Up early to try and get to Pisa before the
heat of the day becomes unbearable. Early start is slightly foiled by what we
should have guessed would be a predictably late bus arrival. Italy and
timetables anyone? However, our Inglese ignorance stands us in good stead as we
don’t quite manage to work out how to buy a ticket. We are deposited in Pisa
and instantly we love it. It’s peaceful, quiet, user friendly and utterly
enchanting. Every twisty mysterious street is cool and breezy and lined with
ancient peeling buildings of old old stone and ornate balconies. It’s just
perfect. We wind our way towards the Tower, Cathedral, Baptistry and
Camposanto. Where are all the teeming hoardes? Why is everything so reasonably
priced? Still, isa not so much of a pisa to have it so peaceful. Ahem.
The first church we go into is the Santa
Caterina. The gloom of the inside of the church instantly sets the tone after
the bright sunshine and you are transported back into ancient history. The
weight and solemnity of the place settle onto your shoulders and the simplicity
of the place gradually peels back to reveal a surprising complexity of design.
The giant original ceiling beams are carved and painted and as your eyes
adjust, more and more is revealed. It’s beautiful, but when you suddenly find
yourself at the field of miracles and are confronted with the intricacy of the
buildings there you wonder that two such buildings could be in the same city.
The Baptistry is at first so simple after the
expectations its façade raises. But inside, like Santa Caterina, its complexity
is slowly unravelled. The full glory is only realised when the acoustics are
awoken by the sound of a man’s voice gently singing three notes. Moving,
haunting, astonishing. The Cathedral is just something totally alien to
anything either of us has experienced before. It as a visual assault on the
senses. Everywhere your eyes try to settle there is something above, behind,
beside, beneath, to tempt them away.
There is so much that it is hard to focus and harder still to comprehend how a
human mind could conceive of something so intricate and complex. It is so
humbling that it almost leaves you feeling like you’ve stepped into something
to big for a mere mortal mind to understand. While beautiful it is almost a
relief to step back into the simplicity and comfort of the winding streets.
And now to Lucca!