Iteranti
The loaded bike parked among rows of furled beach umbrellas on an empty stretch of Tuscan shoreline.

Massa to Pisa (day 28)

Ridden · Jamie Brammer

The Via Francigena usually proceeds from Massa to Lucca via Caimore but for two reasons I wanted to see Pisa: 1) For the leaning tower and 2) For the airport in order to get back home. Having only 1 week a year makes the logistics of where to start and end an important consideration. So today's route (gpx) is something not in the official Via Francigena at all.

Route map

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To Pietrasanta

Pietrasanta is on the Via Francigena and there’s quite a few good things written about it so that was the first goal of the day. I took a route part urban and part off-road threading a trail around golf courses and along waterways.

Pietrasanta to Via Reggio

I stopped for a fantastic coffee and pastry in Pietrasanta, a very arty town. From there it was back down to the coast where it is a long promenade for many kilometres. I even missed out the supposed Russian enclave of Forte di Marmi with its giant yachts and luxury shopping.

Via Reggio to Pisa

Best part of today was some proper off-road after Via Reggio where the urban sprawl of the Tuscan Riviera gives way to nature reserves and more agriculture towards Pisa.

Back to Copenhagen

Pisa Airport isn’t going to win many awards soon. It is very cramped and is having an especially hard time during the pandemic letting people in and out safely.

Its only got two things going for it… 1) it is extremely close to town (2 km perhaps) and 2) it has a comically titled Pismover rapid transport concept to cover that distance.

