{"id":4438,"date":"2024-10-27T15:59:32","date_gmt":"2024-10-27T14:59:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.fotocycle.dk\/paws\/?page_id=4438"},"modified":"2024-10-27T16:12:33","modified_gmt":"2024-10-27T15:12:33","slug":"week-36-ibiza-and-pisa","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.fotocycle.dk\/paws\/?page_id=4438","title":{"rendered":"Week 36: Ibiza and Pisa"},"content":{"rendered":"

I spent most of the week in Pisa, attending the annual conference of the European Policy for IP Association, the most important academic conference on intellectual property in Europe, if not the world (and there are many participants and speakers from North America and Asia, even if of course the majority are Europeans). I travelled to Pisa on Monday September 9th and funny enough, the best way to get there was to fly to Ibiza from where I had a direct flight to Pisa. This gave me the opportunity to visit Ibiza, the Balearic island closest to Alicante, for a few hours. The photos of the week are shown chronologically.<\/p>\n

36_1<\/strong>
\nI landed in Ibiza early in the morning and took a taxi to the centre of the island’s capital Eivissa. My main goal was to visit the fortified old city, Dalt Vila, with roots going back to Phoenician times:
\n\"DSF1522\"<\/p>\n

36_2<\/strong>
\nDalt Vila is a UNESCO World Heritage Site:
\n\"DSF1530\"<\/p>\n

36_3<\/strong>
\nI walked up the steep streets to the cathedral on the highest point of Dalt Vila, and was impressed to see a visitor on bicycle, cycling on the fortifications:
\n\"DSF1559\"<\/p>\n

36_4<\/strong>
\nView of the town and the harbour from Dalt Vila. The three main Balearic islands–Ibiza, Mallorca and Menorca–are connected with frequent ferry sailings:
\n\"DSF1553\"<\/p>\n

36_5<\/strong>
\nCat on walkabout in Dalt Vila:
\n\"DSF1573\"<\/p>\n

36_6<\/strong>
\nGuard dog:
\n\"DSF1577\"<\/p>\n

More photos from Ibiza can be seen here<\/a>. After walking around for a couple of hours and having a light lunch, I made my way back to the airport for my flight to Pisa.<\/p>\n

36_7<\/strong>
\nI landed in Pisa around 8 p.m. My hotel was on Via Santa Maria, very close to the Piazza dei Duomo, home of the famous leaning tower, the cathedral, the baptistery and Santocampo, a magnificent medieval cemetery. This was the view from my room:
\n\"DSF1586\"<\/p>\n

36_8<\/strong>
\nAfter a short walk, I had dinner at this nearby restaurant, enjoying the nice evening weather and (this being Italy) the great food:
\n\"DSF1589\"<\/p>\n

36_9<\/strong>
\nThe conference was starting on Wednesday, but on Tuesday we had an all-day meeting of economists from IP offices around the world, including my office, the French, German, Austrian, Swiss and UK offices, as well as several overseas offices: US, Canada, Brazil, Japan, Korea, Singapore and some others. We meet once a year on the margin of the EPIP conference, taking advantage of being in the same place, something that otherwise would be difficult to arrange. Since I wake up early, I still had time for a morning walk. It was nice to see the tower and the other buildings on Piazza dei Duomo in the nice morning light and without the hordes of tourists who would arrive later in the day:
\n\"DSF1598\"<\/p>\n

36_10<\/strong>
\nI turned around and walked towards the river on Via Santa Maria, passing what looks like a gate but is in fact an arch connecting two buildings, called Torre De Cantone:
\n\"DSF1608\"<\/p>\n

36_11<\/strong>
\nI walked onto one of the bridges of the Arno river, Ponte Solferino, and took in the gorgeous view:
\n\"DSF1612\"<\/p>\n

36_12<\/strong>
\nBy 9 a.m. I was in this room at Sant’ Anna university, where I would spend all day with the other IP economists:
\n\"DSF1623\"<\/p>\n

36_13<\/strong>
\nWe were going to have dinner in the evening, but between the end of the meeting and the dinner I had some time to explore. The Sant’ Anna campus is located on a large square with the beautiful name Piazza di Martiri della Libert\u00c3\u00a0:
\n\"DSF1632\"<\/p>\n

36_14<\/strong>
\nThe weather was nice, and the outdoor tables were quite full of people and in some cases their companions:
\n\"DSF1640\"<\/p>\n

36_15<\/strong>
\nCounterfeit football jerseys in late afternoon sunlight:
\n\"DSF1643\"<\/p>\n

36_16<\/strong>
\nI had read about a craft beer bar called Scaccomalto in the Lonely Planet guidebook, and it did not disappoint. The beer was excellent, the service friendly, and even the toilet was kind of fun:
\n\"DSF1647\"<\/p>\n

