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From the Piazza dei Miracoli to the old city centre
While visiting Pisa, Piazza dei Miracoli is a destination that cannot be missed. It houses the most significant religious complex of the city composed of the Baptistry, the ome, the Leaning Tower and the Camposanto.
It is easily accessible walking down the Viale delle Cascine and then taking the right into Via C. Cammeo at the end of which the Baptistery in Romanesque style is located. It was built under the leadership of Nicola Pisano, who carried out the wonderful pulpit ornamented with the "Stories of Christ" inside it.
Behind the Baptistery, the Cathedral rises. Its façade shows an alternation of columns and pilasters that convey the harmony of the Romanesque architecture.
In the immediate surroundings, the Museo dell' Opera can be visited. It houses the reproductions, the models and the papers regarding the construction phases of this architectural complex.
Finally, in the Camposanto Monumentale, where the most illustrious men of Pisa were buried, numerous Etruscan and Medieval works are exposed and they are arranged in a sort of art gallery.
Leaving Piazza dei Miracoli and taking Via Cardinal Maffi, it is possible to see the Palazzo Arcivescovile. Taking the right into Via Carducci, one can reach the old city centre, namely the Piazza dei Cavalieri, with its homonymous Church and the Palazzo dedicated to St. Stefano, who fought against the Saracens and, therefore, he is remembered for this.
In the immediate surroundings, the Palazzo dell' Orologio, or the "Tower of Famine"", can be visited. It is called like this because the Count Ugolino died of starvation here at the end of the year 1200. he was a Pisan noblemen belonging to the Ghibellines, but he was shut up here because he plotted against his town and his party, since he wanted to establish a Guelf government.
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Da Abbadia San Salvatore a Piancastagnaio
At the slopes of the Amiata Mountain the town of Abbadia San Salvatore rises with its medieval village and the homonymous Lombard abbey; not far, there is the medieval town of Castel del Piano where the Torre Civica dell' Orologio, the Chiesa dell' Opera and the Basilica of San Leonardo can be visited.
Leaving Castel del Piano, first the town of Arcidosso, with the Aldobrandesco castle and the sanctuary of the Madonna Addolorata, and then the town of Santa Flora, with its village and the medieval castle, can be reached.
At the end of our itinerary, there is Piancastagnaio where there are the Rocca Aldobrandesca, the small church of San Bartolomeo and the Sanctuary of the Madonna di San Pietro.
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Siena and the Castle of the Four Towers
The city of Siena, which is famous for the Palio dell'Assunta, preserves both memories of the Gothic architecture, with the Dome and the Baptistery, and historic testimonies of the XIV century, with the Piazza del Campo where the Palazzo Pubblico and the Torre del Mangia are set.
Near the Dome, the Renaissance buildings Palazzo Chigi-Saracini and the Palazzo Piccolomini stand.
North of Siena, in the locality of Santa Regina, the medieval castle of the "Quattro Torri" can be visited only on the outside. It takes its name from the large towers that define its perimeter.
Continuing towards Gaiole in Chianti, one can reach the medieval Castle of Brolio with the Palazzo of the baron and the family Chapel, while in the nearby surroundings it is worth stopping to visit the Ricasoli wine-cellars that are famous for the production of a particular variety of the Chianti wine.
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