  • A loaded orange gravel bike parked on a covered veranda beside wicker sofas, with a mottled plane tree trunk and cycad palms framing the paved garden path.
  • A wet residential street lined with shuttered apartment blocks and oleander bushes, a sign reading 'Ambulatorio Veterinario' fixed above a no-parking sign.
  • A grassy flood-defence bank runs alongside a still, tree-lined drainage canal under a misty morning sky, with hazy hills visible in the distance.
    Parts of the route this morning were very pretty.
  • A fenced industrial warehouse with a red 'Attenzione!' sign reading 'General S.R.L., Via delle Ciocche 1157, 300 MT', recycling bins and bin bags left beside the gate.
    And included this photo to show that often on this trip I’ve passed through semi-industrial areas. This is how the roadside feels quite often. The Via Francigena isn’t only pretty trails in the countryside.
  • An empty tarmac lane runs beside a stone retaining wall above a dry riverbed, with distant hills, a bamboo screen fence and construction scaffolding under a cloudy sky with two birds overhead.
  • A graffiti-tagged concrete skatepark with marble-topped ramps and benches sits beside a stream, overlooked by pink and terracotta apartment buildings and wooded hills.
  • Rows of colourful pinwheels strung across a narrow Tuscan street flutter above shopfronts, including one marked 'Temporary Store', as pedestrians stroll beneath them.
  • A cycling helmet with sunglasses tucked into the vents sits on a café table next to a frothy cappuccino and a sugar-glazed pastry, seen from above.
    Coffee and thingy (I’ve not quite worked them out yet).
  • A dense line of hanging pinwheels in rainbow colours stretches down a pedestrianised street between pastel-coloured buildings, with shoppers and a delivery van below.
  • A shaded café terrace with folded parasols and potted shrubs sits beside a cobbled street marked with an 'Area Pedonale' pedestrian-zone sign.
  • Washing hangs from balconies along a quiet residential street of terraced houses, with potted plants lining a narrow pavement and a car parked further down.
  • A red wooden rescue boat marked 'Salvataggio' sits on the sand in front of rows of beach umbrellas and sunbeds, with the sea and a hazy coastline stretching into the distance.
  • A loaded orange bikepacking bike leans against a pier railing overlooking a beach crowded with umbrellas and sunbeds, a rainbow pinwheel spinning on a nearby lamppost.
  • A laden orange gravel bike rests against a seafront railing, its frame bag and handlebar roll visible, with surfers in the water and umbrella-covered sand beyond.
    The front at Marina di Pietrasanta
  • Pedestrians walk along a pier lined with lamp posts decorated with colourful pinwheels, the sea stretching away on both sides under a bright blue sky.
  • A woman in a swimsuit walks along the shoreline past a surfer carrying a board, with beach umbrellas, sunbeds and a lifeguard hut further up the sand.
  • A zebra crossing leads towards a row of ornate lamp posts and palm trees on a paved seafront square, with parked cars and pedestrians nearby.
    There’s a cycle path along most of the front.
  • An archway entrance with lettering reading 'mané' leads into a beachfront courtyard flying the Italian flag, flanked by a café terrace and gumball machines.
  • Two padlocks are fixed to a bridge railing overlooking a still canal that reflects clouds and palm trees, with seafront buildings and the sea visible at the far end.
  • A couple walk along a broad paved seafront promenade past an ornate cream hotel building with balconied façades, palm trees and a bus stopped further along the road.
  • A wide, near-empty seafront boulevard runs past elegant townhouses including one signed 'Palace Miramare', with folded barriers and palm trees lining the route under a cloudy sky.
    The road along the front at Via Reggio was closed off for Carnival. Very elegant Art Deco buildings.
  • A loaded orange gravel bike leans against a bollard at a marina, with moored motor yachts and a vast boatbuilding shed and crane behind.
  • Superyachts moored in a marina beside a shipyard with a tall crane and arched steel sheds under a cloudy sky.
  • A gravel track running between dense woodland and scrub, dappled with tree shadow.
  • A pale gravel track flanked by tall trees, sunlight breaking through the canopy onto the path.
  • A sandy path through coastal pines and yucca-like scrub, marked with bicycle tyre tracks and footprints.
  • A driftwood-strewn beach on the Tyrrhenian coast with surf rolling in under a dramatic bank of storm cloud.
  • A loaded orange bikepacking bike propped against a driftwood shelter built on the beach, waves breaking behind it.
  • The loaded orange bike leaning inside the driftwood shelter, with a distant beach sign and the sea beyond.
  • A sandy path cutting through low dune scrub towards the sea, footprints scattered across the sand.
  • The loaded bike parked among rows of furled beach umbrellas on an empty stretch of Tuscan shoreline.
  • A wide sandy beach with a lifeguard tower and furled umbrellas, dog paw prints leading down towards the surf.
  • A trail of dog paw prints in wet sand leading towards breaking waves under a partly cloudy sky.
  • Foamy waves rolling onto an empty beach, with a trail of dog paw prints crossing the foreground sand.
  • A wooden boardwalk leading through rows of empty beach umbrella frames towards a distant thatched hut on the shore.
  • A boardwalk running between recycling bins and rows of shuttered beach umbrellas down to a lifeguard tower and the sea.
  • An empty pine-lined coastal road with a single parked van and a no-entry sign, leading towards the shore.
  • The loaded orange bike resting against a weathered wooden post on the beach, with driftwood shelters and other cyclists in the distance.
  • A grassy embankment track running alongside a drainage ditch and open farmland, hills visible on the horizon.
  • A gravel embankment path beside farmland and a drainage channel, with wooded hills rising in the distance.
  • A gravel lane running past terracotta-roofed Tuscan houses towards distant hills and a railway viaduct.
  • A gravel embankment track running beside a harvested sunflower field, with hills and a hilltop village under a heavy sky.
    Instead of heading directly into Pisa along the busy roads I followed the embankments along the River Serchio.
  • A road sign reading Pisa and I Passi marking the town boundary, with a tree-lined street continuing ahead.
  • The loaded bike parked beside a lamp post in the Piazza dei Miracoli, with the Baptistery, Duomo and Leaning Tower of Pisa behind crowds of visitors.
    Pisa was as expected: busy with tourists and a leaning tower.
  • A laden gravel bike with orange bags and a bar bag leaning against a railing, the Leaning Tower of Pisa rising behind it against a blue sky.
  • People walking across a broad piazza past an ornately decorated Renaissance palazzo with a scalloped roofline, a marble statue on a plinth in front of it.
  • Two tall bronze sculptures of stylised hooded figures stand in a paved Pisan street lined with pastel-coloured buildings and outdoor cafés.
  • The Leaning Tower of Pisa's tiered marble arcades rise at an angle against a partly cloudy sky, with the cathedral's facade visible below.
  • A close view of the Leaning Tower's carved marble arcading, its columns and diamond-patterned inlay tilting noticeably against the sky.
  • The Leaning Tower of Pisa seen from below, its rows of marble columns curving away at a steep tilt beside the cathedral's dome.
  • Visitors queue in face masks outside the round marble Baptistery of Pisa, waiting by its carved doorway beneath a relief of the Madonna and Child.
  • Masked tourists wait in a roped queue at the Baptistery's entrance, its Corinthian columns and diamond marble panels rising above them.
  • The striped marble facade of Pisa Cathedral, its tiers of blind arcading and columned loggias rising to a gilded statue at the roofline, with visitors gathered at its open doors.
  • Pisa Cathedral's long marble flank and dome stand beside the Leaning Tower across a wide green lawn, tourists strolling in the foreground.
  • The striped dome of Pisa Cathedral and the tilted Leaning Tower rise side by side against a clear blue sky, a flag flying from the tower's summit.
  • A closer view of Pisa Cathedral's apse and the adjoining Leaning Tower, its marble arcades leaning noticeably above a hedge-lined path.
  • A self-portrait of a bearded man in a wide-brimmed hat and backpack, the Leaning Tower and cathedral visible on the grass behind him.
  • A line of motorcyclists in helmets rides across a stone bridge lined with pastel townhouses, part of a large group ride through the town.
  • The River Arno curves past rows of pastel-coloured townhouses in Pisa, with wooded hills rising beyond the rooftops.
  • The small Gothic church of Santa Maria della Spina stands on the Arno embankment, its marble facade topped with spires and rose windows, beside a street lamp and passing traffic.
  • Inside a round marble chapel, stained-glass windows line one wall and a statue of the Madonna and Child stands by the altar, with a red-and-white heraldic emblem set into the floor.
  • A covered walkway at the automated people-mover station signed 'Stazione FS Pisa Centro' and 'Solo Entrata Entry Only', with a padded bike bag propped against the glass wall and trains visible on the tracks beyond.
    Waiting for the Pismover. Despite the ridiculous name / logo problem, it really is very convenient.
  • An airport corridor sign reading 'PISMOVER', 'Primo Soccorso First Aid' and 'Informazioni Voli Flight Information', with an illuminated exit sign beside it.
    The Pismover is actually called the Pisamover but the design team for the logo didn’t do much testing.
  • A moonlit view along an aircraft wing on the tarmac at night, with a red-liveried plane taxiing in the distance.