Excursión a Livorno: Excursión Privada de un Día a Pisa y Florencia

The Leaning Tower of Pisa (Torre pendente di Pisa) serves as the campanile, or free-standing bell tower, for the cathedral in Pisa, Italy; a city famous all over the world for its tower's unintentional lean. It stands just behind the Pisa Cathedral; this tower is the third oldest building in Cathedral Square of Pisa City (Piazza del Duomo), after the cathedral and the Pisa Baptistry. The tower started to lean during the 12th century because of the inadequate foundation on one side—where the ground was too soft to support the weight of the building well. This had very much got worse in the years before the building finished in the 14th century. It kept getting worse until some efforts to stabilize it also partially fix the leaning were made in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. The heights of the tower are 55.86 metres (183.27 feet) and 56.67 metres (185.93 feet) respectively, the lower and the higher side. At its base, the wall width is 2.44 metres (8 feet 0.06 inches). The structure is estimated to weigh about 14,500 tons. The tower has either 296 or 294 steps; north-facing staircase on the seventh floor has two less steps to it. In 1990, it was found to have a lean of 5.5 degrees; this angle measured by remedial efforts from 1993 to 2001 was reduced later on to be recorded as 3.97 degrees with overhang reduction of simplex45 centimetres it leaned less by measured then over two decades leading up to twenty eighteen simplex4 centimetres more.

30 minutes - Entrance ticket NOT included

Pisa’s Duomo Square, where the Cathedral, Baptistery, and Bell Tower stand beside the Graveyard (or Campo Santo), is an architectural grouping typical of a style harmony so surprisingly striking that Le Corbusier compared it to that of the Acropolis at Athens. The choice of materials—mainly white marble—and blind arches at the lower level and small functional loggias at the upper levels come to suggest something like a single project almost as if it were the common expression of a set of artists effectively working together on one building site over not very much time. In reality, this achievement was many years in the doing and involved several architects, sculptors, and painters over a period exceeding three centuries more than half-a-dozen-very-famous-for-hitting-thee-where-they’re-at-influencing periods. The visitor to this place is taken by the sudden sight of the four monuments, a sight that can only be called 'miraculous,' in the fortunate phrase of D'Annunzio. They seem to spring out of a wide, clean-cut green, though it goes back to the 19th century and was wrought over in neo-medieval style by the tearing down of buildings not up to standard and vegetable gardens formerly kept in this place. Because of such historical uses, this square at Pisa differs from other medieval cathedral squares like those at Parma, Modena, Siena, Perugia, where the town plan spreads out from the cathedral; however, this quite decentral space has been used as the spiritual and indeed emotional center of Pisa.

Free entrance

Ponte Vecchio

The bridge at the narrowest point of the Arno, traditionally believed to have always had a bridge here since Roman times was this place where the via Cassia crossed the river; it is documented for the first time in 996 built of stone piers and a wooden superstructure. It stood until destroyed by flood in 1117, then rebuilt in stone only to be carried away by another flood in 1333 leaving two central piers—so wrote Giovanni Villani in his Nuova Cronica. The reconstruction took place in 1345. Giorgio Vasari recorded that contemporary opinion held it was designed by Taddeo Gaddi, one of very few artistic figures from Giotto's time who is remembered two hundred years later trecento; though modern historians have suggested that Neri di Fioravanti could be another possible designer. In a small space at the middle of the bridge, there is a old dedication stone that used to say: In thirty-three after thirteen hundred, the bridge fell, because of a great flood of waters: then ten years, as it pleased the Commune, it was rebuilt with this decoration. The Torre dei Mannelli had been built at the southeast corner of the bridge for its defense. The bridge is built of three segmental arches. The main arch has a span of 30 meters (98 feet), and the two lateral arches each have a span of 27 meters(89 feet). The rise of these arches varies from 3.5 to 4.4 meters(11½ to 14½ feet), giving a span-to-rise ratio of1:5. Stores and vendors have always filled this place, displaying their goods on tables set outside their shops, after getting the ok from the Bargello, who acts as a judge, a police chief, and a sort of lord mayor. The rear stores, seen as retrobotteghe from up the river, came in during the seventeenth century. Unlike all other bridges in Florence, the Ponte Vecchio was not destroyed during World War II when the Germans retreated before the advancing British 8th Army on 4 August 1944. This fact is credited by many locals and tour guides as having been due to a special order from Hitler. In any case, access to the bridge was prevented by the destruction of the buildings at either end, which have now been rebuilt using a mixture of original and modern design features.

15 minutes - Free entrance

Piazzale Michelangelo

This piazza in Florence, designed by architect Giuseppe Poggi and built in 1869, is located on a hill just south of the historical center; renovations for Oltrarno on the southern bank of the Arno River were done at that time. Florence was then the capital of Italy and an urban renewal project was going on for the entire city under the name Risanamento or Renovation to its neighborhoods. Lungarno, riverside promenades singular , were built along the banks of the river. The city walls from fourteenth century were torn down on their right bank and transformed into Viali di Circonvallazione meant to imitate French boulevard style with six lanes and trees lining either side . On Viale dei Colli left hand side saw tree lined main road over 8 kilometers long which led to Piazzale Michelangelo purposely built as a viewpoint terrace giving a panoramic view over city. In the middle of the square, there's a bronze statue of David looking out over Florence. This piazza, commemorating Michelangelo the Renaissance artist, has cast copies of a lot of his marble works spread all over Florence ( mainly David and the four allegorical figures from the Medici Chapel at San Lorenzo ). It came on June 25, 1873 by nine yoke of oxen. Designed by Poggi, this loggia shows neoclassical style which carries on generally across the terrace now used as a restaurant. Though meant to be a museum for the works of Michelangelo, that never happened. An inscription in large letters on the wall of the balcony under the loggia giving note to his artistry Pogg has here made into his monument in 1911. It describes Florence from Forte Belvedere to Santa Croce, crossing the lungarni and the bridges over the Arno, one of them being Ponte Vecchio; also seen are the Duomo, Palazzo Vecchio, Bargello and the eight-sided bell tower of Badia Fiorentina. Hills of Settignano and Fiesole rise above the town. Either take the tree-shaded Viale Michelangelo built around the same time or go up the steps and ramps from Piazza Giuseppe Poggi, called the Poggi Ramps, in San Niccolò.

