Fall (Lucca, Pisa, Viareggio)

Day three dawned bright and clear under blue Tuscan skies for our morning trip to Pisa, dear reader. Our planned departure time was reasonably early as the drive to Pisa was about half an hour. The aim was to arrive before both the crowds and the heat of the day.

We drove through the more modern outer suburbs and parked just outside the area where our target, the Square of Miracles lay. The walk in was lined by the usual restaurants, followed by the ubiquitous markets, flogging all the same merchandise - just rebranded to reflect the current town. 

You'll never guess where we are.

We gathered at an archway that led through a high wall, to be given our instructions - guided tour starting at 10am so 40 minutes to wander around by ourselves. We elected to go straight through the arch to take some photos at our leisure and before anymore tour groups arrived to swarm the area. 

In we went to the Square and immediately, we were struck by a number of grand buildings, all made of light coloured stone and set in the middle of roped off, pristine lawns. One was clearly a cathedral but the first round building, while religious, was not the usual church structure. 

Leaning but not the tower.

As we walked along the path gazing around, we were immediately assailed by 'string men' who were quite aggressively approaching people, pushing their bracelets at anyone who stopped. We told them to go away in no uncertain terms and then happily we were left alone to wander further in to the square.

Almost immediately our eyes were drawn past the two grand structures to groups of people who were busily posing for photos, bodies turned to the side with their 2 arms held out in the air. Why? Because behind them lurched the legendary structural failure - the leaning tower. It rose precariously from behind the cathedral, providing a backdrop for the photo opportunity ritual of pretending to hold it up. We later learnt that photos taken from the other side, required the alternate pose to portray pushing the tower over.

The side of the Cathedral and THAT tower.

After a quick face time call home, we headed back through the string men and the ever increasing crowds to the archway to rejoin the rest of the group and our tour guide, Andrea.

The pulpit.

Andrea, an animated guide, is an ex-pat Spaniard who has lived in Pisa for 18 years and has clearly embraced being a Pisa local. She regaled us with stories about the legendary Pisa-Firenze rivalry and the resulting one upmanship that went on with the architecture and defence of the city. Apparently the hostilities are alive and well today, much like Barcelona and Madrid. Or Sydney and Melbourne.

The tour guide was very engaging and explained the name of the square is not as a result of supernatural happenings but simply because of a renowned Italian poet's description of the place. We then heard about the magnificent buildings - the Baptistry with John the Baptist on top of the dome, go figure. 

The big three, Baptistry, Cathedral and tower.

The cathedral predates the Magna Carta and the building extensions were an attempt to try to outdo the other European powers. The pulpit is sculpted from a single piece of marble and there are the usual massive works of art, lots of gold, an impressive Medici ceiling and a second floor for female worshippers.

Looking toward the altar.

Then of course, there is the tower. You know, the leaning one. The original architect of the tower never recorded his name because, once the third level (out of six plus a bell tower) was complete,  he finally realised his major stuff up. Another architect took up the challenge some centuries later and added on the top three tiers before he died. 

I did not join the queue to climb to the top.

Additional "experts" have tried to stabilise/correct the lean (over 4 degrees) by removing soil from around the base which actually worsened the lean and then later excavations tilted the tower back to its original lean. The result is that the tower is now known to wobble, not lean - doesn't quite have the same ring to it but, whatever ... In fact the entire precinct of the Miracle Square has leaning buildings, not just the tower because the square is built on a swamp. Not all are so obvious to the eye because they lack the height, but they all lean.

Above the altar.

In between the Cathedral and the Tower there was a fallen angel, hence today's title Fall by Leonardo's Bride, "I feel just like a fallen angel".

The fall from grace.

After the tour, we left the square and retraced our footsteps to a delectable pizzeria where we enjoyed three types of pizza in Pisa. Also the mandatory Aperol spritz. Proper Napoli style pizza, not that Roman thin and crispy rubbish. Lunch done, we headed back to the vans and drove back to our Tuscan villa for some down time before our afternoon/evening excursion to the coast.

Mid-afternoon, we were off to the coastal town of Viareggio which no doubt attracts hoards of summer holidayers to its wide main board walk, lined with shops, restaurants and beautiful people. Happily, the summer holidays are over and the throngs were much diminished, even allowing for it being a Friday evening.

The promenade.

We were set free to wander for an hour and a half with the instruction to come back to the top end of the street and to proceed along the wharf until we would come across a memorial to lost sailors. We were NOT to go up over the footbridge but to walk adjacent to it and our rendez-vous time was 6pm.

We all 'dispersed' in roughly the same direction along the boardwalk, and some made it only as far as the first bar while others of us ventured further along, window shopping and glimpsing the sea in between buildings. After about a kilometre of strolling, we decided the rest of the vista would be pretty much the same so we turned to head back, looking for some way to exit the road and walk along the beachfront.

I would not pay.

After a couple of unsuccessful detours, all ending in private club entrances, we twigged to the fact that we are in Italy where the concept of a public beach with open access is not a thing. All access was via clubs who lease the sand and put out deckchairs, umbrellas and cabanas for hire. So we wandered back the way we had come, periodically meeting members of our group either having drinks or shopping.

Australian beaches embody the people we think we are. It's all egalitarian anarchy - while we obey all the rules everywhere else.

Beach clubs as far as you can see.

We came to the breakwall and dutifully turned before the footbridge to walk towards the meeting place albeit, a bit ahead of time. The walk on the wall was actually longer than we expected and it was quite busy with walkers, cyclists and people carrying fishing gear. Occasionally we checked the map we had been sent to make sure we were heading in the right direction. Ahead, over the fence on a rocky outcrop, rose a stone monument which fitted the description of the family mourning the loss of their maritime loved ones. 

On the fence in front of the monument was a sign listing all the forbidden pastimes including swimming, diving, walking on the rocks and fishing - just across from where several people were, on the rocks,  fishing away. Love a bit of civil disobedience ...

The fisherman is out of sight.

Jayne decided to stay here and people watch while I went in search of a sunset photo op at the end of the wharf, quite a distance further along. There wasn't a lot happening, a lot of people fishing and others just walking to the end point and back. Except for a group of teenagers at the halfway point who were occasionally diving into the water. No doubt annoying those fishing.

On my return, Jayne had been checking maps and had started to wonder if we were in the correct place because the rendez-vous map placed the dropped pin directly across the water on the next pier where a statue of Mary gazed out to sea, with seats around her feet and plenty of locals sitting around. We felt we had the place right because the only way to reach the other pier was over the forbidden footbridge.

The breakwall.

While we were pondering this dilemma, happily Matt, Drew and Alex turned up carrying eskies and other requisites for sunset drinks, to be followed by upmarket fish and chips that would be purchased from a local shop back along the pier. Matt sent out another message confirming the place to meet and we settled in to have a beer while waiting for the others to arrive.

Mary by night.

The promenade.

Once we were all gathered, the glasses and wine appeared and the sunset dinner commenced. It was a beautiful calm Tuscan evening as the sun dropped below the sea horizon and the locals wandered past enjoying their weekend. One local attempted to join the party, carrying his own opened bottle of spirits (no glass) but he was politely asked to go away.

Prettier and quieter at night.

Then dinner arrived - fish, calamari, prawns, chips; all beautifully cooked and delicious. It didn't take long for us to consume the feast and then it was time to pack up and head back to the local artisanal gelato shop.  After a terrific day, exploring two very different places in Tuscany. we walked back to the vans for the drive back to the villa.

The sunset.

Alla prossima.