Pisa, Tuscany

This is one of the places where everyone feels they ought to go. There’s an airport near at hand, package holidays from all over Europe, and although the famous tower isn’t leaning as it once did, loads of tourists still flood into the city. Ten years ago we were amongst them. To the north of the city the Campo dei Miracoli (Field of Miracles) was made a World Heritage Site in 1987, and incorporates the massive Cathedral, the Tower and the impressive Baptistery, set to one side of the other two like a tall circular wedding cake and which, though immensely ornate inside, we found quite moving.

Which brings us to the Tower which took 200 years to compete, and has been moving ever since. Built on poor foundations and loose substrata, there have been numerous efforts to save the bell tower from falling, the latest of which involving international cooperation seems now to have dealt with the problem, although because of its fame as a tourist attraction, it was decided to maintain a slight list to the north so that it could live up to its reputation. Encircled by rooted steel ropes to one side, it is still a remarkable sight. One of those places where you have seen so many photos it feels as if you have been there before.

The city is at the mouth of the Arno River and was once a thriving port. It has been a major University for many years and today specialises in Physics, Mathematics, and Engineering, all of which must have ptovided practical resources for the debates about what to do with the Tower. For us the great intellectual figure of Pisa, Galileo, was a major reason for our visit. He was born in 1564 and lived here for the next 28 years. We found his house and feeling the touch of history, we wandered off and for a while got lost not only in our thoughts but in the city as well.

Called the father of science, physics and astronomy, Galileo published his discovery that the sun, as Copernicus had claimed, was the centre of the solar system and not the earth. Incurring the disapproval of the Catholic Church, his mature years were cruelly confined as a consequence; though he was cared for by one of his three daughters. Dava Sobel has written a fascinating book on that relationship.

So there in the Field of Miracles is a proud statement of the Church, but not far away is the house from which great discoveries were made, standing as a rebuke to the Church for its closed mind in the face of a new truth. But Galileo has the last word: ‘I render infinite thanks to God for being so kind as to make me alone the first observer of marvels kept hidden in obscurity for all previous centuries’.

B.R.

Sheffield, Steel City

Once known as the 'Republic of South Yorkshire' because of its strong socialist traditions, and set in the valleys of five rivers, Sheffield is world famous for its cutlery, heavy steel and coal industry. Today it produces more steel than ever in the past, but without polluting the air, and with a tiny work force of highly skilled workers. Remarkably Britain’s third city with a population of more than half a million, is Europe’s greenest city, and was awarded the Entente Florale in 2005. There are two million trees dotted around, more trees per person than any other European city. The splendidly renovated Botanical Gardens is maintained by a host of enthusiasts, and the green theme is continued with the handsome Winter Gardens in the centre of the town, opened in 2003, and by the Peace Gardens nearby with its poignant plaque of penitence for the bombing of Hiroshima and the names of local people who died during the Civil War in Spain. And nearby there is the Peak District National Park, the second most visited national park in the U.K.

This is a student city with more than 50,000 students in its two Universities and Further Education Colleges; two of our daughters have been amongst them. Like most cities in the north of England, Sheffield has been trying to diversify its amenities, and is the fastest growing city outside London. People’s interests may have been at risk in the economic furore, and to local people ‘consultation’ must often have seemed little more than a public relations exercise about what was going to happen anyway.

Sheffield has three lively theatres, their present director the gifted actor and director, Samuel West. The Crucible, a theatre -in –the-round, also hosts the World Snooker Championships each year. A newly renovated Concert Hall has a programme of popular visiting artists and the highlights of the international concert prospectus are the visits of the Halle orchestra under its charismatic conductor Mark Elder. The Sheffield Philharmonic Chorus is one of the finest in the country.

Football as we know it was invented here on October 24th.1847, its H.Q. was a potting shed and greenhouse on the edge of the city. Today the two football teams - United and Wednesday-enjoy a rivalry fuelled by their many supporters. Long before its industrial expansion, Mary Queen of Scots, spent time in Sheffield Manor, during her captivity between 1570 and 1584. That other Queen, Victoria, visited the city to give it its city charter in 1893, but though given the keys to the City Hall and graciously touching them, was unwilling to leave her carriage.

We lived here for twelve years and we continue to think of the place and the people with great affection.

Bryan