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November 18, 2013 · 5:35 am

The Square of Miracles

Duomo

Otherwise known as Piazza dei Miracoli, or Piazza del Duomo.

As I mentioned last week, our ship the MS Ryndam had ported in Livorno, Italy. From Livorno we took a tour of Pisa, Lucca, and Pietra Santa. As we’ve already discussed the latter two, today I present images of Pisa and its two leaning towers.

You read that correctly. Pisa is home to not one, but rather two leaning towers.

Here’s the one you’ve seen:

Leaning Tower

And here’s the one about which you’ve probably never heard:

The OTHER Leaning Tower in Pisa

That second leaning tower is attached to an ancient church probably less than a mile from its more famous counterpart.

Now for today’s Pisa photo gallery, which includes some shots of the leaning tower base that gives a good indication as to just how off-plumb this structure truly is. Additionally, take a good close look at the leaning tower image above. If you look closely you’ll see where the builders attempted to compensate for the ever-increasing lean by shortening the columns on the opposite side in a losing battle to get at least the upper floors level.

Duomo

Leaning Base

Baptistry

Leaning Entry

Duomo

Duomo and Baptistry

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Tagged as cruise ship, Holland America, MS Ryndam, photography, Pisa, R. Doug Wicker, taly, travel

November 15, 2013 · 5:35 am

Lovely Lucca

Lucca Panorama

If it’s Wednesday, this must be Lucca . . . or maybe Pietra Santa. Or perhaps both. We arrived in the port of Livorno on October 30. From there we were once again on tour — this time to Pisa (more on that next Monday), the ancient walled city of Lucca, and the quaint artist community of Pietra Santa:

Pietra Santa

Now a riddle: What does my butt have in common with Gina Lollobrigida? Yes, there really is a connection, which I’ll get to in a moment. Meanwhile, back to Lucca.

Lucca

Lucca is a great example of an early walled city, with many narrow streets lined with charming cafés and quaint shops.

Lucca

As for Pietra Santa, it’s just simply charming everywhere you look. Even the local cats put on a show.

Sharpening Claws in all the Wrong Places in Pietra Santa

After our lengthy tour of Pisa, Lucca, and Pietra Santa our guide took us to a great little restaurant for lunch. It is here that you will find the answer to the above question. After we settled into our seats for lunch, the waitress pronounced that just one day before they had hosted Gina Lollobrigida. She then pointed to me and stated most emphatically that I was sitting in the very seat as had the Italian screen legend.

So much for my brush with one of the most famous butts of our time. Here below is today’s photo gallery. Click on any image to bring up the slideshow.