Located on the coast between Marina di Pisa and Livorno, Tirrenia is a destination favored by locals for seaside holiday but draws international tourism as well. Here you will find coastal communities filled with sprawling sandy beach resorts as well as plenty of nature reserves ready to be explored.
For locals, the main attraction for this area are the beaches but what draws the interanational tourist is the famous city of Pisa. Located just 8 miles (13 kilometers) from Tirrenia is the city of Pisa, Italy where you will find the Square of Miracles or Piazza dei Miracoli, with the iconic leaning Tower, the Pisa Cathedral or Duomo di Pisa, and the Pisa Baptistery.
Even though we had a car, we opted to use a private guide to escort us from Tirrenia to Pisa. Parking in Pisa is limited and having a driver that drops you off directly in the heart of the city was very helpful! Once we arrived our personal guide was waiting on us and was ready to walk us through this charming little town.
When you walk into the square you are immediately drawn to the tower of Pisa (tore di Pisa) or more famously called the Leaning Tower of Pisa. While the buildings and architectural is amazing, the most entertaining part of this visit was the tourists!
A little tower history
The tower began to lean during the early stages of construction in the 12th century due to soft ground which could not properly support the structure’s weight. At that point the construction ceased for about 100 years. In the 14th century a new architect decided to continue to add more floors but made one side taller than the other to try and fix the issue, but as expected the issue worsened. By the end of the 14th century there were 7 floors of this leaning tower and it was left alone until 1987 when the Leaning Tower of Pisa was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. By 1990 when the the tilt had reached an astonishing 5.5 degrees, the tower was closed to the public and stabilization work began and would last almost 10 years before the tower was reopened to the public.
You can now safely visit the Leaning Tower of Pisa and actually walk up to the top where you will have fantastic views of the Piazza dei Miracoli!
Tirrenia
One of the main reasons we chose Tirrenia is because as a child, Pete and his family lived here while his father was stationed at Camp Darby.
What I loved about this area is that Tirrenia is located along the coast and has amazing beaches and waterfront beaches. Some are private and some are public but the town itself is a quiet little gem and we found it to be a great stop during our travel to just relax poolside for a couple of days.
We did get a chance to walk through this little town and found the restaurants and cafes incredible and the service was outstanding. It wasn’t too touristy and the rest of the time we spent strolling through the neighborhoods and even found the actual house where Pete and his family lived 50 years ago. and minus the large tree in the front yard it looked exactly the same.
Camp Darby History
Camp Darby is now known as the Darby Military Community and is a United States military complex located in the Tuscan region of central Italy located between Pisa and Livorno. Darby Military Community, is a small, remote installation that maintains a permanent staff of around 350 US soldiers and Airmen. The total population of this Army installation, including the rotating personnel and their families, fluctuates between about 1,200 – 1,500. (based on current info I could find online)
The Modern Nomads 
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