Florence, Pisa Italy Travelogue Part III -Piazza della Signora, Palazzio Vecchio, Ponte Vecchio Vecchio bridge

After spending a relaxing time at the Piazza Novona and a few rounds of Gelati (ice cream - one more of the oft heard words in Italy), we proceeded to see one of the most famous fountains in Rome - the Fontana de Trevi or the Trevi fountain.

This fountain is truly spectacular; it is surprising to see such a huge fountain in such a small square. The fountain has water gushing out of sculptured figurines in white. It is a beautiful sight. Steps are built in an elliptical shape surrounding the fountain where one can sit and enjoy the sound of water.

The fountain is infact the opening of an aquaduct which runs underground and brings water to Rome from the Salone springs situated 19 km. away. This is the spring which supplies water to the other fountains in Rome. Legend tells you that if one dreams of returning to Rome, then, in order for that dream to come true, one has to throw a coin into the Trevi fountain over your shoulder with your back to the fountain !! After relaxing time at the fountain we decided to return to the hotel.

Day 3 - 20th April 2003

Our train to Florence was in the morning at around 9:00 am. It took us approx. 2 hours to reach Florence. We reached there are 11:00 and went straight to the hotel called Bed and Bed Peterson. The hotel was wonderful - a nice cosy room and a homely atmosphere.

It was a small family-run hotel with just 4-5 rooms. After getting fresh and having a light lunch that we had carried along we went to the railway station to go to Pisa. The train to Pisa took about an hour and then we had to take another bus to the tower.

Pisa is a very small town - the only major attraction being the leaning tower. We got off from the bus and headed straight for the tower. It was an amazing sight. One cannot believe ones eyes - it seems that the structure will fall any moment. There were hoards of people clicking merrily at their cameras and we joined the crowd too.

We wanted to climb the tower but unfortunately all time slots were booked till 7:30 in the evening (only 30 people are allowed at a time inside the tower) !!! We bought a souvenir from the tourist shop (tip : if you visit Pisa buy a model of the tower from the tourist shop at Pisa - its cheaper here).

A brief history of the tower - the tower is nothing but a bell tower. It was built by the people of Pisa to show off their wealth to the rest of the world. The laying of the tower started on August 9, 1173. Interestingly Pisa was always at war with, guess who, Florence. The first war disrupted the construction of the tower soon after the foundation was completed. It was restarted in 1180 and 3 floors completed by 1185.

Then there was war again with Florence and the construction was stopped, as Pisa had no money to finance the work. It was a this time that the tower had already started to lean !!! In 1198 they put bells on top of the tower. Another war then.. Finally the tower was completed in 1350 and then sold to arch enemies Florence in 1392 - a big humiliation. Pisa never regained its wealth and it is now a small city in Italy showing off with the tower of Pisa.