The Field of Miracles

We spent the morning in Pisa seeing the big attraction there before making our way up to Lake Como for a night in Varenna.  We got up bright and early on Thursday morning and got dressed and packed up.  We loaded the car and headed into Pisa.  We found a parking lot near the famous Field of Miracles and parked.  On the walk to the Field we stopped off at a cafe for our morning cappuccino and croissant which were really tasty.  The guy running the cafe was funny and chatting up everyone that came in except us as we don't speak Italian.  It was fun to see a locals cafe though.  After our fueling pit stop we headed into the famous Field of Miracles and took our first glimpse at the Leaning Tower, the Duomo, and the largest Baptistery in Italy.  Dad went and bought our tickets as Mom and I waited.  When he returned we made our way into the Baptistery to take a look around and hear the guard sing.

The Baptistery is more famous for its acoustics then its size.  And let me tell you the acoustics in that building are great.  It is almost a musical instrument in itself.  Building has a 10 second decay, meaning that any note sang will echo in the chamber for 10 seconds so one person can harmonize and sing a scale with themselves.  The guard came and sang some notes to do a demonstration of the acoustics.  I remember this being done by a male guard on my first trip.  When the demonstration was over we wander through and admired the Pisano carved pulpit and the giant octagonal font topped with a bronze statue of John the Baptist.  The reason for the size of the font and Baptistery is due to the practice of medieval custom of full immersion.  We walked around and enjoyed the views even though the room was crowded with other tourist.

After our visit to the Baptistery we headed across the path to the Duomo.  The Duomo started in 1063 is the centerpiece of the Field and is unique in its style and decor.  The outside is beautiful and looks deceivingly simple with white columns stacked on top of each other and inlaid designs of a Middle Eastern style.  Upon entering we walked through and admired the inside stopping to look at art, stained glass windows, and tombs.  The last of the Pisano pulpits is found in this Duomo and it is a doozy.  Intricately carved with the stories of Christ's life which are hard to figure out as each scene is packed full of people and objects.  We also saw the famous incense burner that sparked Galileo's interest in the study of gravity.  He was also known to throw objects off the top of the tower to time there decent.

Once our tour through the Duomo was complete we walked out and took pictures of the Tower but opted not to climb up to the top of it.  Interestingly the tower is 200 feet tall and leaning at a 5 degree angle.  If you look closely at the tower you can distinguish the three building phases were different architects attempted to correct the leaning problem.  The tower does a little zig and then a little zag.  The building was started in 1173 and the first 4 stories were completed then abandoned until 1272 when another architect built the next 3 stories and then it was left incomplete again until 1350 when the belfry was put on top to finish it.  It's fun to see but it's kind of a once you've seen it you're done.  It's not the kind of thing that requires multiple visits and lots of time to appreciate.  When we had visited the big stuff at the Field we stopped for a bathroom break and headed out to the car.

We got onto the autostrada and drove all the way up to Lake Como to the city of Varenna for a relaxing night stay there.