On a cool, grey evening in Pisa, we walked along a pleasant route beginning at the Piazza Vittorio Emanuele, past the shopping area along Corso Italia, crossing the calm waters of the River Arno, continuing along Borgo Stretto, briefly halting at Piazza dei Cavalieri, before reaching our destination.
The Piazza dei Miracoli. The Square of Miracles. Also known as the Piazza del Duomo. I was awe-struck by the size and the beauty of the piazza and its monuments, and was reminded of my first glimpse of the Taj Mahal. The cloudy skies and intermittent drizzle had probably kept the crowds away from this extremely popular tourist attraction that evening and we were secretly thrilled about it.
The Leaning Tower, the Duomo, the Baptistery, and the CampoSanto dominate the square (a UNESCO world heritage site), while the lush green grass lends a delightful contrast to the white structures. Junior was terribly disappointed that he had to keep off the grass here. Several visitors (who had not let the weather dampen their spirits) struck the weirdest poses with the Leaning Tower, and were quite an attraction themselves :).
The Leaning Tower (Torre Pendente) of Pisa, which is the bell tower of the cathedral, is undoubtedly the main crowd-puller. However, the other beautiful monuments in the square deserve as much attention. Well, we were back in the Piazza dei Miracoli the next day for a ‘morning view’ :).