May 21, Pisa

Driving rain on the drive out of town… what happened to sunny Tuscany. As we approached the final hills before the plain to the sea, however, blue skies were opening up. It took until about noon for the bright sunshine to eclipse the clouds, but it did prevail. Ira navigated us smartly to the Piazza dei Miracoli. We also scored a great parking spot just steps from this monumental tourist attraction, so it was a double bonus. The crowds were already large by the time we got there, but I got us tickets in a lull, and we started with the Camposanto. The frescos, badly damaged as

they are even after restoration, are incredible. Color are delicate. The theme of the triumph of death in my favorite fresco aligns perfectly with this burial place. Although many of the graves are old, we saw one for someone who had did in 2009. Not as good as a mobster being buried in the Vatican, but still… pretty classy.

We both found the architecture more stirring than most of the artworks in the cathedral and the baptistry. The baptistry in fact was a bit annoying, with constant tour guide chatter being constantly shushed by the attendants. The exterior with its light Gothic second story was charming. We watched it in shadow bright sunshine, and mixed light from the clouds that floated overhead. Charming in all lights. Similarly, the cathedral was gorgeous on the outside, particularly the bronze doors with their marvelous bas-reliefs and delicate leaf work. Inside, only the pulpit, by Giovanni Pisani, takes ones breath away. Both Ira and I love

representations of the Slaughter of the Innocents, and this one had a carved panel that was terrifying and terrific.

Of course, the tower is leaning. It's become the focal point of the piazza, where once the Camposanto held the most interest for travelers. Tastes change, and the frescoes are now damaged, but I can't help thinking there's kind of a freakshow aspect to the tower. We did watch a video of the detailed and sometime fraught reconstruction of the support for the tower after its slippage in the '90s. Score one for Italian engineering, even if the original designer botched the job!

After a few hours enjoying the sun and the sights, we drove up to Viareggio for lunch. Of course, it's much too early for the summer season to have started, but the sun was warm, and we had a simple meal overlooking the cabanas and umbrellas of one of the private beaches in town. Now we're resting before our final night in Pistoia. We're going to do a simple dinner of pizza or pasta and then get an early start to Florence tomorrow to wave goodbye to the car for the rest of the trip.