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Tuscan Craft

PISA - GUIDED WALKING TOURS WITH LOCAL GUIDES

CLASSICAL TOUR: Pisa offers definitely more than just a "Leaning Tower". Three thousand years of history, pioneering science and trendsetting art make Pisa an obligatory stop on every trip in Tuscany.
With our guide, you will discover Pisa's most important monuments and squares: our walking tour starts with a visit to the world famous Campo dei Miracoli (Field of Miracles) with its unrivalled quartet of medieval masterpieces: Leaning Tower, Baptistery, Cathedral (inside visit) and the Campo Santo (inside visit) cemetery. Passing medieval Tower houses we head for Piazza Dante with Pisa's State University where Galileo Galilei taught. The tour finishes at Piazza dei Cavalieri, the central civic square of medieval Pisa with Italy's academic showpiece, the Scuola Normale Superiore.
Duration: 2 - 2,5 hrs.
Entrance fee: One monument/museum 5,00 €, two monuments/museums 7,00 €, three monuments/museums 8,00 €, four monuments/museums 9,00 (to choose among the Baptistery, Camposanto monumental cemetery, Museo dell'Opera del Duomo, Museo delle Sinopie) Bying one of these tickets you will have free access to the Cathedral.

tourist guides Pisa, guided tour Field of Miracles

ESSENTIAL PISA: This guided tour of Pisa's religious core, the famous Campo dei Miracoli, has been designed for visitors who wish to see the town's essential monuments and art works in lesser time.

After a short introduction to the history and art of Pisa your guide will show you the towns' main monuments : the Leaning Tower, the Cathedral (inside visit), the Baptistery and the Campo Santo monumental cemetery (inside visit). A particular attention will be paid to the highlights of Pisan art as the pulpit scuplted by Giovanni Pisano, the bronze doors of the Cathedral and the huge medieval painting called "Triumpf of Death" inside the Campo Santo.

ATTENTION: This guided tour starts every day at the following hours: 8.30 am / 1 pm / 5 pm.

Meeting point: in front of the "Bar Duomo"

Duration: 1,5 hrs.
Flate price: 125 €

Entrance fee: 5,00 € (Baptistery, Cathedral)

PISA BY NIGHT: Visited by countless travel groups during the day, Pisa is transformed at night into a charming small town with a decidedly Mediterranean flair. Students and local people are roaming around the streets and squares. Other colours, different sounds. Experience Pisa from the perspective of its inhabitants!

Our Pisan night-time city tour starts at the Miracle Square where you will have plenty of time to admire the Leaning Tower, the Baptistery, the Campo Santo and the Cathedral, undisturbed by busy day-trippers before we take you to the old town. Here your guide will show you the Piazza Dante with the main building of Pisa's old university, the Piazza dei Cavallieri, the medieval Borgo Stretto, the Synagogue and the house where Galileo Galilei was borne. And why not sit down then and relax with a glass of wine on the romantic Piazza della Berlina or with a hand made ice cream on Ponte di Mezzo, Pisa's central bridge where people meet before starting for their pub crawl... Too early still to get back to your hotel? Your guide will be happy to give you the best insider hints and tipps for your own exploration of Pisa.

Duration: 2 hrs.

Tastings: not included

PISA FOR CHILDREN: This guided tour takes children of all ages to the wonderful world of animal sculptures on the Cathedral square. What was their purpose - just an ornamental element between biblical figures and saints? It's not easy to find them all and maybe you can help our tourist guide to detect a few he or she doesn't know about? In any case, it will be exciting to learn about their origins and how they reflect some of the hopes and cares of past times.
Duration: 1-2 hrs.

Entrance fee: Cathedral and Campo Santo cemetery € 5 p.p.

PISA BY BOAT: Visit the former Maritime Republic Pisa on its oldest street: the river Arno!
After a short visit of the Field of Miracles we pass through the historic centre with the Piazza dei Cavalieri, the arcaded Borgo Stretto and vivid Piazza Garibaldi. A few steps from there, we reach our modern and comfortable boat. While enjoying the privileged views of numerous churches and beautiful palazzi, our guide reveals the stories that are hidden behind their century-old walls. These stories tell of religious piousness and earthen love, political zeal, scientific discoveries and the continued struggle for immense riches. That's enough material to make the 60 minute-long round trip an unforgettable experience!
Duration: 2 hrs.
Boat ticket: on request.

