Lucca and the Leaning Tower of Pisa

Trip Start Jul 20, 2008
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Trip End Aug 13, 2008


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Flag of Italy  , Tuscany,
Sunday, August 3, 2008

The port of Livorno Italy was our ship destination today.  Its in part of the Italy known as Tuscany, which is known for its food.  We traveled by bus to the town of Lucca, a city completely enclosed by walls.  These walls were made to repel invaders and wild animals, but they had another consequence too.  As in most old European cities, the streets were very narrow and scooters were the method of travel.   The original buildings were all towers, now built together.  To show status your tower had to be higher than your neighbor's tower.   This city has 99 churches, many small but some very beautiful.  They were built during the Black Plague, when people gave much money to the churches hoping they would be spared death.  But they were not spared and the churches ended up with no people to go to church, so many of these churches set empty as they have for several hundred years.  In one of the churches is a cross with the figure of Jesus on it.  Legend has it that the wood used to make the cross is from the actual cross that Jesus hung from Narrow streets
Narrow streets
 .  It was made around 8 AD, and one of the first crosses to depict Jesus on the cross.  In another church there is a mummified body of a young lady.  She was revered by the locals because she smuggled bread to the poor under her skirt almost 1000 years ago.  The story says that she was caught one day, and when she opened her skirt there were only flowers, a miracle.  She died of lead poisoning, a common ailment of the times as lead was used in wine barrels.  The lead actually mummified her skin, and she has been in this repose for 800 years.  There is a small coliseum that was built by the Romans some 400 years before Christ.  You can still see the outlines of the arches on the walls and walk inside to where the gladiators fought.  After leaving the town of Lucca, we traveled to Pisa, where we saw the tower of Pisa.  The whole area is called the Plaza of Miracles, with the Tower, a church and a place for baptisms.  The tower really leans, and they are working to stabilize it by using sandbags.  It began leaning even when it was being built, with the upper floors shifted to the other direction to help counteract the lean.  The Tower has been standing for over 900 years, but guide always said to hurry because it might fall down!  It was great to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person.  Then it was back on the bus and we spent the rest of the day on the ship.
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