Off to Pisa

Last night we had an excellent meal at the Chefs Table which is a gourmet restaurant. The meal was Asian themed with 5 courses and each course was paired with a wine. In addition to the memorable meal they also gave us a cake to celebrate our anniversary.

This morning we left our port in Livorno to travel to Pisa. Of course we wanted to see the leaning tower of Pisa, and it was worth the trip. Indeed it is leaning. Pisa has tried to correct the problem by drilling under the foundation and pumping water out. This initially worked but now it is continuing to slowly increase its lean. Originally only 3 floors were built before it was noticed that it had shifted. Thirty years later they continued to build except the new construction was built to lean to the other side, therefore the tower is not straight. The top layer has shorter walls on one side to help correct the problem. One thing is certain the decorative carving in the stone is amazing.

We also visited the Baptistery which is where early baptisms were held and then the Romanesque Pisa Cathedral.

After lunch we took the shuttle bus we thought to Florence, but to our surprise to traveled to Livorno. Still it was a beautiful city with a fort, and many churches.

Fortezza Nuova - early fort which is now a park.

Early churches flourished because during the founding of Livorno the citizens were guaranteed religious freedom.

This early church is being reconstructed and has 6 naves.

The church to the right served Greek Catholics.