Pisa

Italy

Things to do in Pisa:

View the Gallery River Arno

Pisa Restaurants

Affordable (21)

Gino

A simple yet elegant restaurant that offers a fish-based menu. The tacconi (pasta) with cuttlefish and artichokes is worth trying, as are the steamed calamari with pine nuts and rocket. read more
Fine dining (18)

La Scaletta

You'll find this airy and elegant restaurant with blue chairs and yellow tablecloths near the Duomo. The menu constantly changes, but it is always refined. read more

Pisa Nightlife

Chilled (17)

Almatea Caf�

Catch the aperitif hour starting at 6.30pm for a drink with a selection of hors d'oeuvres, then linger for dinner and listen to the jukebox playing hits from the '50s and '60s. read more
Clubbing (20)

Dress Code

Dress Code offers electronic and progressive music to late-night revellers from all over the peninsula. You'll find the club a short taxi ride away from Pisa. read more

This Month in Pisa:

By Silvia Falsaperla

Shopping: There is no better shopping disctrict than Borgo Stretto, the elegant and arcaded street in Pisa, where shop windows display the latest beautiful spring and summer Italian fashions.

Sightseeing: Art enthusiasts can catch the modern art of H.W. Marius Bauer and Karien Heijtlager at Centro Arte Moderna (26 Lungarno Mediceo, tel: 050 542630, free admission), running until the end of May. Lovers of strawberries, don't miss the strawberry delights in fresh or dessert form at the strawberry festival at Terricciola, not far from Pisa, 12-27 May.

Key areas: Florence is at its best in May with its sunny skies, hanging wisteria, events and art exhibits. Visit florencelovesyou.com for a full list of exciting cultural happenings. The Florentine hilltown of Fiesole, at the Sala Antiquarium Costantini, is showcasing Herman Hesse's work during his stay there, his most creative period.

Pisa News & Gossip

A Lost Leonardo?

Scientists believe they may have found a lost Leonardo da Vinci painting. Tipped off by a cryptic message reading cerca trova (seek and you shall find) on a Giorgio Vasari mural in Florence's Palazzo Vecchio, art diagnostics expert Maurizio Seracini has been trying to find out if The Battle of Anghiari (which da Vinci painted in 1502) is on a hidden wall behind the mural. "The evidence suggests we are searching in the right place," he says.

Pisa Trivia

May: It was the poet and novelist Gabriele D'Annunzio who christened the monumental complex of Piazza Duomo the Field of Miracles, in his 1910 novel Forse che si', forse che no.
April: According to legend, Galileo observed the phenomenon of objects falling to the ground from atop the leaning tower. He noted that both light and heavy spherical objects hit the ground at the same instant.
March: Although Pisans are proud of their city's history and beauty, they are quick to point out their fellow citizens' negativity, as in the saying: "if a Pisan goes to a free concert, he complains about the queues; if he goes to a concert for which he has bought a ticket, he complains about the price."