To make up for getting to sleep in yesterday, we had to get up at 6 today. My husband K and I had the chance to go out on the verandah and see some of our approach to the port of Livorno. The sky varied between bright and cloudy. We saw another ship had already arrived and discovered it was from Princess. We had wondered if we would see this ship. Its itinerary started in Barcelona and it was headed for Greece. Why did we care? K's cousin J and her husband J were on that ship. We had some hope of getting to see them later.
Our daughter J arrived and we headed off for breakfast at 6:40. We were back in the cabin at 7:10 to wash up and gather our things for the day.
Alesia, the guide, scanned the tickets, and we were on our bus at 7:45. It was already 77 degrees. The driver, Umberto, had us on the road at 8:02. Once again, we were in an industrial port with no real way to walk from the ship to town.
Alesia told us that Tuscany is one of 21 Regions, not states, of Italy. Our first stop, Lucca, has 100 churches, but only 2 public toilets. It is, in fact, known as the "City of 100 Churches".
She got a phone call and was told that a tour member who had missed the bus had shown up. We stopped at a rest stop on the highway at 8:25 and waited for them to get that person out there. They boarded and we were off again at 8:35. Haven't seen that on a tour before!
At 8:58, we were let off the bus outside the city wall of Lucca and it was already 78.8 degrees. Lucca has signs of Etruscan origins before it became a Roman colony in 180 BC. It was actually the capital of Tuscany in the 9th and 10th centuries. As a republic during the Renaissance, it was a rival to Pisa, Florence, and Genoa. Its wall (the fourth) is the second longest in Europe.
After leading us through the pedestrian entrance in the wall, Alesia showed us where the tourist office was and explained how to get to the restrooms therein. She also noted this would be our meeting place.
We headed off after her down this narrow street called Via San Paolino that just looked Italian. Our first stop was to look at the exterior of the only Renaissance church in town, the Basilica St. Paulinus, which is a minor basilica.
After a block or so, we reached the Piazza Cittadella with its statue of native son and opera composer, Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924). In his hand is one of the Toscano cigars that, along with cigarettes, would lead to the laryngeal cancer that killed him. Across the way was the building where he was born in the room with the white window. It is now a museum.
Leading us onward to go up the Via di Poggio,at 9:23, we had a great view of Chiesa di San Michele in Foro (Church of St. Michael the Archangel in the Forum- it was built on an old Roman forum, which is a Romanesque basilica. When we stepped into the Via Vittorio Veneto we saw the impressive facade in full. It was tough photographing it, because of the sun coming up behind it. I couldn't get a decent photo of the huge statue on the top. However, I do like the one that's here of the stonework. It is quite impressive work. The columns were really cool on the upper levels. Alesia pointed out the ones on the corners. They were knotted columns. This represents the duality of Christ, both God and man, as well as the Trinity- the Father and the Son united by the Holy Spirit. Pretty cool. The side photo shows how massive the church is, as well as the fact that it has a bell tower.
We continued down this new street and Alesia told us an interesting fact. To preserve history, you cannot remove original shop windows. So, even if the type of business changes, like this pharmacy did, those windows stay.
We stopped next at the Piazza Napoleone, named this when Napoleon's sister ruled here. She opened up this square, which is now the main square of town. It is the home of many festivals, like Lucca Comics and Games and the music festival known as the Lucca Summer Festival.
We turned left onto Via Vittorio Emanuele II and soon came upon this lovely display.
On the side street called Corte del Biancone, we came upon San Giusto, a small church dating to the second half of the 12th century. That means it is seriously old. We just admired the exterior and moved on. Moments later, we came upon this gorgeous hydrangea.
Torre delle Ore, a medieval clock tower, soon appeared over Via Fillungo. The clock no longer works and the tower dates to 1390.
We doubled back to see the exterior of San Cristoforo, a Romanesque church that has been desanctified. I suppose that in a town of 100 churches, there have to be some that are no longer churches.
On Via Sant' Andrea, we could see a different kind of tower in the distance. It stood 45 m high and dated to 1384. The unusual thing was that there was a garden on top. That was done to avoid some sort of taxes, I believe.
