Despite all of the attempts the tour-books made to convince me that there is plenty to do and see in Pisa beyond its singular top sight, it remains a one-location city for me after several visits. The fantastic Piazza del Duomo (also colloquially known as Piazza dei Miracoli), the home of the Cathedral, the Baptistery, and the famous Leaning Tower, is one place that I come back to again and again without bothering to see anything else in town.
Here is my favorite view onto the plaza, through the arched gateway in town walls, looking at the exquisite tower shyly peeking from behind the cathedral.
And here is a tower close-up.
The vastness of the square can be recognized in this view, a perspective from the top of the tower.
I have been up there twice. My general love of elevated viewpoints aside, making an extra effort in terms of advance ticket purchase and timed entry is very much worth it when it comes to the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
Anyone who’s been to Pisa undoubtedly made a photograph of her or himself holding up the Leaning Tower lest it crashes to the ground there and then. Banal, I suppose. And yet strangely symbolic of experiencing the sight of the plaza and of the famous buildings. So, here is one of us making sure the tower keeps standing.
She’s done an excellent job, methinks. We might yet contribute to the tower’s upright state again this year.