The Leaning Tower of Pisa

We visited the small city of Pisa, in the Tuscany region of Italy, about an hour west of Florence!

"It's falling down!" Isaac kept on saying, as he turned around to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

I was finally able to get at least one picture of all 4 kids looking at me with the Tower in the background :)

The Leaning Tower sits on the Square of Miracles (Piazza dei Miracoli) along with the Cathedral and Baptistery.

Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta

The Baptistery

What exactly is the Leaning Tower of Pisa you may ask?  It's the Cathedral's campanile or bell tower--constructed in the 12th century after the cathedral, it was soon found that the foundations were unstable and the building began to lean. Measures have been taken to ensure it doesn't collapse.  You can climb to the top, but we chose not to.

Pizza in Pisa!  (And ribollita--Tuscan minestrone) 

Pisa is also home to a beautiful little church, Church of Santa Maria della Spina, on the bank of the River Arno.  The church took this name after the donation of one of the Thrones of Christ's Crown.  We weren't able to go inside and I'm not sure that the throne is currently housed there, but it was neat to see! 

From Pisa, we headed to our next Airbnb in a tiny town up in the mountains (gorgeous with the bright colors of the Fall leaves) about 45 minutes outside of Bologna.