Pisa and Cinque Terre

Dear lilioftheworld.com reader, here is Dimo, your co-editor. I would like to tell you about my weekend in Pisa and Cinque Terre. Yes, it is very ambitious to explore them for just a couple of days. It is even a bit crazy. But this was one of the best weekend escapes that I had in the summer of 2018 🙂 Read along and you will find out why.

2018 was a very busy year in terms of travels and new destinations for us. Almost every summer weekend was planned and booked months in advance. There was only one free spot for a solo travel in the last week of June. At this time Lili was on vacation with her best friend, so I decided to use the weekend to do a crazy getaway. The key words were: south, exciting and not previously visited (and also low cost :-).

The design of a budget weekend in Pisa and Cinque Terre

After significant research I have found what I was looking for: A weekend in Pisa with option to go to Cinque Terre.

I had to keep it low cost so the itinerary was the following:

• Low cost flight from Vienna to Rome landing in Rome at 00:30 AM on Saturday
• Night bus from Rome to Pisa at 02:00 AM; arrival time 06:30 AM
• Return with a direct late-afternoon budget flight from Pisa to Vienna

Proved to be time- and cost- efficient plan: total of 80 euros transportation costs (all of the above), just one night at a hotel, two full days for exploration.

It was clear that the sleep will be rather limited on Friday night, therefore I used every chance in the plane, as well as in the bus from Rome to Pisa. It worked out pretty well, as the bus (FlixBus) had comfortable spacious seats and I was able to sleep almost the full four hours of the ride.

So I was in Pisa at 07:00 AM, with sun already shining bright.

First thing on my mind was to go to the Leaning Tower with the hope that I will be able to see it without the usual hundreds of tourists around.

Well, I wasn’t the first man there on that Saturday morning, but there were only 20-30 other enthusiasts. Much better, especially in comparison to what I saw on the next day – a photo further down the article 🙂 Therefore, for less crowded experience, go early!

The next stop was the train station (Pisa Centrale)…

Dimo’s (Lili’s) 5 good-to-know tips when visiting Pisa and Cinque Terre for a weekend:

• Start exploration from early in the morning – both Pisa and Cinque Terre attract many tourists and during the day it gets busy and crowded. So, if you want to avoid crowds, early morning is the only chance. Further to this, if you start early in the morning, you will have more time to enjoy the wonderful points of interest 🙂
• Wear comfortable shoes. When exploring Pisa and Cinque Terre, you will be walking most of the time. In Pisa points of interest are on a walking distance and Cinque Terre can be very walking-intensive 🙂 According to my sports watch I had total of 60 thousand steps for the two days spent there.

Monument of Vittorio Emanuele II. He was the first king of united Italy (mid 1800s) since the 6th century.

• Prioritize the Cinque Terre villages – if you have only a day you won’t enjoy rushing through all five villages. Better pick two or three and spend more time at those.
• Go to Pisa the last week of June for Gioco del Ponte (detail description below in the article) or on June 16th for another vibrant festival Luminara
• Bring some sun care – the sun is very strong in spring and summer months.

How to get from Pisa to Cinque Terre

Of course car is an option, but not a recommended one, as the roads are rather narrow and you won’t be able to park close to the centers of the Cinque Terre villages. The better option is the train:

• Firstly you need to get train to La Spezia. Trains from Pisa are rather regular as the journey can take from 45 to 75 minutes depending on the type of train you take. You can buy tickets online on the website of the Italian railway. As you can read in our other articles about Italy, the railway is usually reliable and the online booking is easy.
• Then you take a local train from La Spezia, which can take you to any of the five villages, depending on your travel agenda. The trip to the farthest Cinque Terre village – Monterosso al Mare takes about 20-25 minutes. You use the same local train for going from one village to another.

There is also a direct train from Pisa to Monterosso, but it is only 3-4 times during the day and might not provide you with good time flexibility.

Cinque Terre

Cinque Terre is located in the beautiful Liguria region and consists of five villages: Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore. The area was very isolated until the 19th century, when railroads connected them with Pisa and Genova. Naturally, this has led to a boom in tourism, as tourists were charmed by the well-preserved ancient villages. One of the signature elements of the Cinque Terre village atmosphere are the beautifully painted villas. The pastel colors and rustic are considered to be there ever since establishment of the settlements in the early ages of the second millennium. This, according to locals, was due to purely practical reason for the fishermen to easily spot them from the sea. However, in reality the pastel paint jobs showed up in the 1970s along with the tourists 🙂

Cinque Terre villages are a UNESCO Heritage Site.

