Arriving into the Campo dei Miracoli in Pisa, we were first confronted by a line of vendors stalls filled with souvenirs. It was not exactly clear to us why, in addition to all the usual kitsch, one stall was selling plastic guns, and the next chose to display the handcuffs along with the postcards.
Of course no trip to Pisa would be complete without the requisite portraits of tourists trying to either push over or hold up the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa.
We also took a stroll around the Campo Santo, the adjacent cemetary. During WWII the grounds were hit by a grenade, causing a fire which destroyed much of the building. While most of the frescoes were lost, the 700 year-old marble Roman sarcophagi remain intact. Many were adorned with gryphons, a detail not lost on one of our group.
Our last stop before heading back was the Baptistry. No photos to show here (perhaps a video later with an acoustics demo), however there was an incredible exhibit of costumes worn in the 1972 Alec Guinness film, Fratello sole, sorella lune (Brother sun, sister moon), the dramatization of events in the life of St. Francis of Assisi from before his conversion experience through his audience with Pope Innocent III (Guinness).
