Lucca is a city in Tuscany, northern central Italy, situated on the river Serchio in a fertile plain near (but not on) the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Lucca. Among other reasons, it is famous for its intact Renaissance-era city walls (although the city has expanded beyond the wall’s boundaries).
PISA
Pisa is situated in a vast plain on a level with the sea and is divided in two by the River Arno. It is the birthplace of Galileo Galilei.
Our visit begins in the centre of the city in Piazza del Duomo or Piazza dei Miracoli, where we can find some of Pisa’s most important monuments, made entirely of marble.
Watch catches our eye first of all is the characteristic Leaning Tower (XII-XIV century), 55,90 metres tall and symbol of the city.
Pisa – Leaning Tower It was begun by Diotisalvi in 1173, but after 10 years when the third floor was being built, construction was suspended due to the fact that a slight inclination in the land had caused an inclination of the tower. Works were begin again in 1275 by Giovanni di Simone and continued, after an adjustment of the main axle, as far as the seventh floor when they were suspended again when the inclination became more noticeable. Tommaso Pisano, in the second half of the fourteenth century built the belfry and brought the Leaning Tower to it present height. It was at the top of the this tower where Galileo Galilei conducted his experiments on the laws of gravity.
The construction of the Cathedral began in 1063 on top of the site of an ancient church and was finished about halfway through the following century. It has the form of a latin cross an elliptic dome to which was added a crown of gothic arches in the fourteenth century.
To the right of the Cathedral, defining the boundaries of the north side of the square, is the monumental cemetery which, with its exterieur in white marble and its blind arches in pilaster strip, blends in perfectly with the architecture of the other monuments in the square.
Pisa – Piazza dei miracoli The building was begun by Giovanni di Simone in 1278 above a former cemetery. Inside the four-sided portico one can find many sarcophagus, mainly from the Romanesque period. Also worthy of note, the tombs.
The Baptistery is a large, tall structure made of marble, filled with extraordinarily rich decorations. The facade, surmounted by a statue of St. John the Baptist.
This building was begun in 1152 by the architect Diotisalvi and work continued until the middle of the thirteenth century under the direction of Nicola Pisano; his son, Giovanni, was responsible for the realisation of the ornamental exterieur of the dome, which was completed only during the second half of the fourteenth century.