The day in Pisa started off bright and early from another relatively sleepless night. We started off by going to an old temple in Pisa. While there Professor Cooperman talked about Pisa and Livorno and it's appeal to Jews several centuries ago. Supposedly a man was trying to build a "free port" and the Jews that lived there would be able to live there without restrictions. Pisa and Livorno seem to fit hand in hand. Professor Cooperman also mentioned a doctor in Pisa that was a very renowned Christian doctor in the area. However, one day he just disappeared and no one knew where he went. Apparently, he was Jewish, but he couldn't pronounce himself Jewish in an area that he was known as Christian in. I thought that was a very interesting concept of how moving to a different area would let you reveal your "true self."
After we left the synagouge we went to an old Jewish cemetery. Inside a young woman discussed how most of the tombstones were moved away from the actual burial site. We saw a bunch of gravestones of some of the more influential Jews that had died in the area. We also were shown where the bodies were cleaned before burial. I thought that was a little creepy, but I guess a little interesting.
After that Rachel, Ilana, Hayley, and I waited for Dr. Cooperman on this large area of grass that was supposedly imported from Haifa. Once Dr. Cooperman came we all took a bunch of pictures in front of the leaning tower of Pisa. Supposedly in 1173 the tower served as a bell tower. Five years after it was built it started to sink downward, thus providing a little bit of a tilt. As years have gone on many people have tried to correct the positioning of the tower, including Mussolini, but all efforts have failed. During World War II, the US ordered that all towers in Italy be destroyed in order to prevent surprise attacks, however, the leaning tower was saved by a last minute retreat.
After we finished taking pictures we went on a search for a good restaurant. Ilana and Hayley went off to catch their trains while Rachel and I stayed behind. We ended up going to this small restaurant that was extremely cheap. It was a very good meal and watched Rachel eat her meal was extremely funny. She tore that pizza to shreds.
After lunch we headed back to Florence. When we got back I decided that I needed to take a little nap. Unfortunately, my little nap turned into an extremely long nap and I didn't end up waking up until about 10:30. By then everyone had managed to go out to eat and come back. We spent the rest of the night doing a whole lot of nothing, which was a pretty nice change from the norm.
After we left the synagouge we went to an old Jewish cemetery. Inside a young woman discussed how most of the tombstones were moved away from the actual burial site. We saw a bunch of gravestones of some of the more influential Jews that had died in the area. We also were shown where the bodies were cleaned before burial. I thought that was a little creepy, but I guess a little interesting.
After that Rachel, Ilana, Hayley, and I waited for Dr. Cooperman on this large area of grass that was supposedly imported from Haifa. Once Dr. Cooperman came we all took a bunch of pictures in front of the leaning tower of Pisa. Supposedly in 1173 the tower served as a bell tower. Five years after it was built it started to sink downward, thus providing a little bit of a tilt. As years have gone on many people have tried to correct the positioning of the tower, including Mussolini, but all efforts have failed. During World War II, the US ordered that all towers in Italy be destroyed in order to prevent surprise attacks, however, the leaning tower was saved by a last minute retreat.
After we finished taking pictures we went on a search for a good restaurant. Ilana and Hayley went off to catch their trains while Rachel and I stayed behind. We ended up going to this small restaurant that was extremely cheap. It was a very good meal and watched Rachel eat her meal was extremely funny. She tore that pizza to shreds.
After lunch we headed back to Florence. When we got back I decided that I needed to take a little nap. Unfortunately, my little nap turned into an extremely long nap and I didn't end up waking up until about 10:30. By then everyone had managed to go out to eat and come back. We spent the rest of the night doing a whole lot of nothing, which was a pretty nice change from the norm.
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