PISA BY TRAIN: This tour allows you to visit a considerable part of Pisa's historical center as well as the Field of Miracles with its famous Leaning Tower without much walking.

A funny sightseeing train is waiting for you on your arrival at the checkpoint for coaches. The only thing you have to do is to hop in and off we go on a relaxed and enjoyable tour! With the help of a microfon our guide will tell you fascinating stories about Pisa's art, its people and its past. After a 30 minute-long trip through the town center you will arrive at the Field of Miracles where you continue with a walking tour on which you will see the Leaning Tower, the Baptistery, the Cathedral and the Campo Santo monumental cemetery.

Duration: 2 hrs.

Entrance fee: 5,00 € p.p.(Baptistery, Cathedral)
Train ticket: on request

PISA - SCIENCE AND POETRY: A guided walking tour dedicated to Pisa's most famous inhabitants.
Our tour starts in Campo Santo where we get in touch with Leonardo Fibonacci, the father of modern mathematics. Visiting the Cathedral where Galileo Galilei went to mass we hear why this devout catholic got into an argument about science and religion with the Pope. Then we head for Piazza dei Cavalieri where we will listen to an old Pisan story told in Dante's Divine Comedy. In the beautiful main building of the nearby State University we listen to the story of Corradino Ascanio, inventor of the world famous VESPA scooter. Or we learn how it happened that in a town where modern gymnastics was invented, poets as Byron and Shelley enjoyed the "Dolce Vita". And why not finish our biographic tour of Pisa in the Caffè dell'Ussero, the café preferred by poets, Nobel-prize winners and politicians?
Duration: 2 hrs.
Entrance fee: Duomo and Campo Santo 5 € p.p.

MUSEO DELLE SINOPIE: The museum houses a collection of the preliminary fresco sketches from the Monumental Cemetery Campo Santo in Pisa, the so-called sinopias. Destined to invisibility by the covering fresco, the sinopias came to light only when the frescoes were removed from the walls of the Campo Santo after the building was seriously damaged in 1944.
Our guided tour in the museum encompasses a detailed presentation of the various sinopias as well as explanations about the fascinating techniques of their restoration. This program, dedicated to a unique repertoire of medieval drawings is an ideal completion of a guided tour of the Field of Miracles.

Duration: 1 hr.
Entrance fee: 5 € p.p.

MUSEO DELL'OPERA DEL DUOMO: Inaugurated in 1986, the museum displays a vast array of works of art from the buildings of the Field of Miracles.
During our guided tour we get in touch with splendid examples of Islamic art as the bronze griffon from the Cathedral and with eminent works of the major artists of Pisan sculpture, ranging from Nicola and Giovanni Pisano to Tino di Camaino and Nino Pisano. The visit of the museum is complemented by a presentation of etchings representing the Campo Santo frescoes as they could be admired before the fatal fire during WW II. This program is an ideal completion of a guided tour of the Field of Miracles.
Duration: 1,5 - 2 hrs.
Entrance fee: 5 € p.p.

MUSEO NAZIONALE DI SAN MATTEO: The museum is one of Italy's main museums of Italian medieval art. It boasts an exceptional collection of Tuscan paintings by Giunta Pisano, Simone Martini, Masaccio, Beato Angelico, Benozzo Gozzoli, and Ghirlandaio as well as an amazing collection of Islamic ceramics (10th-13th century) comprising over six hundred items. Presenting the major works in their historic, social and religious context, this guided tour is designed for a broad public.
Duration: 1,5 - 2 hrs.
Entrance fee: 4 € p.p.

MUSEO NAZIONALE DI PALAZZO REALE: The museum is located in one of the most important palaces of Pisa which was the official residence of the Medici, Lorena and Savoia ruling families.
The collection includes a vast collection of 15th- and 16th century armor of the Gioco del Ponte, Medici tapestries, sculptures and various private collections. Among the works examined during our guided tour are the paintings by Raffael, Bronzino, Rosso Fiorentino and Peter Bruegel.
Duration: 1,5 hrs.
Entrance fee: 4 € p.p.

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A FEW STEPS FROM PISA

WINE: Some time ago, Tuscan wine was just a pleasant every-day beverage, not a competitive product on international markets. A virtual revolution in cultivating and producing techniques has created Tuscan wines that offer outstanding quality and unbelievable variety. Our guided tour takes you from the vineyard to the final bottled product. This journey at the estate of a selected Tuscan wine-producer is an ideal way to get a short, enjoyable and profound introduction to the fascinating world of our wines. The tour will be complemented by a guided tasting of 3 types of Tuscan wine in the estate's winery or in the garden.

