Italy – Pisa, Vatican and Rome Guide

May school vacation in Netherlands means another road trip time.

After some research, we finally settled for a short trip to Italy – Pisa/Vatican/Rome for April last week to May first week school break.

We kept it sort of simple this time.
Drove straight to Pisa, Couple of days in Pisa, A day to visit Saturnia hot springs and rest of the days in Rome.

Day 1: Full day of driving from Hilversum in Netherlands to Pisa in Italy, of course with some breaks in between. I drive a 2016 Lexus NX300h for which this was very uneventful trip besides the duty of munching miles. We did 3290 kilometers with no events.

We picked a campsite very close to Pisa city center for 2 nights stay. We could park our car next to the cabin which was a blessing as we did not have to unload all of our bags. Leaning tower of Pisa and city center were at 10 minutes walk.

Day 2: As one can imagine, the most important thing to do while being in Pisa is to visit the learning tower. As per wiki, The Leaning Tower of Pisa is the campanile, or freestanding bell tower, of Pisa Cathedral. It is known for its nearly four-degree lean, the result of an unstable foundation. The tower is one of three structures in the Pisa’s Cathedral Square (Piazza del Duomo), which includes the cathedral and Pisa Baptistry.

The height of the tower is 55.86 metres (183 feet 3 inches) from the ground on the low side and 56.67 m (185 ft 11 in) on the high side. The width of the walls at the base is 2.44 m (8 ft 0 in). Its weight is estimated at 14,500 tonnes (16,000 short tons). The tower has 296 or 294 steps; the seventh floor has two fewer steps on the north-facing staircase.

The tower began to lean during construction in the 12th century, due to soft ground which could not properly support the structure’s weight. It worsened through the completion of construction in the 14th century. By 1990, the tilt had reached 5.5 degrees. The structure was stabilized by remedial work between 1993 and 2001, which reduced the tilt to 3.97 degrees.

There are also other places of interest in the same campus. The official website has details of what is there to see and what it costs to enter each of the monument.

Let me add a few more photos that we captured from the location.

Day 3: On Day three, we drove off from Pisa towards Rome while taking a couple of hours to visit Saturnia hot springs. Saturnia’s thermal baths are rich in mineral deposits, especially Sulphur which gives it a slightly “eggy” smell. The thermal waters have a temperature of 37.5 °C and therapeutic and relaxing properties.

Its a small town and there aren’t much facilities. There is a paid car park 10 minutes walk away from the hot springs and a snack bar for light snacks / drinks which also has a few showers and changing rooms.

The well known natural spring (officially known as Cascate del Mulino-Hot Spring) is free to visit, but expect crowd from early morning. However there are also several resorts operating around the same region. Carry your basic needs like changing towels, water to drink etc.

Above Image is from Google. Below one is taken by me. While its not as Instagramy as you would think, but it is very close.

Cascate del Mulino-Hot Spring of Saturnia from a distance.

After a few hours at the hot sprigs, we drove off to Rome. We had booked an Airbnb just ouside Vatican city where we would be spending another 5 nights. There was a car park next to it that costed EUR 20 a day, but good space, felt very safe. So car is going to live there for the whole duration of our stay as we have no plans to drive around the city of Rome.

Travel within Rome: We used public buses for all the travel within Rome. Google maps is is all what you need to find out the routes and timings. Unlike some of the other EU cities, train / metro / tram network is very limited in Rome.

Bank / Credit cards from EU works as tickets for tap in/out in all the buses / trains / trams which is great. Alternatively, if you plan to use purchase tickets, you will have to buy them from road side shops / supermarkets etc. and ‘validate’ it once you get in using the machines placed inside buses / trains / trams / metros. No ticket sales onboard any of the buses. Obviously there are also some possibilities to buy tickets for a whole day / several days.

Days 4 to 8: I was thinking of a bit detailed travelogue but Italy, especially Rome is a well documented destination. So let me take the advantage of me being a bit tired and lazy. Here are the most important things that we saw.

Vatican City: On the eve of our arrival, I went out for a short walk and ended up walking around Vatican city. Officially, that is the first country that I could walk around 🙂

Vatican City, a state surrounded by Rome is the headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church. It’s home to the Pope. Vatican square, St. Peter’s Basilica and Vatican Museums are the must visit attractions.

The Pantheon: The Pantheon is a former Roman temple that later got converted into a church. One of the most visited spots. It has the biggest (or second biggest) single dome in the world.

Temple of Hadrian: It was built before 138 A.D and was dedicated to Emperor Hadrian, who came to visit the city from Athens in 128 A.D. The facade of the temple has four Corinthian columns supporting a curved arch, in the middle of which contains a relief of Tyche, goddess of victory.

Trevi Fountain: This is another crowd puller. Its an aqueduct-fed fountain, designed by Nicola Salvi & completed in 1762, with sculpted figures. People throw coins to the waters. An estimated 3,000 euros are thrown into the fountain each day.

Piazza Navona: Piazza Navona is one of the most famous squares in Rome. Its history dates back to the 1st century AD when it was built as a stadium for athletic competitions. Today, the square is known for its beautiful Baroque architecture and vibrant atmosphere

The Colosseum: One of the most visited sites on earth. It is the largest ancient amphitheater ever built, and is still the largest standing amphitheater in the world, despite its age. If you plan to visit, book tickets weeks if not months in advance. There are several ticket options to visit the colosseum from the gallery, from the arena (where the fights would have taken place) or from the underground (space below area)

Above is the view from the arena. Access to Arena needs special ticket. Below is the view from the gallery which is the most basic ticket. Arena ticket gives you access to reach the place where you could see people standing with umbrellas.

Roman forum and palatine hill: Generally, the ticket to Colosseum also gives you access to Roman Forum and Palatine hill which a few minutes walk away from Colosseum. For centuries, the Forum [or Roman forum as its known today] was the center of day-to-day life in Rome. Next to the Colosseum, Its been the heart of ancient Rome. It has been called the most celebrated meeting place in the world, and in all history. What is left today are nothing but ruins of what once was a magnificent location.

I have mentioned about my interests in ruins in previous articles. Like Athens, Once you realize the fact that pretty much every modern building in Rome is standing on top of ancient ruins dating back thousands of years, you can never unsee it. Wherever you walk, whatever you see are all ruins.

National Roman Museum / Borghese Gallery and Museum: I have not seen a lot of interest over internet on National Roman Museum / Borghese Gallery and Museum, but they are must visit places in my view. Every artifact, every room you enter, every sight you see are for there to stay in your memory for a while.

The Borghese Gallery is a famous art museum with exceptional paintings by artists such as Caravaggio, Canova, and Raphael. It is one of the must-visit places during your trip to Rome. Similarly, Many of the sculptures are also world famous ones, including famous artworks by Gian Lorenzo Bernini. Most sculptures are from the 16th and 17th centuries. Like other spots in Rome, tickets need to be booked well in advance.

I usually also write a lot about food options. However I will skip it this time. I don’t think I can even try explaining Italian food. Obviously its one of the bests.

That pretty much concluded our trip for this occasion. We drove back the next day and stopped over for a night somewhere in south of Germany and another 7 hours next day and we were back home. We did 3290 kilometers and really enjoyed the Italian experience!

Thanks!

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