GRAND VOYAGE ITALY
  • Piazza
    • Older Posts
  • Travel
    • Our Family's Voyage
  • Cucina
  • Culture
  • History
  • Style
  • Photos
  • Videos
    • Music Videos
  • About
    • Survey
    • Links
  • Shop 🛒
  • Piazza
    • Older Posts
  • Travel
    • Our Family's Voyage
  • Cucina
  • Culture
  • History
  • Style
  • Photos
  • Videos
    • Music Videos
  • About
    • Survey
    • Links
  • Shop 🛒
We're All About Italy

Is Putting a Huge Ferris Wheel Close to the Leaning Tower of Pisa a Good Idea?

3/16/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
If city planners have their way, this summer, the Leaning Tower of Pisa will have a new neighbor: a 150 foot tall Ferris wheel... nearly as tall as the Tower itself. The plan calls for a temporary three-month testing of the idea, placing the Ferris wheel in the tourist bus parking lot located about 1500 feet from the entrance to the Piazza dei Miracola which contains the Duomo, the Baptistry and the Tower. The tourist buses typically drop off large tour groups from cruise ships docked in the nearby port.

Many visitors to Pisa never see the rest of this medieval city, and that's just the point of the Big Wheel. Passengers will get a fantastic view of the Tower complex, but also what lies beyond the city’s medieval buildings, the Arno River, the mountains and the sea. The Culture Minister, Andrea Ferrante, said that the Ferris wheel will show tourists that there’s more to Pisa than the Leaning Tower and inspire them to visit the rest of the city and perhaps spend more time--and money--there. Over two and a half million tourists visit the Piazza dei Miracoli each year, with few exploring the rest of the beautiful town.

Of course, not everyone thinks this idea is a good one. Many consider the Big Wheel is going to be an eyesore on the historic cityscape and conflicts with its architectural heritage. Of course, the very successful 442 foot tall London Eye opened 15 years ago and has rotated over 32,000 miles and seen marriage proposals by 5,000 couples. It has 32 capsules, each holding 25 people during its 30 minute revolution. The 540 foot tall Singapore Flyer has 28 air-conditioned passenger capsules, each holding 28 people.   The High Roller observation wheel in Las Vegas is the world’s tallest at 550ft and lit with more than 2,000 LED lights.

Not everyone is supportive of the plan. The non-profit group Italia Nostra, dedicated to preserving Italy’s heritage, says the amusement park-type attraction would not blend in with the city's medieval architecture. “In the city of the Leaning Tower, a 50-meter-diameter wheel a few steps from Piazza dei Miracoli doesn’t make any sense,” said regional president Mariarita Signorini.

I have a different opinion. First, I don't like the location. It's too close to the Tower, but to be honest, it's not close enough to get in any pictures taken of the Tower or any other position from the Piazza dei Miracola. It is also not that tall. In fact, I'm in favor of a much large wheel--saw 400 feet in height--that sits on the banks of the Arno and looks out over the river and both sides of the city, the Tower of Pisa toward the left with the rest of the old city laid out to the right.

There is a location that could easily be developed now that contains a large sports field and several other fairly vacant plots of land. To show how it would look, I made a mock-up of the view from a 400 foot wheel in exactly that spot--with the help of Google Earth set at 400 foot elevation, with 3D buildings turned on, and a Photoshop paste of a modern, capsule type of wheel (I used the London Eye).
Picture
My Photoshop rendering of what it would look like from a 400 foot tall Wonder Wheel in a strategic spot on the banks of the Arno River. The Leaning Tower is on the left side.
The views would be fantastic, with the benefit of keeping the tourist buses further away from the Piazza dei Miracola. People could stroll from this location after having been oriented to Pisa from the wheel's high viewpoint... through the old city center (on either side of the Arno) and then stroll up toward the Tower as a final reward. Small tourist buses could transport people in Hop-On, Hop-Off loop around the city. In this way, visitors would get a wider appreciation of this wonderful town.

What do you all think?

--Jerry Finzi
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.


    Categories

    All
    1 Making Plans
    2 Gear And Tips
    3 Getting Around
    4 Tuscany
    5 Amalfi Coast
    6 Basilicata
    7 Puglia
    8 Rome
    9 Postcards
    Fotos Di Finzi
    History For Italians
    Humor
    La Cucina & Recipes
    More Than Gelato Pizza
    More-than-gelato-pizza
    News Del Giiorno
    Off The Tourist Path

    Archive

    January 2021
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    August 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014

    RSS Feed

Copyright 2014 - 2022 by GrandVoyageItaly.com
Picture
  • Piazza
    • Older Posts
  • Travel
    • Our Family's Voyage
  • Cucina
  • Culture
  • History
  • Style
  • Photos
  • Videos
    • Music Videos
  • About
    • Survey
    • Links
  • Shop 🛒