My little jubilee, the 50th country visited was Liechtenstein. And boy what a ceremony happened. The Principality of Liechtenstein and the Swiss Confederation were celebrating the 100 years of their common Dounae contract. We were about to cross the bridge that was built over the river Rhine, but we were stopped as the celebration was just…
Krapina is my hometown. Zagorje runs through veins. Kajkavian dialect is spoken out loud by my core. So please, allow me to show you a portion of heaven given to us people from Zagorje to enjoy, nourish, and remain proud. Krapina Krapina was first mentioned in 1193. It has always been a favorite site for…
This is a post of a lovely, walkable city that will charm all wine, gastronomy and history lovers. From Markets to Mustard! This capital of Burgundie is calling you to get all its tastes. And you will not know all of these existed! The province was home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until…
Avignon is a city on the Rhône river in the south of France. It is surrounded by walls of Avignon (French: Les Remparts d’Avignon) – a series of defensive stone walls that were originally built in the 14th century during the Avignon papacy and have been continually rebuilt and repaired throughout their subsequent history. We entered through Porte Saint-Michel. The…
This historical province of southeastern France, extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the Italian border to the east; it is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the south. It largely corresponds with the modern administrative region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur . The largest city of the region and its modern-day capital is Marseille. Known for its diverse landscapes, miles of…
Michel de Notre-Dame, as we all know as Nostradamus, was an apothecary by profession, and published in the year 1555 a book called Les Prophéties (The Prophecies). In his collection of 942 poetic quatrains, he predicted various future events that experts, and many amateurs, find a way of interpreting into related events occurring in the present day. Some historical evidence suggests…
This is going to be a short post. Sanremo is a city on the west coast of Italy, in the province of Liguria. It is the capital of the Riviera dei Fiori or Riviera of Flowers. Its casino also makes it a sort of Italian version of Monte Carlo. This large building in Art Nouveau…
Vivid green pesto, great wine and fabulous walks … Genoa is a city of indulgence. Driving in the city, noticing it’s fabulous big secession buildings it reminded me of the importance of Italy: banks, trades, imports of goods and businesses… Genoa was a medieval rival to Venice. It’s not been primped for tourists like Venice, though.…
Rapallo was never on my list. I never thought there could actually be something about this city. It lies on the Ligurian Sea coast, just between Cinque Terre and Genoa. As a girl from Croatia, I know it from the history books as the Treaty of Rapallo was signed there, in Villa Pagana, formerly known as Villa Spinola. A treaty…
The five Cinque Terre villages are situated in northern Italy on the Mediterranean Sea, just 3 hours by train from Milan, Pisa and Florence. I have arrived by car and totally enjoyed the national park that spreads across the five villages. La Spezia My journey started in La Spezia. This was the very first stop as I…
Tintine was slowly climbing up the hills of San Marino. Not much pressure should have been put on this car as she had enough of the shocks in the last year or two. The hills around us were rising and soon we found ourselves surrounded by an amazing view. It was San Marino surrounded by…
My Life in Sicily finished after a year spent on this island. It was time to turn on my Tintine (a beautiful red car), hop on a ferry and say goodbye. I was nostalgic as a was driving through Reggio Calabria. But soon I was in Puglia – the region with the best Italian cheeses.…
A weekend getaway 🙂 Saturday flight from Brussels and landing in one hour to north of Italy – to Tuscany. We started the day immediately after landing. Settling first in […]
A weekend getaway 🙂
Saturday flight from Brussels and landing in one hour to north of Italy – to Tuscany.
We started the day immediately after landing. Settling first in the hotel in the famous Giacomo Puccini street. The opera composer was born in the nearby city called Lucca.
First stop was the Corso. It is a walking street with shops and galleries that goes through the city. I was amazed how many people were there, having fun, shopping and christmasing.
First stop – quick coffee, an espresso in the typical italian espresso bar. You drink it at the bar table, quickly and happily.
Next was the pizza cut, of course 🙂 and something that is similar to pizza – didn’t find the name yet. I keep you posted.
Does anyone know the name of the cake?
So, Pisa! Everybody was telling me that it is a boring city, industrial and besides the Leaning Tower – nothing to see. So not true!
From the moment I digged into the city, and you know how much I adore medieval times -I felt intrigued.
The origin of the name, Pisa, is a mystery . However, we do know that the Etruscans, and the Ligurians had variously been proposed as founders of the city. Later taken by the Romans, the maritime role of Pisa should have been already prominent if the ancient authorities ascribed to it the invention of the naval ram. Pisa took advantage of being the only port along the western coast between Genoa (then a small village – will visit that too! 🙂 ) and Ostia (check the article about Rome).
After the fall of the Roman Empire, Pisa was a city-state with the natural opponent Saracenes – medieval term for Arab Muslims who had their bases in Corsica, for control of the Mediterranean.
City walls of Pisa
In later medieval times, Italian city states were in fight amonfst each other and the Papal state. So was the case with Pisa: against Genoa, Majorca, Naples etc.
Pisa has the river Arno that goes through the city and then to Ligurian sea.
To walk down the Lungarno di Pisa (down the river) and watch the facades of typical tuscan style was amazing.
Crossing the river Arno via Ponte di Mezzo we arrived to Piazza Garibaldi – the leader of the Italian revolution in 19th century.
It is a typical bar-hopping area so we gave a try.
The place has loads of arcades – just like Bologna.
Entering the Borgo Stretto (one of the typical names for medieval streets in old time Pisa) we entered the Church San Michele in Borgo.
Wandering around, we ended at Torre del Campano.
Nowm this is more like 19th century architecture.
That day we arrived to Piazza dei Miracoli where is the tower. But we decided to leave it for the next day.
Do you see it?
Dinner time! With lots of chianti – the local Tuscany wine 🙂
Day 2 – only the tower and cathedral 🙂 Have a look!
Cattedrale Metropolitana Primazialedi Santa Maria Assunta is a medieval Roman Catholic cathedral dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. Construction began in 11th century and expenses were paid using the spoils received fighting against the Muslims in Sicily.
It includes various stylistic elements: classical, Lombard-Emilian, Byzantine, and Islamic, drawing upon the international presence of Pisan merchants at that time. In the same year, St. Mark’s Basilica began its reconstruction in Venice, evidence of a strong rivalry between the two maritime republics to see which could create the most beautiful and luxurious place of worship.
Pisa was the birthplace of the important early physicist Galileo Galilei. Apparently, he was climbing over the Leaning tower of Pisa to prove his theory of gravity, Later he was burned by the church. Today, the airport of Pisa holds his name.
The Pisa Baptistery of St. John is a Roman Catholic ecclesiastical building in Pisa. Construction started in 12th century to replace an older baptistery, and when it was completed, it became the second building, in chronological order, in the Piazza dei Miracoli, near the Duomo di Pisa and the cathedral’s free-standing campanile, the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa.
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