Mediterranean - 12 - May 24 Livorno 2nd day, the leaning tower of Pisa

 Pisa Italy is about an hour's drive from the port town of Livorno where the Viking Star is docked for the 2nd day.  Viking calls this their Florence stop even though Florence is a 1.5 - 2 hr drive from the port.  We visited Pisa today with the included tour lasting 4 hours, a short tour hurray! Its a lovely sunny day with temps in the 70s.

On the drive to Pisa we passed by Camp Darby, the largest US military  Army base outside US territory.  We passed the full length of the base, it seemed to go on for a full mile.  The guide said that it was for storing equipment, not troops. 

In Pisa, there was a 15 minute walk from the bus parking lot to the Square of Miracles.  The first structure that you see in the Square is the Battistero (Baptistry). Those to be baptised entered on the west side of the building , were baptised, then exited on the east side facing the rising of the sun.

We bought the $7 euro tickets to see the inside, but more importantly to hear the amazing echos inside.  In a short demo, they closed all exterior doors then an employee chanted slowly, it sounded like an entire choir was singing.

Most of the windows were stained glass, a couple were gold plated.

The guide said that the bell tower wasn't the only structure that leaned, even the Baptistry leaned.  It was hard to tell, so we tried comparing it to a makeshift plumb bob.

There is a Memorial Cemetery too.  We didn't go in.

The bell tower started to lean during construction when building the 3rd level.  Construction was stopped as they decided what to do.  It took 100 years before completing the structure, making the right side columns longer than the left! The tower was completed in 1372. The lean was corrected some in the 1993 - 2001 so that now there is a side to side tilt of 4 meters (4 degrees  instead of 5.1).  The foundation of the original construction was 3 meters deep, not nearly enough for such a tall structur, especially in sand.  There are 294 steps to the top - for $20 euro fee. The tower is 55 mts high.  The tower was an embarrassment to Pisa for most of its life, until recently when it became quite a tourist attraction.

Back side of the tower.

The tower is in a recessed base.  In this photo the tower sits 4 meters lower on the left than the right.

Many enjoyed taking photos, as if they were holding up the tower.  Such fun.  It did take some figuring to get the photos right. 

Then the 15 minute walk back to the bus.  There was a rail road crossing, had to wait almost 15 minutes before the safety rails opened.  Seems  dangerous with the huge number of tourists.

                                           

Statue in downtown Livorno, signifying conquering the pirates.

Back to the ship for a leisurely rest of the day.  Finally. 

This is our last day in Italy.  Tomorrow we see France.