Pisa: First view of the Bapistry, Duomo and Tower.

Pisa was a brief stop for our group on a warm sunny day. Our bus parked in a large parking lot as you enter the city that looked like a desert way station. We made our way past several Nigerian salesmen offering watches, bracelets and other trinkets and got onto a shuttle bus, which took us to the Campo dei Miracoli. Before we got into the Campo we had to walk another sales gauntlet, but as long as you walk purposefully it's no problem. What you can't see in this photo on the right is the strip of vendors that have taken up residence to sell their wares...but you can easily avoid them.

Pisa: The Bapistry. Begun in 1152 and not finished until 1284. It's 177 feet tall and 351 feet wide. The walls? Eight feet thick.

Pisa: The Bapistry.

Pisa: Bapistry detail.

Pisa: The Duomo, with the Tower. The Duomo (Duomo Santa Maria Assunta) was begun in 1064, finished in the 13th century.

Pisa: The Duomo, with the Tower.

Pisa: The Leaning Tower of Pisa...doesn't lean as much from this angle. As in other cities, this is the Duomo's Campanile. From this angle you can't see the massive cables low to the ground, trying to keep it from leaning further.

Pisa: The Leaning Tower of Pisa.

Pisa: The Leaning Tower of Pisa. Begun in 1174, only three stories were completed before it began to lean. Completed in 1372. Problems with the tower's lean caused it to be closed again as recently as 1993; it was reopened in December 2001.

Pisa: The Leaning Tower of Pisa. Because of our limited time we didn't climb the tower, regretfully.