Pisa
One of Italy's signature sights, the Torre Pendente truly lives up to its name, leaning a startling 3.9 degrees off the vertical. The 58m-high tower,…
Must-see attractions in Northwestern Tuscany
Pisa
Pisa's magnificent duomo was begun in 1064 and consecrated in 1118. Its striking tiered exterior, with green-and-cream marble cladding, gives onto a…
Lucca
Lucca's predominantly Romanesque cathedral dates from the 11th century. Its stunning facade was constructed in the prevailing Lucca-Pisan style and…
Pisa
Pisa's unusual round baptistry has one dome piled on top of another, each roofed half in lead, half in tiles, and topped by a gilt bronze John the Baptist…
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Lucca
Lucca’s monumental mura (wall) was built around the old city in the 16th and 17th centuries and remains in almost perfect condition. It superseded two…
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Pistoia
The bishops' palace, wedged next to the cathedral, provides a fascinating tour of Pistoia's urban history, ranging from touchable scale models of…
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Lucca
Fire the romantic in you with a stroll around this beautiful 17th-century palace where parts of Portrait of a Lady (1996), starring Nicole Kidman and John…
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Pistoia
This cathedral with beautiful Pisan-Romanesque facade safeguards a lunette of the Madonna and Child between two angels by Andrea della Robbia. Its other…
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Lucca
The bird's-eye view from the top of this medieval, 45m-tall red-brick tower adjoining 14th-century Palazzo Guinigi is predictably magnificent. But what…
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Pisa
For an alternative bird's-eye perspective of the Leaning Tower and grandiose Piazza dei Miracoli rooftops, take a walk atop Pisa's medieval city walls,…
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Pistoia
A teahouse, an aviary and other romantic 19th-century follies mingle with cutting-edge sculptures and art installations created by top contemporary…
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Pistoia
This tiny 14th-century chapel, frescoed Gothic-style from top to bottom by the School of Giotto, is a dramatic guardian to Marino Marini's monumental…
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Lucca
The cathedral museum safeguards elaborate gold and silver decorations made for the cathedral's Volto Santo, including a 17th-century crown and a 19th…
Pisa
Pisans claim that Campo dei Miracoli is among the world's most beautiful urban spaces. Its walled lawns provide a photogenic setting for the candy-striped…
Pisa
Soil shipped from Calvary during the Crusades is said to lie within the white walls of this hauntingly beautiful resting place for many prominent Pisans,…
Northwestern Tuscany
Head up the mountain to this dusty, truck-busy cava de marmo (marble quarry), through a dramatic series of tunnels used by trains to transport marble from…
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Northwestern Tuscany
A couple of kilometres from the seafront is 'Carnival City', aka 16 gargantuan hangars that serve as workshops and garage space for the fantastic floats,…
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Lucca
Abandoned for decades, this grandiose building was built as stables in 1876 for the adjoining 'Prato del Marchese' – the nickname given to today's…
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Northwestern Tuscany
Next to Chiesa di Sant'Agostino, a steep path known as Via della Rocca leads up to the remnants of Pietrasanta's ancient fortifications. The crenellated…
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Pisa
Home to some fascinating frescoes, this museum safeguards several sinopie (preliminary sketches), drawn by the artists in red earth pigment on the walls…
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Pistoia
Scale the sky-high, red-brick campanile (bell tower) of the Cattedrale di San Zeno for a wonderful bird's-eye view of Pistoia's iconic cathedral square…
Pisa
This inspiring repository of medieval masterpieces sits in a 13th-century Benedictine convent on the Arno's northern waterfront boulevard. The museum's…
Pisa
Facing the river is this magnificently restored 14th-century building with a striking dusty-blue facade. Inside, its over-the-top 19th-century interior…
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Northwestern Tuscany
Prato's 12th-century cathedral safeguards magnificent frescoes by Filippo Lippi behind the altar and Agnolo's beautiful fresco cycle of the Legend of the…
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Northwestern Tuscany
Here's an interesting fact for you: the Barilla company makes as much pasta in 20 minutes as this family-run factory makes in a year – Martelli Pasta…
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Pistoia
Take a breather from the ancient with this airy modern- and contemporary-art museum, host to riveting temporary exhibitions and a permanent collection…
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Northwestern Tuscany
In 1880 Puccini left Lucca to study at Milan's music conservatory, returning to Tuscany after his studies to rent a lakeside house in Torre del Lago, 15km…
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Chiesa di Sant'Andrea Apostolo
Pistoia
This 12th-century church was built outside the original city walls, hence its windowless (fortified) state. The partly white-and-green striped marble…
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Pistoia
The beautifully restored facade of this former hospital, operational from 1277 until 2013, stuns with its 16th-century polychrome terracotta frieze by…
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Northwestern Tuscany
Grandiose white-marble steps flank Pietrasanta's attractive cathedral, built in the 14th century on the site of an earlier church dating from 1250. Its…
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Northwestern Tuscany
At the foot of the cathedral bell tower is the entrance to this serene cloister museum safeguarding ecclesiastical treasures bestowed upon the cathedral…
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Chiesa e Battistero dei SS Giovanni e Reparata
Lucca
The 12th-century interior of this deconsecrated church is a hauntingly atmospheric setting for summertime opera and concert recitals (www…
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Basilica della Madonna dell'Umiltà
Pistoia
For anyone familiar with Florence, it is impossible not to notice the bright red–tiled dome of this 15th-century backstreet church, built by Ventura…
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Northwestern Tuscany
Inside the convent adjoining Chiesa di Sant'Agostino, this small museum explores the evolution of modern sculpture through 700-odd bozzetti (maquettes or…
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Lucca
One of Lucca's many architecturally significant churches, this glittering Romanesque edifice marks the spot where the city's Roman forum was. The present…
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Pisa
For a Zen-like respite from the Piazza dei Miracoli crowd, explore this peaceful walled garden laced with centurion palm trees, flora typical to the…
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Northwestern Tuscany
The Vespa, Italy's iconic scooter, revolutionised travel when Piaggio launched it from its factory in Pontedera, 25km southeast of Pisa, in 1946. The…
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Museo Nazionale di Palazzo Guingi
Lucca
Lucchese history from the 8th century BC to late 18th century AD is evoked through archaeological objects, paintings and other artworks at this small…
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Museo Nazionale di Palazzo Mansi
Lucca
This 16th-century mansion built for a wealthy Luccan merchant is a wonderful piece of rococo excess. The private apartments are draped head to toe in…
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Northwestern Tuscany
Neoclassical Villa Grabau, 11km north of Lucca in San Pancrazio, sits among a vast parkland with sweeping traditional English- and Italian-styled gardens,…