At 9:45, the tour was finished. We found a souvenir shop, where I could get a sticker for the album, a pin, and a postcard. As we headed back, we saw posters advertising folks coming to perform at the Lucca Summer Festival. An impressive lineup.
We came up from behind San Michele in Foro and could see the terrifying steps that ran up its upper back to the statues on top.
Since we had a little time, we went inside. I was surprised at how relatively plain it was in there. There was very little in the way of decoration. It felt like they spent all the money to build the outside and had little left to do the interior.
When
we got back to the info center, we had to hustle down the stairs to use
the free restrooms. It was a rather modern looking info center in an
old building. We were back out at the meeting point at 10:20. It was 27
degrees and turned 28 (80.6 to 82.4). Boarding the bus, we discovered
it was hot, which wasn't helpful. We were on the road at 10:27.
Along the way, we got to see the price of gas, as well as the Italian countryside. It was a really pretty day. The river is the Serchio.
A half hour after we left Lucca, we were parked outside of Pisa. We had a bit of a walk to the walls of the city. We were delayed at the train tracks, along with a lot of other people.
At 11:15, right on the corner where a marketplace of souvenir stands and food started, we were handed over to the city guide, Michelle. In Europe, this seems to be the order of business, quite often. I suppose you are supposed to feel the local guide knows more. It may be that, but it is also a way of guaranteeing some tourist money goes to the town.
The wall we were walking along was not the wall of the city, but rather of Cathedral Square or, more precisely, Piazza dei Miracoli or Square of Miracles. We entered through the Porto Nuova, which had been opened by the Medicis in 1562. That's a seriously old gate.
J and I had been here years ago, when we visited her sister A, who was doing a study abroad semester in Italy. We had walked here from the train station. That brought us to the center of the square. Now, we were entering at the end and seeing the square stretched out in front of us. We could see the Baptistry, the Duomo (Cathedral), and the Leaning Tower, which is a bell tower. (We could not see the fourth component of the square, which was the cemetery. That wasn't on the tour, either.)
We started with the closest building, the Baptistry,
which is dedicated to St. John the Baptist-of course. It was begun as a
Romanesque building in the 12th century, but the top was finished in the
14th century and is Gothic. If you count the statue of St. John at the
top, it is actually a bit taller than the Tower. The door on the side by
the Cathedral has wonderful stonework of the life of the saint. Inside,
there is a Byzantine influence. The baptismal font is octagonal,
because on the eighth day, Christ resurrected. It symbolizes our unity
with His death and resurrection. It dates to 1246. Galileo was baptized
here.
The walls inside are not decorated, nor is the dome. But, the font, the altar and the pulpit are very ornate. Nicola Pisano, whose son carved the pulpit in the Cathedral, carved this pulpit between 1255 and 1260. He is an important precursor of the Italian Renaissance.
As I said, J and I had been here before. I wanted to do this tour so that K, a classical musician, could hear the incredible acoustics in here. Happily, a person from the staff still sings every half hour. A note at a time would have let the sound hang better, but he got to hear the sound quality.
When we exited, we were facing the west entrance of the
Cathedral or Duomo. It is dedicated to St. Mary of the Assumption (Santa
Maria Assunta). Thus, the Virgin being assumed into heaven was over the
center bronze door, which was not the door people entered through.
Another was put at the other end of the church. We also had a good view
of the gargoyles before we went in. By the way, construction began in
1064!
The stunning ceiling in the nave is a replacement for the original that was in a fire in 1595. This one has the coat of arms of the Medici.
The altar area was just beautiful, with heavenly light streaming in. The giant mosaic of Christ, Mary, and St. John the Evangelist survived the fire. The paintings in the apse reminded me that that was a way that people learned their Bible stories, when most of the population was illiterate.
Where the nave and transept cross, there is a dome on the outside. Inside, there is a wonderful painting of the Assumption.
The pulpit was not destroyed in the fire, but it was packed away during the reconstruction. Unfortunately, it was not found again until the 1900's. This one is a replica of the original by Giovanni Pisano. Plain columns on the backs of lions support one side. The other has carvings on pillars and around the top, including of naked Hercules, the four cardinal virtues, St. Michael, and the evangelists. The central pillar shows the liberal arts and supports the theological virtues.
