Sunday in Pisa..

So I spent  Sunday in Pisa.. I thought about going to Assisi but I will do that next week.   

When I arrived in Pisa and it was about noon (I left just before 9 from Arezzo).. 

I first came to a piazza with a statue of the founder of Pisa and it had a handmade craft fair below it which was fun. 

First Piazza in Pisa - to the founder of Pisa with a craft fair below. 

around the corner, there was a small Piazza that had an original Keith Haring print from 1989.

Original Keith Haring Print in a small piazza. 

I continued to walk along a residential street until i found the Blu Palazzo (Blue Palace) that held the exhibit I came to see..  IT was right on the arno river.

The Blu Palazzo art center that had the Galileo exhibit. 

I am going to totally bore you with my love of science.. but the exhibit was call Balle de Scienza, or Science Baloney and it was about the history science and scientific thought and false ideas that lead to advance in science. It was FANTASTIC.. It really helped to display a lot of the of the nature or science (personal characteristics of scientists, observation and inference, and that fact that science change as more information, instrumentation, and interpretation is available. )   They covered physics, astronomy, alchemy, and even human evolution.. it was so well done..   I share with you a few of my favorite quotes.

Great quotes on the wall

one of my favorite statements. 

They had a lot of hands on exhibits.. This one let you choose different planets and see if they were the center of the universe how they would rotate. It reminded me of the Minds of their Own Video and the ptolemy view of planetary motion..

this was an interactive exhibit where you could choose to make each planet the center of the universe. 

such great views of observation, inference and subjectivity.. 

They showed how science is reported in popular culture and talked about a lot hoaxes that were started by a misunderstanding of scientific data.  

Radiation was sold as a great additive to skin cream.. (an example of every day public not understanding science)

 One of my favorites were these holograms of scientists that began explaining content when you walked up to them.  

these holograms explained science concepts. 

THere were many  more interactive exhibits.. it blew me away..  

Next I began my walk to the Campus of Miracles where the leaning tower, cathedral and bapistry is.. I went on city streets, not the common way to walk as a tourist so I enjoyed it more. On the way I saw this church as I crossed the arno river.

a church near the arno river.. really caught my eye. 

look how lifelike the sculptures on the wall are. 

the arno river in Pixa

 I stopped at a local restaurant to have a pizza.. IT was great, I wish I could have eaten more of it.

Lunch.. a cappiocola pizza at a local diner. 

A big win at lunch, a table next to me that spoke english, but not Italian, had trouble ordering, and I was able to help them.  It was a such a big deal for me.. I was able to explain the courses of an italian mean and help them understand how it worked. 

Then I kept walking to the Leaning tower.. but here is the deal..  the tower is cool. but the cathedral and bapistry is far more striking.  The great thing is everyone was so into "straightening out" the tower,  that there were no lines at the other exhibits. 

the cathedral

the leaning tower

the center of a current art exhibit at the attached museum. 

the bapistry.

 Inside the cathedral - wow!

Galileo's light - they said he came up his ideas of motion from watching this sway. 

the top of the church. 

the ceiling of the church

Inside the bapistry. .This is the first time I have been able to be in a bapistry.. (the one at the duomo in Florence is closed for renovation).    I expected it to be more ornate inside..  it was quite plane.

the ceiling and second floor of the bapistry. 

the baptismal font

The museum with the other buildings featured the art on the lawn,  and also some rescued frescos.   (I think they may have inspired Star wars 2)

was Star Wars 2 inspired here? 

Cathedral and tower. 

no I did not straighten it. 

one of the many frescos they are trying to restore off of the cemetery. 

one of the tombs in the cemetery.. 

I twisted my ankle so I grabbed a cab back to the train station, and hoped a train back to Florence arriving about 5 pm..   I went looking for an appertivo.  (pre dinner snacks). I did not find them, but I did make it to the Piazza San Lorenzo.. the church was about to hold mass so I went looking for the Medici burial site, but instead ended up at the central market. This is a small market that has lots of little restaurants in it to try different things. So i had some Lemoncello and a pastry.

dinner in Florence

the inside of the central market where I had dinner. 

after dinner I made it back to the train station.. I had a hard time figuring out how to buy a bus ticket to go to Piazza Michaelangelo to see the sun set, I took it as a sign, and went home to Arezzo..   I hope to go back for the sunset this Thursday.