Duration: 1,5 - 2 hrs.

Tasting: price on request

PASTA: It is hard to say who first had the idea of mixing ground wheat with water and salt to make pasta dough. However, it is certain that Italy has always been the major producer and consumer of pasta, i.e., noodles made from durum semolina flour. During our guided tour in the workshop of a traditional pasta manufacture, you assist the entire process of producing Italian quality pasta: from the art of mixing the pasta dough to the forming of different pasta types in the extruder up to the drying process and final packing.
Duration: 1 - 1,5 hrs.

Guided culinary tours Tuscany, guided olive oil tasting Pisa

OLIVE OIL: Olive oil is the protagonist of a famous form of nutrition known as the Mediterranean Diet. Yet it is more than just a healthy and tasty ingredient in Italian cooking! Throughout the centuries, cultivation of olive trees has created the vibrant civilization of the Mediterranean area crossing political and linguistic borders. Our guided tour takes you from a Tuscan olive grove to various parts of the production process in a traditional olive oil mill. We immerse ourselves into the history of a hard and persistent rural labor. The tour will be followed up with a guided tasting of 3-4 types of olive oil during which your food guide will explain you the professional tasting tecniques.
Duration: 1,5 - 2 hrs.

Tasting: price on request

CHOCOLATE:

According to a popluar shorthand immage of Tuscany this region of central Italy is exclusively based on the production of great art works, wine, olive oil and pecorino cheese. In the last decade, however, in the Arno valley between Pisa and Prato a great quality artisanal production of chocolate has developed.

Our guided tour in the laboratory of one of the best artisan chocolate makers (Chantal Coady, The Chocolate Companion) is thought to promote the idea of excellency in chocolate making far from the procedures of the chocolate industry. An essential part of this tour is a guided tasting of 6 types of choccolate during which your food guide will illustrate you the art of a professional tasting of olive oil.
Duration: 1,5 hrs
Tasting: Price: on request

TERRACOTTA: Nowadays, flowerpots are often made from plastic. And if you look at these pots from a certain distance, it will not be easy to recognize the difference between an industrial product and one created by the skilful hands of a master. There are things, however, which must be touched softly and experienced sensually to be fully understood. The Tuscan cotto is one these materials that you must feel with your own hands. During our guided visit of a terracotta wood-burning kiln, you'll see how the clay must be treated and you'll get to learn the essential tricks that allow good terracotta to withstand the variations of temperature, even in the rugged north. Watching the master carefully working his object, you will appreciate the patience it takes to make a little piece of art which satisfies the most elegant taste and lasts for generations.
Duration: 1,5 - 2 hrs.

CERAMICS: The realm of Tuscan ceramics is wide-ranging. It stretches from traditionally decorated plates, vases, jugs and jars to products with a distinctive modern design. We have selected some of the best ceramics factories in our region to give you the best access to a very creative Tuscan craft.
Duration: 1,5 - 2 hrs.

Basilica di San Piero a Grado, guided tours Pisa

BASILICA DI SAN PIERO A GRADO: According to a medieval legend, Saint Peter landed here on his voyage to Rome. The basilica represents the most important testimony of Pisan Romanesque architecture prior to the construction of the Cathedral.
Our guided tour begins with the rich and fascinating archeological stratification of the basilica stretching from the paleo-christian period to its actual shape. Then we study the amazing frescoes by Deodato Orlandi and the decorated ceramics manufactured in North Africa and the western Mediterranean coast.
Duration: 1 - 1,5 hrs.

Carthusian monastery Calci, guided tours monastery Calci

CERTOSA DI CALCI: Immersed in a typical Tuscan landscape, this Carthusian Monastery, founded in 1366 is now a museum of national importance.
Our guided visit of the museum comprises a tour through the old drugstore, the monks' cells, the cloisters, the Grand Duke's apartment, the refectory and the splendid church.
Duration: 1,5 hrs.
Entrance fee: 4 € p.p.

VESPA MUSEUM: With our guided tour of this museum, we embark on a fascinating voyage through the history of motorization in Italy.
The museum shows us the evolution of various models of the legendary VESPA scooter, the GILERA collection as well as other Piaggio products, which cover almost the entire transport sector from airplanes to trains, helicopters and military equipment.
Duration: 1,5 hrs.

Pisa, Pisa guided tours, guided tour Pisa Luminara