Big churches and falling spires

There are two cities in Northern Italy that have achieved world fame. But the reasons for their popularity couldn't be for 2 more different reasons. One is the centre of the renaissance, the re-birth of human creativity after the dark ages. Known for it's perfection of art and artisans. The other has one of the most notable architectural screw-ups in history. The cities are separated by a mere 70 km. They are Florence and Pisa.
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Home to Sandro Botticelli, Giorgio Vasari and all of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatelo and Rafael) at some point in their lives, Florence is art. And no visit to Florence would be complete without a visit to the Uffizi Gallery. Normally I skip over art galleries. I've been to some of the best in the world, and smaller ones just don't compare. But the Uffizi IS one of the best in the world. Where in some no-name gallery you might look and say "oh, that's nice...", at the Uffizi you say "Oh wow, i know that one, it's awesome!!". However, getting in is half the experience. In the busy summer season, people literally book a place weeks in advance. Even in the off season, you can expect to spend half the day queueing without reservations. But it's worth it. If that's not enough to satisfy your art cravings, Michelangelo's David can be found at the Accadamia Gallery. Although it's also a pain to get into. But this being my second time to Florence, I didn't feel the need to revisit these places. Instead, i was content to visit Cupola del Brunelleschi, in the Piazza Del Duomo. Florence's central Cathedral is quite lovely, but it's the climb to the top that is breathtaking. It's 8 Euro and something like 843 steps to one of the most spectacular city views in all of Italy (title picture). It shouldn't be attempted by people with fear of closed spaces, fear of heights or fear of exercise. The added bonus is the close up views of the paintings on the Cathedral dome. This little adventure is certainly one of the highlights of any trip to Italy. So i had no problems squeezing it in on the way from Vicenza (where i was visiting a friend) to my real destination.

The unassuming town of Pisa is nothing more than a university town. Many street are semi-pedestrian, and there are more bookshops per capita than I've seen almost anywhere. But it has one MAJOR attraction. A tower standing 55.86 m tall and 4.09 m wide (at the base). It's a nice tower, but nothing outstanding. Except for the fact that it's leaning almost 4 degrees to it's side. Blamed on a poorly laid foundation and loose substrate, the tower started leaning almost immediately after construction began in 1173. The square is lovely... and the tower is nice... but in my opinion it is the single most overrated landmark in the world (with the Eiffel Tower a close second). It costs 15 Euro to climb the thing and in summer bookings are essential (17 Euro on-line). People from all around the world flood the square taking one of two pictures. Using perspective, the bad-asses take a picture that looks like they're pushing the tower over, and bleeding hearts take a picture holding it up. Countless vendors line the square trying to sell the exact same sculpture of the tower as the next vendor. But still, in terms of world landmarks, they don't come more famous than the Leaning Tower of Pisa. So why not visit?

Pisa is easily do-able as a day trip from Florence. Tickets cost as little as 5.70 Euro and there are trains about every half an hour. the journey takes about 70 minutes. There is often a reason for mass tourism. Both Florence and Pisa see more tourists than the last 2 countries I've lived in (Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan). But the home of art and the home of a tumbling tower will most certainly be on the agenda of any trip to Italy, and i suppose deservedly so.