A day might be too short time to make a quality and enjoyable visit to all five of them. Therefore, I decided to visit only three villages: Vernazza, Corniglia and Riomaggiore. Nevertheless, below you will see also photos of Manarola, which are a courtesy of Lili, who was there in 2017. I include them in the article to help you decide on which villages to visit 🙂

Vernazza

It was about 09:30AM when my train arrived. The weather was on my side. Sunshine, blue sky, no wind. Once you make first steps in the area, you get this Italy-like feeling: narrow paved streets, beautiful houses, bright colors, smiling people.

Vernazza is one of the oldest Cinque Terre settlements having its origins somewhere in the beginning of the second millennium. For long centuries it was part of the Republic of Genova. It had its ups and downs, but main occupation of the locals has almost always been fishing and wine production (and tourism in modern days :-).

What to see in Vernazza

• Castello Doria (Castello di Vernazza) – a fortress built in the 15th century to protect the settlement against reoccurring pirate attacks. I strongly recommend to climb to the tower of the castle. It reveals a great 360° view.

  

  Streets of Vernazza

• Santa Margherita di Antiochia Church – the church is one of the oldest preserved buildings in Vernazza (1318). Famous for its east-looking entry, its octagonal bell tower rises around the area. Next to it is the town’s main square Piazza Marconi.

   

• Sanctuary of Madonna di Reggio – it takes about 1 hour steep walk to reach the sanctuary. You need to follow a paved path starting from the Train Station. The panoramic road goes through series of chapels, representing Stations of the Cross. The surrounding area gives an expansive views of the vineyards and the coastline.

Between Vernazza and Corniglia

It was still before noon and I was ahead of schedule, so I thought that it might be a good idea to try the trekking trail between Vernazza and Corniglia. I imagined I will see some spectacular coast views. However, this wasn’t the case. A 4km trail with lots of ascending and descending. Not many nice views (although this is always subjective).

A bit disappointing for me and I don’t recommend it. Further to this you need to pay a fee of 8 euro (as of June 2018) to be allowed to pass. Maybe it makes some sense to do the trekking if you spend more than one day in Cinque Terre. However, after my trip I have read that some of the trekking trails between the other villages are more enjoyable. So check in advance 🙂

I didn’t spend much time in Corniglia and went to the train station, which is south of the village. The stairs leading downwards to the train station are very interesting to see, so I recommend taking them despite huge number of steps.

Manarola

I didn’t visit Manarola due to limited time, but I share with you below some of Lili’s photos from a previous trip. It is worth considering some time in the nice village.

An interesting fact that I have found, when researching, is that the main church of Manarola is very similar to the one in Riomaggiore 🙂

Riomaggiore

Riomaggiore is the closest village to La Spezia. Its name originates from a local stream: Rio Maggiore, which still flows below Riomaggiore’s main street. The architecture is typical for Cinque Terre and Liguria region. Again you are welcomed by nice colorful houses and narrow paved streets.

What to see in Riomaggiore

• Church of San Giovanni Battista of Riomaggiore – rather old as most of the churches in Cinque Terre villages. It is big and beautiful with a spacious square around it.

• Via Colombo – the main street of the village. It connects the upper part of Riomaggiore, the railway station, Piazza Vighanioli and the harbor. Surrounded by the traditional pastel houses, the tiny marina is a perfect location to take nice photos (see mine below :-).

  

   

• Castello Riomaggiore (Riomaggiore Castle) – similarly to Vernazza the castle was built to protect the village from pirate attacks.

• Via dell’Amore (Lovers Line) – the most famous section of the Sentiero Azzurro (the trail along the coast, connecting the five Cinque Terre villages). Via dell’Amore is an easy 20-minute walk along the waterfront. It offers breathtaking views of the coastline.

• The charming Church of San Giovanni Battista of Riomaggiore.

   

Beautiful Riomaggiore

I really didn’t want to leave Cinque Terre and I felt somehow sad when getting on the train back to Pisa. I promised myself that I will come back some day and spend more time there. However, even more exciting experience was yet to come on this day.

The Battle of the Bridge

On the last Saturday of June every year a traditional festival takes place in Pisa: Gioco del Ponte (The Battle of the Bridge). I didn’t know this until I got off the train from Cinque Terre and started walking the streets of Pisa. It was a whole new city in comparison to my arrival in the early morning of the same day. The streets were full of costumed people wearing medieval clothing and gear. I asked some people on the streets what is going on and they told me that it was the day of the Battle of the Bridge – a traditional game between the two historic neighborhoods of Pisa. One of the biggest festivals in Pisa (not to say the biggest), which takes place only once per year.

I felt so lucky!

The Origins

The origins of Gioco del Ponte (The Battle of the Bridge) cannot be traced with full certainty. It is considered to be a successor of the Mazzascudo – a medieval military simulation, where single soldiers would compete against one another. Dressed and armed with clubs and shields (“mazze” and “scudo”) the players would be later split into two teams to fight a final battle. The purpose of the game was to prepare men in Pisa for war.

