Tuscany - Province of Pisa

Given how close it is to where I live, I have been to the Province of Pisa on very many occasions, many of which not for tourism. Numerous times I have been to the provincial capital, Pisa, and visited the famous and splendid Piazza dei Miracoli, one of the most beautiful squares in the world. Only once, however, have I climbed to the top of the celebrated leaning tower, the Italian monument most famous abroad. On other occasions I have limited myself to admiring it from below in all its particular grandeur. But the tower of Pisa is only the icing on the cake of this scenic square, because the Cathedral and the Baptistery, standing on the immaculately kept lawn, are just as beautiful. Inside too the Cathedral is very beautiful despite the sobriety that befits this ancient place of worship.

Less well known but equally interesting are the Diocesan Museum and the monumental Camposanto, once rich in frescoes now lost, whose sinopie are visible in a dedicated museum of the same name. All this treasure chest is gathered around the walls that lead into the Pisan old town, of which Piazza dei Miracoli is only a periphery. The rest of the old town lies towards the Arno, which divides the city in two. The ancient Piazza dei Cavalieri, though small, gathers fine buildings including the Church of Santo Stefano dei Cavalieri, the Palazzetto of Count Ugolino and the Palazzo della Normale, the university of excellence that only Italian geniuses gain access to. Reaching the riverside, the Ponte di Mezzo leads to the other bank of the city, introduced by the Loggia dei Bianchi, once the wool and silk market.

Returning to the other side and following the riverside eastwards one reaches the Convent of San Matteo, inside which is the museum of the same name dedicated to sculpture and the figurative arts. Also on the riverside, but near the Ponte Solferino, is the tiny Church of Santa Maria della Spina, a small jewel of flamboyant Gothic art. Near Pisa is the entrance to the San Rossore Estate, a protected area of Mediterranean scrub stretching towards the sea between the mouths of the Serchio and the Arno. By one's own means one can reach only Cascine Vecchie, the visitors' centre of this estate, in the past property of the Savoy Crown and then of the Presidency of the Republic. The estate is in turn part of a larger ecosystem protected as the Migliarino-San Rossore-Massaciuccoli Park, whose boundaries spill over into the Province of Lucca.

Inside the park, close to the estate, are the San Rossore Racecourse and, north of the Serchio, the Migliarino Wood, near which orbit the village of the same name and the sandy shore of Marina di Vecchiano, equipped for bathing. The Migliarino Wood belongs to the Municipality of Vecchiano, whose small capital lies inland not far from San Giuliano Terme, a spa town with a few buildings of architectural interest at the foot of a hill that separates it from the Province of Lucca. In the surroundings of Pisa, beyond the Arno, is the village of San Piero a Grado with the very ancient Basilica of San Pietro, built on the spot where, according to tradition, the Apostle is said to have landed on his way to Rome, where he would found the Church on Christ's teachings. The basilica, of Early Christian origins, is very sober but certainly merits a visit for its solemnity.

In a few kilometres one reaches Marina di Pisa where, at the mouth of the Arno, there are characteristic stilt structures used by fishermen for balance-net fishing. Some of these stilts stand on rocks away from the mainland and are reachable only by boat. On the coast south of Marina di Pisa rises Tirrenia, immersed in the green of the Mediterranean scrub, while inland lies the US base of Camp Darby, visible from State Road 1. Leaving Pisa and following the course of the Arno upstream one comes to Calci, with a beautiful Charterhouse open to visitors. A pleasant visit to discover the Carthusian way of life, entering both the common places of prayer and the individual monks' cells. One wing of the Charterhouse is occupied by an interesting museum of minerals, stuffed animals and large cetacean skeletons run by the University of Pisa.

Recently the museum has gained the largest Italian freshwater aquarium, small in itself and housed in what were once the convent's cellars. Among the various fish is also the rare Axolotl. The museum often hosts interesting temporary exhibitions such as those on dinosaurs. The road continues inland, passing through Uliveto Terme, where you drive past the company that bottles the famous mineral water, then through the large town of Cascina, famous for its furniture makers. Continuing we find the precious medieval centre of Vicopisano, on whose walled hill historic palaces and ancient towers stand. In the lower part the church is also very interesting. The Arno continues its course through an area rich in small businesses, such as at Fornacette and Calcinaia, but also of one large industry, the Piaggio at Pontedera.

Following the river towards Florence we glimpse the medieval village of Santa Maria a Monte, set on a hill rich in ancient buildings that give it the outline of a snail. The small village is also linked to the memory of the poet Giosue Carducci, who stayed here as a young man, and his house overlooks the narrow, steep road that leads to the top of the hill. Opposite Santa Maria a Monte, San Miniato rises on a hill along the Arno. The old town of this small town is rich in traces of the past: a cathedral with a mighty square tower, the Church of the Santissimo Crocifisso, the long and curving Seminary Palace whose outer walls bear geometrical designs in soft colours, the Bishop's Palace and the Rocca of Frederick II, in reality a tower that dominates the valley. The Province of Pisa also extends south almost to the Maremma, although this part does not face the sea.

Just south of Pontedera is the town of Ponsacco, then one comes to Lari with a small village grown up around the Castle of the Vicars, a strange construction of different periods whose lower part looks like a fort and whose upper part looks like a Renaissance palace. Not far away, Casciana is famous for its spas. Nearby, at Peccioli, there was the Dinosaur Park, now closed. Much further south is a true historical and architectural jewel, Volterra. The city is preceded by the "Balze", clay formations subject to continuous erosion and consequently to landslides. Volterra has a very ancient centre that bears witness to the passage of epochs and peoples. The Etruscans who founded it left the Porta Diana, the Arched Gate and numerous burial mounds preserved in the Guarnacci Museum along with examples of funerary and bronze art such as the statuette of the shadow.

The Romans built in perpetual memory a fine amphitheatre. The rest of the city consists of medieval buildings, some of them reworked in the Renaissance period. The town plan on the whole is well preserved and uniform, so much so that Volterra can be counted among the most beautiful centres in Tuscany. The heart of the old town is the medieval Piazza dei Priori with the palace of the same name, on whose façade numerous coats of arms are placed. The square presents other fine architecture such as the Palazzo Pretorio with the slender Torre del Podestà and the street leading to the cathedral. The whole built-up area, rich in palaces, arches, courtyards, friezes and coats of arms, has stretches of walls and is dominated, at the highest point of the hill, by the Medici Fortress, now used as a prison.

Numerous in the town are the souvenir shops specialising above all in the sale of alabaster artefacts, the stone c