Things to do
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Leaning Tower
Bell tower of the cathedral, begun in the twelfth century and tilting before the third storey was finished because the subsoil is soft silt. A stabilisation campaign in the 1990s pulled the lean back and the climb reopened: close to three hundred worn spiral steps, with no lift. Tickets are timed, small children are barred, and bags go into a locker.
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Pisa Cathedral
Striped in white and grey marble, the eleventh-century duomo set the Pisan Romanesque template that spread down the Tuscan coast. Inside are a carved Gothic pulpit by Giovanni Pisano and a bronze lamp tied by legend to Galileo's work on pendulums. Entry comes with any precinct ticket, and timed passes are issued at the desk; covered shoulders are required.
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Camposanto Monumentale
Walled burial cloister along the north side of the lawn, built around soil said to have been shipped from Golgotha. A wartime shell melted the roof lead and destroyed most of the frescoes; the surviving Triumph of Death has been restored and rehung in a room of its own. Quieter than the tower queue, and usually bundled into the combined ticket.
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Piazza dei Miracoli
Four marble buildings stand on one walled lawn at the northern edge of the old centre: cathedral, baptistery, bell tower and burial cloister. The open grass is what makes the group photograph, and it fills with coach parties by ten. Combined tickets cover the minor monuments, with the tower sold separately and by timed slot.
