The Leaning Tower of Pisa after dark

Pisa has always been there

One of the articles I read while we were getting ready for our trip to Italy and Sweden said “Pisa is so ancient that it doesn’t have a birth date…” It’s been there since before Roman times.

It’s always been there in our imagination, too.

We knew about the Leaning Tower of Pisa before we knew about Italy. Like many American kids growing up in the 1960’s, we got our initial impressions from the Saturday morning cartoons. The Leaning Tower was an icon. Always there. Always on the verge of falling down.

And like they say on Tik Tok, “I was this many years old before I ever looked up Pisa on a map.”

We looked it up because our friends Ann and Laurie, with whom we’ve traveled in Italy several times, invited us to stay with them in a place they rented for a month in Lucca, about 40 km away. Pisa was the closest airport. We planned our trip so we had one night and the next morning in Pisa. It wasn’t enough time to explore the city, but it was enough to let us see the Leaning Tower for ourselves.

This race ain’t amazing

Before we moved to Portugal, I used to enjoy watching a reality / adventure show called “The Amazing Race”. It was formulaic – every season starts with 13 two-person teams who travel around the world, competing in physical and mental challenges at each stop. The slowest teams get eliminated and the last team standing wins $1 million.

During every episode I’d think, “I could do that. Maybe I can get one of the kids to do it with me. It would be fun.”

But after this trip, I’ve given up that idea. My navigation skills no longer cut it, as we found out when we arrived in Pisa.

We got off to a good start

The night before we left I spent an hour huddled over Google Maps, figuring out three different itineraries, 15 minutes apart, to get us from the Pisa airport to our hotel. It looked pretty simple. Ride the “PisaMover” tram to the Pisa Centrale station, then catch a bus.

Our hotel was just outside the Piazza dei Miracoli (the Square of Miracles) where the Leaning Tower is located. Once we got to the hotel, we wouldn’t have far to go.

We had a late afternoon flight, so it was dark when we landed. The lack of visibility was a bit disorienting, but we were excited to be in Pisa.

We bought tickets for the PisaMover in the airport terminal – €5 each for a 10 minute ride. The terminal and the train station were the endpoints for the tram, so there wasn’t much chance of missing our stop.

So far, so good.

Then we got off track

Once we were onboard we watched the other passengers for clues on when to get off and which way to go. But it seemed like none of our fellow passengers had ever been to Pisa before. At the final stop, we all waddled off like a flock of lost geese.

The others dispersed while we stopped to get our bearings. A nearby exit went to a dark street. That didn’t seem like where we wanted to go. The signs were confusing and the darkness just added to our sense of being disoriented.

We figured out that we were on the platform furthest from the station. There was an underground corridor that took us beneath the six rail lines and up to the station. Once at street level, we headed out to catch the bus.

It was dark outside (I know, I said that already) and even though the lot was well-lit, it was still unfamiliar territory. It took a few minutes, but we found a bus parked at a stop with a sign that showed our destination. We got on board and within a couple minutes we were moving.

In the wrong direction!

Instead of going north toward our hotel, the bus went east, out of town. We rode for about 10 minutes, then the bus stopped. The driver said, in Italian, what we interpreted as “End of the line”.

We asked if he was going back to the station. “No. Another bus in 10 minutes. Over there.” He pointed to a bus stop bench on the opposite side of the dark road.

“Will our tickets still work?”

He said something about 10 minutes and turned away. We got off, hoping for the best.

The next bus arrived shortly and got us back to the station.

Four heads are better than two

There’s a sort of confusion that sets in once we make the first wrong turn. After that, we’re questioning every next step. “Are we going the right way?” So as we returned to the bus lot, we were second-guessing every possible decision.

We saw a couple standing at one of the bus stops. They looked lost, too. I approached them. “Do you speak English?”

She said, “Yes we do.” I detected an accent. Northern UK? Maybe Ireland?

They were Steve and Michelle from Dundee, Scotland and had just arrived in Pisa. They wanted to see the Tower before returning home the next day.

Their plan, which was evolving as the night progressed, was to see the Tower, then get dinner and some drinks. After that, they would go back to the airport and sleep in chairs until time to get on their 6am flight home.

They were as confused about the bus routes as we were.

Since we were all going to the same area, we decided to share a cab. Michelle flagged one down and Steve agreed on a price with the driver. €10.60. We got in and spent the first few minutes fumbling with bills and change by the light of my cell phone flashlight. We had €5.60 in coins – just enough to cover our share.

Mary loved Michelle’s accent. “I’ve got a wee bit of change.”

The ride took about 10 minutes, twisting and turning through dark, narrow streets. Then, after one final turn, the driver stopped directly in front of the Tower.

We got out of the taxi and just stared at the sight for a minute. Then it was handshakes and hugs all around. “Safe travels.” And Michelle and Steve were off, suitcases in tow, walking toward the Tower.

Good for them.

Settling in

We took another glance at the Tower and then headed to the other end of the piazza to find our hotel. Outside the perimeter wall, we stopped on a corner to puzzle over the Google map, trying to orient ourselves and decide which way to go. We knew we were within a block, but which way to go?. (Did I mention it was dark?)

Finally I looked around the corner and saw the entrance. We were there.

After getting settled in the room, we went back out for a walk through the piazza. We’d read that the best time to see the Tower was at night. That was good advice.

A quiet walk in the dark

It was a warm, clear night. There were a few other sightseers, but no crowds. It was quiet, not eerily so, but hushed, like in church or a museum. I suppose that’s where we were.

There are four historical buildings in the Piazza dei Miracoli, which was designate a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987. We walked slowly, up a wide pedestrian street, past the Baptistry, the Pisa Cathedral, and ended at the Leaning Tower. (The fourth building, the Camposanto Monumentale, or Monumental Cemetery, was behind the Baptistry and Cathedral, mostly out of sight.)

The whole area was lit with large spotlights. Rather than casting a harsh light, they accentuated the intricate architectural details. We paused often, to study the intricate statues and carvings and the overall symmetry of each building.

And instead of looking like it was ready to topple over, the Leaning Tower appeared to be firmly fixed to the ground.