Pisa

Piazza del Campo is incredibly beautiful: Duomo, Baptistery, Tower and Cemetery are elegant white marble embroideries, a harmonious design between earth and sky, a meeting between faith and riches as requested by the most powerful Marine Republic of the Tyrrhenian Sea between the 11th and 15th centuries: it is worth the trip just to take in so much beauty in the heart of Pisa.

Just outside the city you will find the Tenuta di San Rossore, a Medici hunting reserve from the 16th century, later the summer residence of the Savoy and the President of the Republic. Today it is a splendid park and an integral part of the Regional Park of Migliarino, San Rossore, Massaciuccoli that extends for 30 km along the coast and the hinterland and can be visited on foot, bicycle, or in a carriage. More to the south another wonderful city: Volterra, perched atop a hill and dominating a landscape that at time seems stark, yellow or ocher, and made of gullies and clumps of clay, and at other times appears very green with holm oak, and oak forest, interspersed with vineyards and olive trees.

This is a very ancient city and already from the 4th century B.C. had seven kilometers of wall system built by the very industrious Etruscans. Through the centuries it has come down to us with medieval austere squares and towers, charming Renaissance buildings and very interesting museums, and artisan shops that from generations have been working with alabaster. Also not to be missed are the Piazza dei Priori, practically intact, the Roman Theater of the 1st century B.C., Palazzo Inghirami from the 17th century, the Renaissance Palazzo Minucci (today Solaini) and the Civica Pinacoteca of Volterra where you can admire the Deposition by Rosso Fiorentino, a masterpiece of the Mannerism style.

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