20 minutes - Free entrance

Florence Santa Croce Basilica (Basilica di Santa Croce) (Pass By)

The Basilica di Santa Croce, also referred to as the Basilica of the Holy Cross, serves as the primary Franciscan church in Florence, Italy, and holds the designation of a minor basilica within the Roman Catholic Church. Located on the Piazza di Santa Croce, it lies approximately 800 meters to the south-east of the Duomo. Initially, the site was selected in an area of marshland beyond the city walls. This basilica is the final resting place for several of Italy's most renowned figures, including Michelangelo, Galileo, Machiavelli, the poet Foscolo, the philosopher Gentile, and the composer Rossini, which has led to its designation as the Temple of the Italian Glories.

Free entrance

Florence Duomo (Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore) (Pass By)

Florence Cathedral or Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore is in Florence, Italy; Duomo di Firenze. Construction began in 1296 of Gothic style by Arnolfo di Cambio and was architecturally completed in 1436 with a dome by Filippo Brunelleschi. The outside of the church is beautified with marbled panels of colors green and pink along white shades which are framed—decoration that also serves to honor an ornate Gothic Revival front from the 19th century made by Emilio De Fabris. The Baptistery and Giotto's Campanile are parts of the cathedral group that stand in Piazza del Duomo; these three edifices are UNESCO World Heritage Site components of Florence's historic center and a major tourist attraction in Tuscany. This basilica is one of Italy's largest churches; above all, until the advent of new building materials in modern times, this dome was known to be the largest in the world. It still remains the largest brick dome ever built.

Free entrance

Giotto's Bell Tower (Campanile di Giotto) (Pass By)

Giotto's Campanile is a separate bell tower that forms part of the group of architectural works which make up Florence Cathedral; these stand in Piazza del Duomo in Florence, Italy. It stands beside the Basilica of Santa Maria del Fiore and the Baptistery of St. John. The tower shows great Florentine Gothic architecture, displaying Giotto's design with added sculptural decorations and its striking colored marble inlays. The lean design has a flat bottom with edges 14.45 meters each way and 14.45 meters the other way it measures 84.7 meters tall and 277.9 feet in height, backed by curved braces at every corner. This place is split into five clear sections.

Free entrance

Palazzo Vecchio (Pass By)

The town hall of Florence, Italy; the Palazzo Vecchio adds a view of Piazza della Signoria which has a copy of Michelangelo's statue of David next to the group of sculptures in near Loggia dei Lanzi. It was first called Palazzo della Signoria, after the governing body of the Republic of Florence and it held many other names—Palazzo del Popolo, Palazzo dei Priori, Palazzo Ducale—all reflective of its functions at much earlier periods. This building got this name now because the home of duke Medici moved to Palazzo Pitti on the other side of the river Arno.

Free entrance

Brunelleschi's Dome (Cupola del Brunelleschi) (Pass By)

The eight-sided dome of the church made up of two joined pointy shapes was built from 1418 to 1434 using a plan given by Filippo Brunelleschi in a contest held in 1418; this plan was accepted only in 1420 after much talk. An extraordinary work that has withstood lightning, earthquakes, and the ravages of time continues to draw everyone who looks at it from afar. The span of the dome is 45.5 meters. The contest held by the Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore in 1418 was won by Brunelleschi; but, work on building it started actually two years later and was finished only in 1434. Back on March 25, 1436, Pope Eugene IV went ahead and consecrated Florence's cathedral. Brunelleschi ingeniously employed a double shell construction to vault the dome room without scaffolding, thereby leaving anspace of interst between the two layers. The inner shell of more than 2 meters in thickness comprises light bricks laid in herringbone fashion and acts as the self-supporting element of structure; the outer dome merely covers and presents wind resistance. A conical roof lantern designed by Brunelleschi completed in 1446 is mounted on top of the dome. The gilt copper ball and cross have been placed on the top of the lantern, containing relics inside, were made by Andrea del Verrocchio in 1466. Between 1572 and 1579, the inner shell of the dome was frescoed by Giorgio Vasari and Federico Zuccari, who chose to represent Last Judgement, a subject that reflects the iconography used in the baptistry. There is whole restoration of the frescoes on inner shell of dome from 1978 to 1994.

Free entrance

Accademia Gallery (Galleria dell'Accademia)

The Galleria dell'Accademia di Firenze is an art museum in Florence, Italy, famous for the sculpture of David by Michelangelo. Other works of sculpture from the same artist are in this museum as well as several important paintings done by Florentine painters mostly between 1300 and 1600-that is from Trecento to Late Renaissance. Galleria is more compact and focused than Uffizi the main art museum in Florence. It lies next to Accademia di Belle Arti academy of fine arts of Florence has no further connections with this institution.

45 minutes - Entrance ticket NOT included