If you enter the Field of Miracles ( Campo dei Miracol ) through the South entrance where the train station and bus parking are located there’s a good chance you will just walk right on by the Baptistry and head over to the site’s most famous building.

That of course would be the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Then most likely you will line up your photographs and selfies so it appears you are holding up the Leaning Tower with all your effort. Don’t worry, you won’t be the first or last person to pose this cliche photo. Who knows? You might be the ten millionth person do so.

Wish I could claim to be so versed in Italian church history and architecture that I knew to visit the Baptistry while I was in the Square of Miracles ( Piazza del Duomo ), but that would be stretching the truth quite a long way. Turns out my wife and I were on a day tour from our cruise ship stop in Livorno Italy, and the tour guide led us to the Baptistry as the first stop inside the Square of Miracles.

I honestly couldn’t tell you one word the tour guide said about the Baptistry as from the moment we entered till the last moment inside I was looking for interesting angles to capture. I was able to make this image at 16mm with my wide angle 16mm to 35mm Canon zoom lens. Because of the size of our group and the time constraints involved, I wasn’t able to venture up the few flights of stairs to the upper level. I would certainly recommend that if you visit and have the time.

After our stop in the Baptistry, it was over to the Pisa Cathedral which is just several yards away. While not as nice as the major churches of Rome, the Cathedral was certainly worth seeing. And while as famous as the tower for leaning, the Cathedral also leans as the ground it’s built on is too soft.

Here is my photo of the Leaning Tower of Pisa with no tourists positioned to hold up the falling tower, just the tower and puffy clouds in the blue sky. Once again because of time constraints we weren’t able to visit the top of the Leaning tower. I’ve read conflicting opinions on whether or not visiting the top of the tower is worth the wait.