| Submitted by: Gopal VenkatUnited States |
| Submission Date: 11 February 2005 |
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Took an early Morning Train to Pisa. The Journey takes 3 Hours on a 'limited Stop' Inter-City Train. The Round-Trip Costs 82,000 Lira on a Second Class Coach ($50). I took the train leaving at 6:10 AM reaching PISA at 9:10 AM in order to see the observe the Sights well before the Shepherds & their flock arrive. (Tour Guides & their Tour Groups !) The Train Timetables can be obtained from http://www.itwg.com. Click on Train & Transport on the Main Page and then Click on Trains Timetable to obtain a Grid of Cities for which Train Timings are available. The Current Timings are Good Until May 1998 !
The First major Stop is the port city of Civitavecchia, 30-35 Minutes from Roma. The Train winds it way along the Coastline about 5-10 Minutes after leaving Civitavecchia. The Scenery is Pleasant and Soothing. (Especially for the harried Traveller !) The Train route comes Inland after a while until one reaches Livorno. After leaving Livorno, the train once again skirts the Sea of Tuscany. Livorno is 20-25 Minutes before Pisa. The Early morning train wasn't crowded and I had an empty compartment to myself.
The Train reached Pisa exactly at 9:10 AM. From the Station one can walk (25-30 Minutes) to the Piazza Duomo (Where the Leaning Tower is located) or take a Bus. The Bus fare was 4600 Lira ($3 Round-trip). The Bus (Route 1) is a Shuttle between Pisa Railway Station and the Duomo, with departures every 10 Minutes. After a 10 Minute ride, the Bus dropped us off just outside the Piazza.
The Baptistery, the Cathedral and the Torre Pendente (Leaning Tower) are adjacent to one another. Restoration work is being done on a large scale on the leaning tower, on one of the Cathedral Doorways and on a section of the rear wall of the Baptistery. While Visitors are allowed inside the Cathedral and the Baptistery, the Leaning Tower is Completely Off Limits. The Barricaded fence around the leaning tower keeps the Visitors at least 20 Metres from the tower. Huge Concrete Blocks have been placed on the leaning side of the tower in order to stop the tower from leaning any further and possibly toppling over. Though there has been some progress in halting further Inclination, numerous ideas are still being floated to fix the Problem. There are even some Blasphemers (!) who suggest Straightening the Tower Completely !
There is a pass that allows entry to the Cathedral, Baptistery, Campo Santo (the Cemetery) and 2 Museums. This Costs 17,000 Lira ($10) and, in my Opinion, is well worth it. On Sundays (like Today) Tourists are allowed into the Cathedral only after 1 PM, since Church Services do take place there.
I Started with the Baptistery. A Circular Building with a Dome. The Architecture is Primarily Gothic with some Islamic Influence. One can proceed to the Second and Third Levels of the Baptistery through a narrow Stairway. One of the Guards demonstrated the power of Echo (in the building) which enhanced the Prayer Songs, sung during Days Past. It was Pretty Good. The Baptistery has a Couple of Stained Glass Windows. From one of the Windows on the Second Level, one can get an excellent View of the Cathedral and the Leaning Tower behind it. Makes a Good Photograph.
I Proceeded next to the Campo Santo where people are buried. One of these is the Mathematician (12th Century) Leonardo Fibonacci who gave us the series called Fibonacci Numbers. They have restored a number of Wall Paintings from the 14th Century. The work done is excellent.
From the Campo Santo, I visited the Museum where the Original Sketches (for a number of the wall Paintings) are Preserved. These Sketches were also done on Walls. Once again the efforts taken to restore these (to Provide the Public with a History of the Period) has to be commended.
I proceeded to the Museum next to the Leaning Tower. This contains numerous Statues from the Various buildings, Precious Ornaments and numerous robes worn by the Priests. Quite well Preserved. One also gets a really close view of the Torre Pendente (Leaning Tower) from the Museum Gardens. The Museum also houses a Tourist Information Bureau.
After lunch at a Local restaurant, I visited the Cathedral. (It was after 1 PM) It is Huge. The main altar is breathtaking for the Paintings displayed there. The Upper level of the Cathedral is closed to the Public. The Art work on the Ceiling is Good. (Remember, over the past 2 Days, I had viewed Art Work at the Vatican and Villa Borghese !)
I also visited 'Domus Galilaeno' (House of Galileo). This contains a Museum (Currently Closed) and a Library. Galileo was a Native of Pisa. Fibonacci and Galileo - Not bad company for the residents of this City. Spent some time walking along the Arno river that runs through Pisa.
I was killing time as I wanted to take some good Pictures of the Piazza Duomo with the sun behind me. To get a Perfect Picture of all Three Buildings (Baptistery, Cathedral and the Torre Pendente) one must wait until after 4 PM. As the Sun Rises behind the Leaning Tower the Pictures taken during the Morning may not come out as well. Having said the above, I would also like to mention that the best Picture of all the three Buildings can be obtained just outside the Piazza Duomo. An Entry Archway beautifully frames these 3 Buildings. This is the Drop-Off / Pick-Up Point for the Route 1 Bus.
The return train to Roma was delayed by 2 Hours and I finally reached my Hotel close to Midnight. A few thoughts / Observations on my Visit here. Traffic is Chaotic everywhere, especially in Roma. This is directly attributable to the thousands of Scooters clogging the roads. Maybe People Choose Scooters to weave in and out of Gridlock ! People Jump Lines / Queues all the time. The People Servicing these Lines / Queues don't seem to care. People interrupt servicing you to chat with colleagues or on the Phone for Unreasonably long periods of time. This is especially Grating in Ticket lines (Buses / Trains) and even while answering your queries ! (With few exceptions, this habit is Prevalent all Over.)
For Travel in Roma, one can obtain a Day Pass for 6000 Lira ($5). This entitles the holder to travel on Buses as well as Trains. Quite Useful and economical if you are planning on covering a lot of places in a Single Day. A word about the Shared Facilities in my Hotel. They were Pretty Good and Very Clean.
Most Young Italians do know a bit of English. Americana is all Pervading. Most Big Stores here stock American Sports Teams Memorabilia (Caps / Jerseys etc.) rather than local Stuff. Maybe it just happened to me, but other than the Ubiquitous Chinese Makes, I could not get a decent Cap that reflected Italia in some way. [My attitude is that, any Souvenir I buy in a Country must be MADE in that Country. It is dumb to buy a Miniature Model / T-Shirt of the Leaning Tower or the Colosseum that has been made in China. At the very least it must be made in Italy] v
Overall, my trip has been hectic but good. To get Complete satisfaction, I may have to visit Italy for 3-6 Months. After all, most Origins of the Western World came from here. (Languages / Religion / Culture etc.) Sometime in future, perhaps, I will get an Opportunity to do just that. Ah well, I depart for Madras, India Tomorrow. Ciao Italia.
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The World
Europe
Italy
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| Copyright © - "Gopal Venkat" |
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