According to the first official time record (dating back to 1568) the battles were taking place at the Ponte Vecchio bridge, corresponding to the current Ponte di Mezzo – the main city bridge on the Arno river. The aim of the battle was the conquest of the river side occupied by the opposing faction.

Each team was distinguished by its own colors and signs. The costumes followed the fashion of the time. Teams characterized by fancy names tend to acquire, over time, a denomination of topological order and stabilize in the number of twelve. So the costumes of the fighters acquire a unique style: the colors distinguish the teams.

Nowadays

The game has changed a lot over the ages and the particular rules nowadays are rather different than the original ones. Since the 1980s the battle is fought between two groups: Tramontana and Mezzogiorno. The two groups are further divided to six sub-teams (for each historical neighborhood) with own colors, symbols and slogan. The main part of the game consists of six couples of sub-teams pushing a large iron cart against one another on the two sides of the bridge.

The goal is to push the trolley to force the rival team off the bridge.

Whichever of the two groups takes more battles, wins. If the result is a draw 3-3 a final play-off battle determines the winner.

The video below shows a team heading to the bridge:

The festival creates unique atmosphere. The authenticity is further amplified by the fact that the majority of viewers are locals and I hardly saw any other tourists. Sitting in the stands you see that it isn’t just a festival battle, but winning is important. It is a matter of prestige for the respective neighborhood, for the participants and for their relatives. Emotions are everywhere and grow stronger with the approaching of the final decisive battles.

In June 2018 the winning team was Mezzogiorno with 4-3 end result after a play-off battle.

A tip in regards to positioning: the viewer’s stands are located on the two banks of the river. The closer you are to the bridge, the better perspective towards the “battlefield” you have.

Close up of one of the battles:

What to do in Pisa for a day

After a Saturday, full of experiences and emotions, the Sunday was reserved for wandering in the streets and sights of Pisa. I had a good rest at my hotel, which I can only recommend (Hotel Bologna): a quiet place, good location and very helpful staff. So on Sunday morning I was ready for exploration.

Pisa is a relatively small city and most of the points of interest are around the city-center, so you can walk from one place to another. Basically Pisa is full of those small charming typical Italian streets and walking gives you a good opportunity to explore them.

Piazza dei Miracoli or Field of Miracles contains the majority of famous sights. It is a UNESCO World heritage site. Of course, the Leaning Tower (Torre Pendente) is there as a main tourist attraction. However, next to the tower you can also see:

• Cathedral of Pisa (Duomo di Pisa) – it is an impressive and imposing building having a central position on the Field of Miracles. It has a long and rich history. I won’t go into further details on it, but will just mention that the Cathedral had an important role in determining the beginning of the Pisan New Year. Between the tenth century and 1749 Pisa used its own calendar, in which the first day of the year was 25th of March, the feast day of the Annunciation of Mary. The moment is determined by a sun-ray entering through a window on the left side and falling on an egg-shaped marble at noon.Another interesting fact is that the building is also tilted slightly since its construction. However not to the extent of the Leaning Tower.

• Pisa Baptistery (Battistero di Pisa) – It is the largest baptistery in Italy, with a circumference measuring 107.25 m. The construction started in the 12th century, but it lasted more than 100 years until it was fully finished.

The Leaning Tower

For many tourists this is the most important reason for visiting Pisa. Although to me the Cathedral is also very impressive and worth seeing, the tower has this unique charm of being the most famous leaning building in the world for many centuries.

I have decided to admire the building from the outside although if you want to you can climb all the 296 steps and be rewarded with a great view. Keep in mind that it is very busy and book online tickets in advance.

Other places of interest in Pisa

On the way back to the city center I have encountered a small Gothic church Santa Maria della Spina. It was built in the 13th century to house a thorn from the crown of Jesus. The church represents a classical Italian Gothic structure. Not commonly known fact is that it was moved from the river of the Arno during the 19th century. It was moved stone by stone to be protected from flooding.

Walk along the Arno river

I used time both during the day and during the night to walk along Arno river. There are some old beautiful buildings on both banks and you won’t regret if you spend some time exploring.

After almost a full day of exploring Pisa I was left with a very positive impressions. I didn’t realize when the time for my flight came. The airport of Pisa is very close to the city center: just half an hour walk from the Pisa Centrale railway station. I seized the opportunity to explore a bit more of Pisa and went to the airport by foot. It was the first time for me when I got to an airport by foot (I bet you haven’t done that :-).

On the terminal I went through my photos for the last 48 hours and couldn’t believe that I have seen and experienced so much for such a short time. The weekend in Pisa and Cinque Terre was amongst the top weekend escapes of 2018.

I hope you visit it soon and the above laid will be useful for you!

Yours,

Dimo

PS: For more short Europe trip ideas, visit our dedicated section Weekend Escapes!