We had a pizza in a piazza in Pisa.

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For me this was the best day of the cruise when we stopped in Livorno.that is not to say I did not enjoy the rest of the places we visited but this place I was particularly looking forward to visiting. To visit the Leaning Tower of Pisa. The field of Miracles. The Leaning tower, The Duomo (Cathedral), The Baptistry and the cloisters can be found in the piazza known as the field of Miracles. It is an absolutely stunning place to visit and I was so excited to be there and seeing it with my own eyes. Fortunately the weather was very kind to us that day and we had beautiful blue skies. The buildings are made of marble cut from the local mountains. Work on the tower started in 1173 and was finally finished just over two hundred years later in 1399. Problems started after the first part of the tower was built. It was built in three stages. Fortunately money run out and Pisa was at war which helped prevent it from tumbling down. Apparently the Germans used it as a lookout tower during WWII the allies were going to blow it to smithereens but fortunately a reconnaissance team saw it and stopped the allies from blowing it to pieces. The foundations were not dug deep enough and the soil was far to sandy which mean that the tower began to lean to one side. The builders and architects at the time tried to adjust the lean by making one side slightly taller but it was not to stop it so not only is it leaning it is slightly curved. It currently leans around 17 feet off centre. The tower is sixty meters tall roughly 186 feet. The tower is a campanile which houses 7 bells. They are in the top section of the ornately carved marble tower. Bell number five is the oldest bell which came from another church in Pisa. It used to be rung when an execution was to take place. The Duomo and the baptistery are older than the tower and interestingly they are also sinking because of the ground consists of sand. Titanium girders have been placed underneath the tower which hopefully will prevent it from falling. The Duomo was beautiful on the outside and even more stunning inside. The Baptistry is even more spectacular. A tour guide was inside while I was there and she sang a note. The note echoed around the building and the key of the note she sang changed. It was amazing to hear this as it echoed around the round building going up into the top of the building. The Cloisters behind the Duomo and Baptistry were where the wealthy nobles were buried. It is said that earth was brought back from the crusades where Christ was crucified so that the nobles could be buried in true holy grounds. I absolutely loved our day in Pisa and if you ever get the chance please go and visit. It is an absolutely stunning place and I am elated to have seen it with my own eyes.