomo (obviously) and the Baptistry. The square is surrounded by walls on three sides and is typically jammed with visitors trying to get that iconic photo of the tower, a photo that typically involves a complicated pose.

We had a timed entry at 2:00 pm to climb the 300 steps to the top, so we left ourselves some time to park and explore the area. However, as we drove closer to the so called “field of miracles” we were a little alarmed by a spate of road closures and detours. Thoroughly lost, we drove through what appeared to be a market of some type, wormed our way past a host of carabinieri on motorcycles and somewhat miraculously found the last parking spot in a lot near our destination.

As we walked up the street towards the tower it became clear that some sort of event was underway, as temporary fencing seemed to ring the place. Pete was the first to figure out that we had stumbled on a leg of the famous Giro d’Italia, Italy’s famous bicycle leg. His pace quickened (Pete has a sixth sense that kicks in when he is near a sporting event) and we soon found ourselves inside the tower complex at the finish line of the “sprint” race between Lucca and Pisa.

It was a pretty iconic spot for a bicycle race, and perhaps the first time in years when most people were craning their necks to see something other than the tower in the “field of miracles”.

It was amazing to be in the middle of the excitement over the Giro, but we had a tower to climb! The last time Robin and I were in Pisa access to the tower was closed, so we were excited to see the view from the top.

The tower still has a lean of about four degrees which has apparently been stabilized. However this leads to a very strange experience when climbing as it feels very much like you are navigating the listing deck of a ship.

We emerged at the top to take in incredible views of the entire complex, and the time trials which were well underway with riders released one at a time each minute from Lucca.

A very tight and overcrowded second set of stairs leads you to the top where the bells are. Again, fabulous views, but a lingering sense of unsteadiness prevails.

It was nice to have our feet on level ground.

We enjoyed the views of the tower at lunch in the terraced cafeteria in the opera (you pay for the view not the food) and then went off to explore the enormous Romanesque Duomo.

Construction began in 1064 on this absolutely massive structure, and as was the case with the Tower, the sandy subsoil has led to lots of subsequent complications. It is well worth a visit. These three buildings certainly testify to the historic power and wealth of the city.

We returned to the finish line of the Giro to take a few pictures and appreciate the incredible speeds at which these cyclists travel.

It was a great afternoon and we left under increasingly threatening skies to travel to Lucca. While the cyclists were making this trip in 30 minutes, it took us almost 50 to clear the road closures in Pisa, get back to the toll highway, and enter Lucca only to find more road closures near where we had hoped to park inside the city walls. We eventually gave up, parked the car outside the walls and hauled our luggage to our apartment in the rain.

After unpacking we set out to find a place to eat, eventually stumbling onto a very local, very informal Trattoria da “Leo”. The food was simple and cheap, the atmosphere was great and it was nice to settle in to the next four days in Lucca.