(in Italy) A city with aristocratic airs and rich in charm that, thanks to the nearby sea, emanates a special light, Pisa is a quiet provincial university town that is renowned for its art and architectural treasures. The city also retains much of its 6.5-mile (10.5-kilometer) circuit of medieval walls.
Pisa is distinguished above all by a remarkable group of buildings in the Piazza del Duomo, the so-called Square of Miracles, located at the northwestern end of the walled city. This Piazza dei Miracoli contains the cathedral, or Duomo; the baptistery; the campanile, or Leaning Tower of Pisa; and the camposanto, or cemetery.
Located in the northern half of Tuscany, not far from the coast and about an hour west of Florence, Pisa was one of the four great maritime republics in the Middle Ages, and it retains a good selection of monuments from that era. Students from across Italy compete for places in its elite university. This endows the center of town with a vibrant cafe and bar scene, balancing an enviable portfolio of Romanesque buildings, Gothic churches, and Renaissance piazzas with a lively street life dominated by locals rather than tourists – a charm you will not discover if you restrict your visit to Piazza dei Miracoli.
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