Il Tirreno Giornale (PISA, Italia, Sunday 16 December 2001)
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The schedules, the groups, the duration. And the price is already a problem Ca.Ven. PISA. After the first ten visitors who yesterday, for free, have climbed the 295 stairs that lead to the bell cell of the Tower of Pisa, the next tourists will be divided into groups of 30 people and they will pay 15 euro (a little less than 30,000 lire) for a guided visit of 40 minutes duration. The Tower will be opened at least up to February, with the following hours: 9AM to 4PM. It is calculated therefore that the maximum number who will get on the bell tower is between 12 and 14 groups for a total daily of 420 visitors. At the moment, discounts for families or students is not officialized but Pierfarncesco Pacini promises: "One day per week free access will be allowed to associations, schools, and parishes that make a prior application". At the foot of the Tower, there was a Pisan visibly angry, Maria Cammarata who complains of the high cost of the ticket and says: "It is not possible! I don't believe this. I live in this city, I pay all the possible and imaginable taxes, the fines that we know return to the pockets of the Commune. Despite that, if I want to get on the Tower I must pay 30,000 lire like an any Japanese or American tourist. And if I bring my children? Will I have to pay 90,000 lire for half an hour on the bell tower? I have paid in small part for the cost of the restoration of the Tower, as I am an Italian and Pisan citizen. It does not seem right to me that the Florentines, and also the Volterrans, enter their museums with big discounts, or free, as happens in Volterra, while we Pisans must pay like we have the yen or the dollar in our big wallets". Pierfrancesco Pacini however, said little at first, then:"To apply discounts to the Pisan residents, it is necessary to positively appraise the proposals that come from many parts. Why not, could become yes. Certainly we will move to allow the not-well-to-do people to climb free as they apply for it". Andrew Bruzzese comes from Varese and is one of those that has entered with the first group of paying vistitors. "The spectacle from up there is nothing bad. My comment on this is that there is not any hint of a probem, but only exaltation for what is visible from up there, perhaps why the Tower is so beautiful and is appreciated from the ground while what is seen around the bell tower is nothing but extraordinary. On the price? A little bit dear but for one time it is OK". For the latest reservation information, please visit Leaning Tower Booking/Reservation Information Leaning Tower of Pisa Homepage Return to Leaning Tower of Pisa News Page  This Page maintained by: Gary Feuerstein |