There was very elaborate side chapel with the tomb of St. Ranieri, the patron of Pisa. Speaking of elaborate, look at the floor!
Back outside, we had a view of the Baptistry. A bit farther on and we could see the Leaning Tower, or more precisely the Campanile just beyond the transept. As we went around the transept, however, we got to some of the decorations on this side of the church. I wish I knew why the bottom of the cross was elongated to look like a stake.
The Campanile, or bell tower, was begun in 1173 and was built in three stages over 177 years. The bell part at the top wasn't added until 1372. The sinking began just five years into construction, after the third level had been added. They left it alone for a hundred years and the soil stabilized. When building began again in 1272, they built the upper floors with one side higher than the other to adjust for the lean. The last floor was added in 1319 and the lean was 1 degree. The most it ever leaned was 5.5 degrees. In 2010, it was reduced to 4 degrees. I couldn't climb it and J was unwilling. I didn't want K to do it alone, because I worried he might become dizzy. He wasn't interested in doing it anyway.
The tour was done and we had a bit of free time. We headed for the restaurant that we were told had restrooms, if you bought a drink. K got three sodas for 9 Euros, which we were grateful for due to the heat.
As we headed back to the meeting point, we noted the pines that we think of as Pines of Rome, due to the musical piece. So, they are just Italian trees. Whatever.
We stopped to take more photos of the tower, including the requisite one of K holding it up. It really is a pretty tower.
As we were leaving the square, we saw a sign about the fact that this was yet another UNESCO World Heritage Site and it had a map from 1064. Then, just because it is possible, when we left the gate, we noticed the McDonald's across from us. But of course.
We made it to the meeting spot at 12:26. The Weather Channel app said it was 84, felt like 86, but Apple said it was 90. When we got on the bus at 12:44, its temperature sign said 34 degrees, which is 93.2. It was hot.
We were on the road just a minute later. I managed to get a pretty nice shot of the Arno River through the bus window.
I got my usual salad and found a banana. J got tacos, which made no sense for where we were. K made even less sense with his burger and fries from the Dive-In, along with green beans. We had our usual assortment of lovely desserts. However, on land in Italy, the girls and I had a policy of gelato every day. So, J and I splurged and paid $3.25 each for some from out by the pool. I got mint chocolate and strawberry. J got vanilla and lemon. It was a great treat after the heat.
We finished lunch and headed back to our respective cabins. I took a shower and then collapsed, while K went off to the fitness center. I did get some shots of the work on the container ship across the dock, as well as the many tanker trucks beyond it.
Before 5, we reconvened to go to the Lincoln Center Stage for the concert. However, for some reason, there was no concert tonight. That was a double bummer, because I was going to cash in J's coupon for the sail-away Mariner Cocktail. But, K pointed out that I could order it when we went to dinner at 6. And that's what I did.
This was our fourth and final Gala, and the menu had never varied. So, when we each ordered the Jumbo Shrimp Cocktail as a starter, I didn't bother to photograph it, as I had done so a previous night. For our salad, we each ordered the Apple, Pear, and Cucumber Salad. That was worth photographing.
My
entree was the Cracked Peppercorn Steak with Shrimp and J got the
Ricotta and Spinach Tortellini. We shared our entrees, but not K,
because he got Pan-Seared Sea Bass.
Since J and I both ordered the Flourless Chocolate Cake for dessert, Eka also brought a serving of vanilla ice cream. K ordered Tiramisu, which neither J nor I like.
When dinner was over at 7:25, we went to the shops to blow our remaining shipboard credit. We were back in our cabins at 8:10 to pack, because tomorrow's excursion would be long and we didn't want to leave it all to be done at the last minute. K and I did step out onto the verandah after 9 to appreciate the sunset on the Ligurian Sea.
The phone said I walked 11,625 steps for 3.9 miles and climbed 1 floor. That must have been from that basement restroom in Lucca.
No comments:
Post a Comment