DAY 4 :PONTEDERA & PISA

DAY 4  : PONTEDERA & PISA

After breakfast at Caffè Cantini in Piazza del Popolo, our coach takes us to Pontedera, a small town between San Miniato and Pisa, where we visit the famous Piaggio Museum. The world-famous Vespa Piaggio is produced by the Piaggio Company in this town.

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VESPA PIAGGIO

Some people do not know the world-famous Vespa scooter is produced by the Piaggio company, whose premises are located right in the middle of Tuscany, in Pontedera.

The cOLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAompany was founded here in the second half of the 19th century, while the museum was opened in March 2000. Since then the museum has welcomed more than 400,000 visitors and today it is one of the most visited industrial museums in Italy. It is located in a part of the historical premises of the company and it was opened to highlight its history and the development of  Italian industry, economy and society.

 

 

Inside the museum an English-speaking tour guide gives us details about the history of the company and the marvellous Vespa scooters, which are on show there. Our visit lasts an hour.

We can admire a wide collection of Vespa scooters:

  • The 1943 MP5, nicknamed “Paperino”,
  • The 1945 MP6,
  • The 1946 98cc,
  • The 1951 Vespa 125cc, the model used by Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck on the set of the film “Roman Holidays”,
  • The 1953 Vespa “U” (as in “Utilitaria”),
  • The 1955 Vespa GS 150cc,
  • The 1963 Vespa 50cc,
  • The 1965 90cc Super Sprint,
  • The 1967 125cc Primavera,
  • The 1976 Vespa 125cc Primavera ET3,
  • The 1975 Vespa 200cc Rally,
  • The 1977 Vespa PX 125

At the end of the visit you can browse hundreds of stylish goods of official Vespa merchandise at the museum shop.

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After visiting the museum you can enjoy an aperitif or a cappuccino in Pontedera and have a walk in the town centre for a shopping tour of Italian designers’ clothes, bags and shoes.

We suggest you have a Vespa tour in your free time. A private English-speaking Vespa tour guide will accompany you for the whole tour and will show you the villages and the attractions along the route with a particular focus on the landscape, the local traditions and the historical and agricultural features of the area.

 

Later  we head off to Pisa, which is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Pisa is known for its Leaning Tower all over the world and contains more than twenty famous churches, several palaces and various bridges across the River Arno.The city is also home to the University of Pisa, which dates back to the 12th century.

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Our walking tour starts with the stunning Pisa Walls, which were built in the 12th century and were restored by the Medici Family when they conquered the city in the 16th century. You can have a walking tour along the City Walls on particular days. From here you can get a breath-taking view of Piazza dei Miracoli and the city.

 

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We next head for Piazza dei Miracoli, which a miracle of architectural achievement , and is located in the heart of the city. The name “Piazza dei Miracoli” was created by the Italian writer and poet Gabriele D’Annunzio. Four buildings: the Cathedral, the Leaning Tower, the Baptistery and the Monumental Cemetery form one of the most outstanding architectural complexes in Italy.

The Baptistery is worth a visit. It is a round Romanesque building. It is the largest baptistery in Italy. The Baptistery has a two-colour scheme similar to other monuments in Pisa and four entrance doors. On top there is the bronze statue of St. John the Baptist dating back to the 15th century.

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Inside the Baptistery we can admire a magnificent baptismal font and the famous 13th- century pulpit by Nicola Pisano. It is well- known for its perfect acoustics. If you get as close to the centre as possible and you sing a loud note, it will echo in the Baptistery. The Baptistery Guards often demonstrate this breath-taking effect.

We next visit the Cathedral, which is located to the west of the Baptistery. It is a medieval Cathedral, dedicated to Santa Maria Assunta.

 

“The life of Christ” is depicted on its bronze doors. Inside the Cathedral there is Nicola Pisano’s pulpit and the tomb of St. Ranieri, the Patron saint of Pisa. We can also admire a 15th-century chandelier known as Galileo’s Lamp. According to the tradition, Galileo figured out the law of pendulum movement by observing it swinging back and forth.

 

 

 

 

We also pay a visit to the Monumental Cemetery, which is the most beautiful cemetery in the world. The building of this huge, rectangular Gothic structure was created in the 13th century by the architect Giovanni di Simone in order to place the tombs of the noble families from Pisa together. The courtyard of the Cemetery, with its lawn and cypress trees, gives people the impression of being in a cloister. It houses Roman sarcophagi and funerary monuments.

