A beautiful church that one must not miss if one is touring Lucca. Lot of painting from the 1400…read moreand 1500. The interior architecture is heavenly. The cost is $3 for adult with no strict dress code. $0.50 to light an electric candle.

This church is HUGE!…read more It is beautiful...beyond beautiful inside. The ornate details and architecture is outstanding. I sat in here for a while pondering life...

I know that when many people hear of the town of Pisa, they think of the famous Leaning Tower, but…read morethere is so much more to see there than just that - such as the Pisa Cathedral. Pisa is very easy to visit from Rome or Florence via train for a day trip (or for several days, if you're wanting to stay longer!) We visited as a stopover on our Trenitalia trip back to Rome from Cinque Terre's Manarola. We only had about 4 hours in Pisa before we had to head back to our train, so we made our way directly toward the Piazza dei Miracoli to see the Leaning Tower, but the Pisa Cathedral was surprisingly just as beautiful and impressive! You cannot see the Cathedral or any other of the Piazza dei Miracoli buildings by driving by or standing outside on the street. You have to go through a small marketplace of vendors to get to the archway entry. Once inside the entryway, that is where you will see the buildings you are looking for in the Piazza dei Miracoli. The Il Duomo di Santa Maria Assunta (Pisa Cathedral) holds so much beauty and history. The art inside, including the architecture, woodworking, paintings, and sculptures, will have you just walking around in awe for quite a while. One piece of extreme interest to view is Galileo's Lamp. It is a replica of the lamp that hung in the exact same spot in the Cathedral when Galileo visited as a young man in the 1600s. Galileo saw the lamp swinging like a pendulum, giving him the impetus to investigate and discover the principle of isochronism and leading him on the path to become the famed historical scientist we study today. With all of its beauty, history, and things to learn and see, definitely stop in Pisa if you're in Italy. And don't only stop at the Leaning Tower, because missing the beautiful Cathedral would be a huge mistake!

The Baptistery of San Giovanni was founded on 1152, and was used to administer the Sacrament of…read moreBaptism. It was meant to be mirror the majesty of the adjacent Cathedral and is indeed the largest one in Italy (couldn't find any mention what is the biggest in the world). A ticket is required to enter. (7€ individually, or 10€ if part of a pack to see the other 4 museums on the campus) It is one giant dome, with a visitor accessible second level overlooking the first floor. The giant baptismal fountain isn't really admirable from ground level, but from the upper level, it is something. It is 69 steps going down (forgot to count going up...probably similar)..no elevator. This is the one building where you can pay extra (2€) to listen to an audio guide. While we were up there, a guide began to sing a chant to publicize and demonstrate the amazing acoustics of the dome. I've read that the building can be considered one giant musical instrument.

Just can't say enough great things about this baptistery. Lovely and yet simple. Architecture is…read moreamazing and the frescoes on the walls are a thing of joy. A beautiful example of Italian art and architecture.