Car Hire Tuscany: Pisa
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Home to the famous Leaning Tower, Pisa is both
the capital of Tuscany’s Province of Pisa and one of the oldest
cities in the Tuscan region. Even the Romans described it as “old”
when they conquered the Italian landmass: Virgil mentions it in the
Aenid and when other Roman writers were mentioning it the city was
already at least 1300 years old!
With such a wealth of history behind it visitors to Pisa will naturally expect something special – they won’t be disappointed. There’s the Cathedral, of course, with its legendarily wonky bell tower: an unmissable stop, but just one of more than 20 important churches in the city. Not to mention the palaces (palazzos), other towers and villas.
A tourist can take in the Piazza del Duomo, alternatively known as the Square of Miracles, home not only to the Leaning Tower but to the awesomely beautiful Camposanto Monumentale – a “monumental cemetery” said to have been built on sacred soil shipped from Golgotha during the Crusades – or wander through the neighbourhood of the Borgo Stretto, where medieval arcades abut a warren of ancient avenues that run next to the river Arno.
Take a drive out from Pisa into the province’s glorious hills and you can visit a true Tuscan winery with its stone cellars, picturesque farmhouse and acres of fertile vineyard. If you go in September or October you’ll have the chance to assist in harvesting and pressing the grapes that end up in the world-famous Chianti. Or get on the road to Florence, a trip as worthwhile as its destination: you’ll drive along the banks of the Arno as it winds through Tuscany’s sensational countryside to the capital. Alternatively, head due west for the coast and the port city of Livorno, a jumble of towers, fortresses, fortified walls and canals.
Wherever you go, in or around Pisa, you’ll be driving in the footsteps of some of the biggest brains and voices in Italian history: founder of modern physics Galileo Galilei lived there: as did legendary mathematician Leonardo Fibonacci; Nobel prize winning physicist Enrico Fermi; and Andrea Bocelli, the brooding face of contemporary Italian classical music. See if you can spot his house, or identify one of Pisa’s two other leaning towers before getting back on the road for the next stop in your Tuscan adventure!
With such a wealth of history behind it visitors to Pisa will naturally expect something special – they won’t be disappointed. There’s the Cathedral, of course, with its legendarily wonky bell tower: an unmissable stop, but just one of more than 20 important churches in the city. Not to mention the palaces (palazzos), other towers and villas.
A tourist can take in the Piazza del Duomo, alternatively known as the Square of Miracles, home not only to the Leaning Tower but to the awesomely beautiful Camposanto Monumentale – a “monumental cemetery” said to have been built on sacred soil shipped from Golgotha during the Crusades – or wander through the neighbourhood of the Borgo Stretto, where medieval arcades abut a warren of ancient avenues that run next to the river Arno.
Take a drive out from Pisa into the province’s glorious hills and you can visit a true Tuscan winery with its stone cellars, picturesque farmhouse and acres of fertile vineyard. If you go in September or October you’ll have the chance to assist in harvesting and pressing the grapes that end up in the world-famous Chianti. Or get on the road to Florence, a trip as worthwhile as its destination: you’ll drive along the banks of the Arno as it winds through Tuscany’s sensational countryside to the capital. Alternatively, head due west for the coast and the port city of Livorno, a jumble of towers, fortresses, fortified walls and canals.
Wherever you go, in or around Pisa, you’ll be driving in the footsteps of some of the biggest brains and voices in Italian history: founder of modern physics Galileo Galilei lived there: as did legendary mathematician Leonardo Fibonacci; Nobel prize winning physicist Enrico Fermi; and Andrea Bocelli, the brooding face of contemporary Italian classical music. See if you can spot his house, or identify one of Pisa’s two other leaning towers before getting back on the road for the next stop in your Tuscan adventure!
