Pisa

Standing in a large green expanse, Piazza del Duomo houses a group of monuments known the world over. These four masterpieces of medieval architecture – the cathedral, the baptistry, the campanile (the 'Leaning Tower') and the cemetery – had a great influence on monumental art in Italy from the 11th to the 14th century - http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/395

Some places, like Rome or Florence, you could spend days and still have more to explore. Others, you can happily stop in for just an hour and move on. Guess which of these categories Pisa falls into?

Seriously though, as much of a tourist trap as it is, Pisa is worth a visit because it turns out the buildings next to the infamous wonky tower are even more impressive - namely, the Baptistry building.

Unlike that time in Pompeii where I couldn't resist taking a shot of the stone embossed phallus on the ground, in Pisa I absolutely refused to participate in a 'Look, I'm holding up the tower!' shot. The hordes of Chinese tourists, on the other hand, showed no such restraint.

What? You still really, really want a pic of just the leaning tower by itself? Oh, alright then.

[Flickr set here]