Leaning in, Pisa-style

We have had one full day in Pisa, and we used it for just what you would expect - going to the Piazza dei Miracoli (aka Piazza del Duomo) and gaping at the Leaning Tower. Also, eating pizza. Also, walking about looking at other marvels, of which there are several.

It was fun, that's the first thing. We took a bus to the end of the line and there we were. The Piazza was full of people having a lovely time. They had the idea to right the tower. Hm. Some problems in performance...

Here's how to do it:

Obviously.

This tower is hopeless, however. It'll never straighten up. In fact, it's been slipping a little and there's been an effort to stabilize it further by pumping a new foundation underneath. You can see if you look closely that by the time it was 7 stories high, they realized it was tilting, and the little top layer is canted the other way in hopes of not making the problem worse. 

The Piazza has other buildings, all sheathed in limestone or marble. They are as white as if they never experienced air pollution. This may be true. Julianne thinks they sandblasted them, though. We didn't have the same opinion on this. I think the carvings are too crisp to have been sandblasted. Well, somebody knows this.

 

So much for the artifacts of bright pride. We walked into the city and ate pizza at Pizzeria Santa Maria, very charming. Walked toward the river, stopped in a bookstore, bought a book, got some ice cream, took more pictures. Nice day.