Pisa, the city of miracles

Travel Program

Program

Meeting point at the agreed time is Porta Santa Maria Pisa, Piazza Manin. We will start the view of Piazza dei Miracoli, with the Cathedral, the Baptistery, the Monumental Cemetery and the famous Leaning Tower. The Leaning Tower of Pisa represents the bell tower of the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption of Pisa (Duomo di Pisa or Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta). The fact that it hangs is due to its construction on unstable ground, however since 1998 the foundations have been stabilized. The Romanesque cathedral in white marble with 5 naves designed by the architect Buscheto. The baptistery, on the other hand, is the result of a mixture of 2 different styles: the Romanesque and the Gothic.
More leisurely built by Luca Ghini in 1544 under the influence of Cosimo de' Medici, the Istituto di Botanica is located on 3 hectares of land, with the adjoining Museum of Natural Sciences which frames a huge ancient botanical garden. The gardens preserve medicinal herbs, exotic and aquatic plants that in some cases no longer even exist. That's why they retain invaluable educational importance, at the university level and in programs dedicated to the public and children.
The Tour will continue towards Piazza dei Cavalieri, from there we will see the Palazzo della Carovana, which was built in the 16th century and renovated by the architect Giorgio Vasari. Previously, the chivalric lessons of the Order of St. Stephen stood in this place. But it was in 1810 that it housed the Scuola Normale Superiore, a college dedicated to higher education, founded by Napoleon. Opposite is the Palazzo Dell' Orologio in which Dante complains that Count Ugolino Della Gherardesca had been locked up in one of its towers. Then we will go to discover Piazza Delle Vettovaglie, here you will find the Borgo Stretto, made up of very busy shopping streets. Here we could enjoy small plates and other local drinks during a short break. Along the Arno, we will admire fabulous and many other monuments that our guide will not fail to introduce. It will make a point of honor at the Blue Palace which is across the bank. In the Middle Ages the building belonged to the first Doge of Pisa. Then, during renovations in the 18th century, it took on a bluish hue to welcome guests from St. Petersburg. It now serves as an exhibition space for the Pisa Foundation art collection and various temporary and ongoing exhibitions.