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Pisa was a stop that I did not particularly want to make. I had read enough stories on the internet telling me that it was a quick stop, not much to see other than the tower and to make sure we went early to avoid the crowds. “Is Pisa worth visiting?” I asked.
I suppose the only way to decide for ourselves was to go!
We had booked our tickets for the tower on Get Your Guide, which also included admission to the Cathedral. Our time to climb the tower was scheduled for noon. We figured this would be enough time to catch a direct train to Pisa from Riomaggiore at 9 am, store our luggage at the train station and walk to the tower without having to rush.
Our check-out was painless and we walked down the massive hill from our hotel at the “top” of Riomaggiore to the station. After a quick stop for a cappuccino and breakfast pastries, we arrived with ample time before our departure. After checking the schedule, I noticed that there was a “90’” next to our train. I enquired with a woman in the information office what that meant and I was informed that it was to let us know that the train was running 90 minutes behind schedule. This was not good news.
We decided to wait it out, hoping that it may change.
It didn’t. This was the first time during our travels that we faced such a long delay. The next train to La Spezia arrived and Hayley and I decided to freestyle. We would try and catch a connecting train to Pisa from there. Instead of waiting out our direct train which was getting later by the minute. As we exited the train in La Spezia it became clear that there was a bigger problem with the train service. The platforms were full. All of them.
Locals and tourists alike were waiting for trains going to all destinations. It turns out that there were issues with the track signalling further north. This caused a cascading delay. At least we were not alone. We began to come to terms with missing our window for our tower tour in Pisa. After messaging customer service through the Get Your Guide app, we were told that there was no way to reschedule or get a refund, but we could ask on-site to accommodate us. Though a little disappointed, we concluded that this was just part of travelling. These things happen and the only thing that we can control in the situation is how we deal with it.
Our train from Pisa to Florence was scheduled for 5 pm, so getting to Pisa was still our goal.
We stayed on the platform for two and a half hours. Constantly, we were checking the Omio app that we use for our tickets and the Trenitalia website for updates or alternative solutions. After consulting a service rep, who was clearly overwhelmed with a crowd looking for info, we had two options; take a bus or stand in a very long queue and try to get our tickets exchanged for another train. Since our tickets were only valid for a direct train from Riomaggiore, we had no choice.
I left Hayley on the platform and joined the queue. After waiting for fifteen minutes, Hayley sent a text to tell me that a train running through Pisa was arriving at the station. I made an executive decision at the moment to hustle back to Hayley to take our chances with being on that train with the wrong tickets. We were also not the only ones who decided to take that chance. The carriages were full to the brim. It was obvious that most others did not have tickets for that particular journey. We were all trying to get to our destinations.
Luckily, the train was too busy for the stewards to check tickets. We made it to Pisa just before noon. Although we had totally missed our window for the tour, we still had to answer the question; “Is Pisa worth visiting?”. We checked our backpacks at the storage facility at the station for €10 and started the walk to the leaning tower. It was another hot day and with the need for long pants to enter the cathedral, I was uncomfortable.
When we arrived at the tower, the sight was exactly how I expected; the tower leaning and tourists taking silly photos.
After spending years in the trades, where plumb, level and square are key, my first thought is that hanging a picture in the tower would just be impossible. It was indeed very much so leaning. Since our tickets were no longer valid for entry, we decided to join the queue anyway and plead our case. After explaining our situation to the attendant and a phone call to the site supervisor, we were given another entry time. This was welcomed news after a morning of travel chaos.
We now had some time to kill as we waited for our new time slot. At this point, I still hadn’t decided if Pisa was worth visiting. However, I was happy that we were there and had our tickets honoured. It was definitely amusing to see so many people trying to take the cliche pictures that we have seen for so long. Hayley and I set up our camera and took a silly video of us in front of the tower, making sure to exaggerate our own take on the typical Pisa photos.
As the time for our entry approached, we hopped in line at the bag check.
Absolutely no bags are permitted inside the tower. The bag check is free of charge with your ticket and is secure, so no need to worry about your valuables. We queued up back in line for entry and waited for our turn. The more I looked at the tower, the more I started to appreciate the engineering feat that had been undertaken to keep the tower from falling.
According to history, the tower was doomed to lean from the beginning of its construction way back in 1173. After five years of construction, while building the second floor, the tilt became noticeable. This was caused by a shallow foundation and unstable soil. As the tower grew in height, the engineers actually built the upper floors with one side shorter than the other to compensate. Work was completed two hundred years later in 1372.
As time passed, attempts were made to correct the tilt.
Some of those changes made the problem worse and by the 1990s the possibility of the tower collapsing was real. The tower was closed for over a decade as engineers worked on a solution. Tunnels underneath the high side of the foundation were dug and soil was removed. Underground cables were also installed to pull the tower back upright. By 2001, when the work was completed. The tower had actually straightened by 38cm and has continued to slowly straighten since.
As we entered through the crooked portal at the tower’s base, I noticed a precision laser level in the centre that monitors any change to the tower’s “lean”. Pretty neat stuff actually! Climbing the stairs was such a bizarre feeling. Yes, I was ascending but also felt like I was descending at the same time as I climbed up the spiralling stairs. Not only does the tower lean to the south, but the upper floors that were built to compensate for the lean caused the tower to have a curve. This made me feel as though I was climbing a tower while in a carnival funhouse.
The view from the top of the tower is not overly breathtaking. However, there are excellent views of Mont Faeta wildlife park to the north.
The view of Pisa itself did not strike me as special compared to some of the other towers we climbed. We lingered about at the top and took some photos for the entirety of our allowed time. Then, we made our way back to ground level. We retrieved our bags from storage and headed to the Pisa Cathedral. Entry tickets are free but you are still required to collect your tickets from the ticket office.
It was evident that the tower does get the credit as the main attraction here but the Cathedral is stunning in its own right. Construction began in 1063 and was consecrated in 1118. The architecture is stunning inside and out. It is filled with beautiful artwork from the 16th and 17th centuries and has exquisite sculptures. The high ceiling is guided with gold and many stained glass windows. The marble pulpit by Giovanni Pisano from the 14th century is quite a masterpiece. We have visited many cathedrals and churches on our travels and this one did not disappoint us.
I was starting to feel like the answer to my question was; “is Pisa worth visiting?” Was yes.
Despite the difficulties we experienced getting there, Pisa felt worthy of our time and was worth the stop. Yes, there were lots of tourists but it did not feel “packed”. Yes, there were many people looking silly while taking their photos. But that was a part of their experience and I’m sure that they enjoy sharing them
I don’t know if Pisa is worth visiting for longer than it takes to see the tower and the cathedral, we didn’t spend enough time there. We did stop for lunch at a lovely little restaurant on our way back to the train station. The staff there went over and beyond to provide us with an enjoyable experience and a great meal. They even made a salad that wasn’t on the menu to accommodate Hayley’s dietary restrictions. We also spent some time chatting with our server, Daniel who talked about tattoos and travelling. Our tattoos are often an ice-breaker with strangers (check out Hayley’s post about “Tattoos as souvenirs”).
Happy with our time spent in Pisa, we walked back to the train station. We needed to get our bags and catch our train to Florence. Even though I was hesitant to add Pisa to our tour of Italy, I was happy that we took the opportunity. We were able to decide for ourselves if Pisa was worth visiting. And yes, Pisa is worth visiting.