 

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Leaving the Cathedral museum behind us, we head off to the Leaning Tower, which is the bell tower of the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta. It is the symbol of Pisa and it is a unique building in the Romanesque Style.It is 56 metres tall and was built between the 12th and 14th centuries. The tower is cylindrical in shape and the interior has a spiral of 294 steps leading to the top.

The Leaning Tower is famous even because from its top and thanks to its inclination, Galileo carried out some of his most famous experiments concerning the gravitation of the bodies.immagine1

Our tour continues towards Piazza dei Cavalieri, which was a political centre in the Middle Ages. In 1561 it became the headquarters of the order of the  knights  of St. Stephen. A 16th- century statue of the Grand Duke Cosimo I of the Medici Family stands by the fountain in front of Palazzo Cavalieri. palazzo-dell-orologio-statue-cosimo-piazza-cavalieri-pisa-tuscany-italy

 

 

Today the building houses the famous Scuola Normale Superiore, a highly selective university.  The palace was built and decorated by Giorgio Vasari for the headquarters of the St. Stephen’s Knights in the 16th century. Next to the palace we can admire the 16th-century Church of Santo Stefano dei Cavalieri.

Don’t miss the visit to the Church of Santa Maria della Spina. This tiny building, created in 1323, is a jewel of Gothic architecture. Its name derives from a reliquary containing a thorn from Christ’s Crown of Thorns, once preserved inside.

 

Dunandooring our walking tour, we stop at the lovely pizzeria Da Nando for lunch. Here you can taste a large variety
of pizza and “focaccia” with ‘cecina’. Cecina is a typical dish in Pisa and it is prepared with chickpea flour and olive oil.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After lunch, we head to  Piazza delle Vettovaglie.

Its name  literally means “Supply Square” and every morning it becomes a local market, boasting cafés, wine shops, butchers, fish-sellers, bakeries, and spice shops. At night, it is the heart of the city’s nightlife.

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From here it is easy to reach Corso Italia, where we can see Logge dei Banchi, a loggia created by the architect Bernardo Buontalenti. It used to host a market and today it is still used for this purpose, especially at Christmas.

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Later we can wander in the city centre. The best shopping streets in Pisa are Corso Italia and Borgo Stretto. Here you can find bookstores, exclusive and elegant shops, boutiques and jewellers’ stores, such as “Guess”, “Liu Jo”, “Kiko”, “Zara”, “Borbonese”, “Feltrinelli”, “Les Copains”, “Sisley”, hotels, restaurants and cafés such as the famous “Salza”, where you can have delicious cakes and sandwiches.

 

In your free time you can walk till Sant’Antonio Square, where you will discover one of Pisa hidden jewels, Keith Haring’s mural called  Tuttomondo.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you love nature, we suggest you go to San Rossore Park, which is an amazing place immersed in nature located near Pisa .

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Our walking tour ends with dinner in a nice restaurant, Osteria Il Fantasma dell’Opera, where you can taste a typical menu:

 

PRELUDE –Parmisan and speck muffin along with a selection of local cheese.

FIRST ACT – Tagliatelle with “Fantasma” sauce.

SECOND ACT – Black Angus “Tagliata” with Parmisan and rocket salad.

 

 

We suggest you attend a cooking course while you are in Tuscany.

 

After dinner you can wander through the cobbled streets of the city and sit in a pub or a café’ or attend one of the events which are held in the city centre.

Risultati immagini per pisa pub

 

In summer Pisa offers a large variety of events, such as Luminara, Regatta and Battle of The Bridge .

 

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Don’t miss walk in Piazza dei Miracoli at night. It is really impressive! It is quiet and lit by fantastic light purple lights. It is the perfect place to take  amazing photos!!

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If you come to Italy in summer ,you can go to Lajatico , Andrea Bocelli ‘s birthplace and attend the famous singer’s concert in the spectacular Teatro del Silenzio. If you come to Italy in summer ,you can go to Lajatico , Andrea Bocelli ‘s birthplace and attend the famous singer’s concert in the spectacular Teatro del Silenzio.

Our coach will take you to San Miniato. Overnight stay at San Miniato Hostel .