It takes just over an hour by train from Montecatini to get to the world’s most famous leaning tower, in Pisa. This is where Galileo Galilei did some of his most important experiments. The whole area around the tower is appropriately called the Field of Miracles and the other parts are well worth visiting: the Duomo, Baptistry and Composanto Monumentale cemetery. Traditionally claimed to have been founded by Trojans, Pisa is also home to one of the oldest, and most prestitigious universities in the world.

This ancient maritime republic was once a rival to Vencie and Genoa and this past is reflected in the grand Grand Duke-era palaces along the Arno. Yet Pisa is also a vibrant, modern city: don’t miss the sculpture outside the station by Arnaldo Pomodoro or one of Keith Haring’s final works, the mural Tuttomondo on the wall of the monastery of Sant’Antonio.