Page:Three Years in Europe.djvu/397

Rh Modern Pisa is known to tourists best for its Leaning Tower, i. e., the Belfrey. The Cathedral, the Baptistry and the Belfrey are three separate buildings, close to each other but totally detached. The Cathedral is the most ancient and was built in the eleventh century. Tradition states that it was the oscilations [sic] of the bronze lamp in the nave of this Cathedral that first suggested to Galileo the theory of the pendulum. The Baptistry is a beautiful circular building built in the twelfth century. The Belfrey or the famous leaning tower of Pisa stands at one end of the Cathedral opposite to the Baptistry. It consists of eight stories with a total elevation of 180 feet. It leans so much in one direction, that one almost wonders it does not fall down with a tremendous crash. Nevertheless it has stood there for six centuries, and may stand for as many centuries more!

The Campo Santo of Pisa is like those of Bologna and Genoa quite worth a visit. It was here that distinguished Tuscan artists displayed their powers in the dawn of modern painting. The University of Pisa was founded on the 13th century, and was renowned in Europe in the Middle Ages and still holds its own among the universities of the modern world. The Academy of Fine Arts in Pisa was founded by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1812.

Coming from Pisa to Genoa one passes through some splendid scenery where the Appenines gradually approach the sea.