36_17<\/strong>
\nThe economist’s dinner in the evening:
\n\"DSF1654\"<\/p>\n

36_18<\/strong>
\nOn Wednesday morning, I went to Piazza dei Duomo again to look at the beautiful structures in the morning light:
\n\"DSF1679\"<\/p>\n

36_19<\/strong>
\nA statue of Romulus and Remus, representing the founding myth of Rome:
\n\"DSF1673\"<\/p>\n

36_20<\/strong>
\nProperly attired, I made my way to Sant’ Anna, site of the conference. The courtyard is pretty:
\n\"DSF1685\"<\/p>\n

36_21<\/strong>
\n\"DSF1684\"<\/p>\n

36_22<\/strong>
\nThe conference participants milling on the first floor terrace:
\n\"DSF1688\"<\/p>\n

36_23<\/strong>
\nThe grand room being readied for the opening speeches:
\n\"DSF1692\"<\/p>\n

36_24<\/strong>
\nLater on Wednesday, my collaborator Micha\u00c5\u201a is on a panel about IP and innovation:
\n\"DSF1708\"<\/p>\n

36_25<\/strong>
\nMicha\u00c5\u201a presenting some research we have done together with the European Patent Office:
\n\"DSF1698\"<\/p>\n

36_26<\/strong>
\nTwo delightful ladies, economists from the French and Singaporean IP offices:
\n\"DSF1695\"<\/p>\n

36_27<\/strong>
\nI had some free time again Wednesday afternoon, which I used to see Tuttomondo, a mural by American artist Keith Haring, painted just a few months before his death in 1990:
\n\"DSF1729\"<\/p>\n

36_28<\/strong>
\nOn the way back to my hotel, I passed the Chiesa di Santa Maria della Spina with the Kouros_Igneus statue by Alexey Morosov in front of the church. Quite a striking juxtaposition:
\n\"DSF1741\"<\/p>\n

36_29<\/strong>
\nAnother work by Alexey Morosov, Ericius, in front of the leaning tower:
\n\"DSF1786\"<\/p>\n

36_30<\/strong>
\nI took many pictures of tourists taking pictures in front of the tower:
\n\"DSF1791\"<\/p>\n

36_31<\/strong>
\nIn the evening, we had the conference reception, during which I was delighted to meet up with my former trainee Antanina, now a lecturer at London Metropolitan University:
\n\"DSF1796\"<\/p>\n

36_32<\/strong>
\nThe conference continued on Thursday, and there was going to be a gala dinner in the evening. As I had done the previous day, I went for a walk in the afternoon. The view from Ponte Solferino was beautiful as always, although it was windy:
\n\"DSF1860\"<\/p>\n

36_33<\/strong>
\nI sat down for a beer at an outside table and observed the life around me:
\n\"DSF1855\"<\/p>\n

36_34<\/strong>
\nMother and daughter eating gelato<\/em>:
\n\"DSF1868\"<\/p>\n

36_35<\/strong>
\nCouple sharing gelato<\/em> with their companion:
\n\"DSF1873\"<\/p>\n

36_36<\/strong>
\nThe dinner was preceded by a reception held on one of the bridges across the Arno, Ponte di Mezzo, which the city had closed to traffic for the occasion. I enjoyed the sunset from the bridge:
\n\"DSF1888\"<\/p>\n

36_37<\/strong>
\nThen night fell. The reception on the bridge was a nice idea, but the weather did not cooperate, it was rather windy and blustery:
\n\"DSF1891\"<\/p>\n

36_38<\/strong>
\nEveryone was therefore pleased to move on to the sit-down dinner, held just after the bridge, at a place called Logge del Banchi, still outdoors but with a roof and shielded from the wind:
\n\"DSF1897\"<\/p>\n

36_39<\/strong>
\nTowards the end of the dinner there was some sort of medieval dance performance:
\n\"DSF1902\"<\/p>\n

36_40<\/strong>
\n\"DSF1906\"<\/p>\n

36_41<\/strong>
\n\"DSF1911\"<\/p>\n

36_42<\/strong>
\nFriday morning I walked to the Sant’ Anna campus once again for the final day of the conference, which was ending at lunchtime. On the way, I noticed the old woman in her apartment; I liked the combination of colours and the overall scene:
\n\"DSF1918\"<\/p>\n

36_43<\/strong>
\nOn the Sant’ Anna campus there is this striking sculpture, Sisyphus, by Czech sculptor Anna Chromy who lived in Monaco but also had a studio in Tuscany:
\n\"DSF1948\"<\/p>\n

36_44<\/strong>
\nA less dramatic but cute feature on the campus, some turtles living in a pumping station:
\n\"DSF1924\"<\/p>\n

36_45<\/strong>
\nOn the last day of the conference there were some interesting panels, including this one, with participants from the European Commission, European Parliament, and the US Patent and Trademark Office (part of the US Department of Commerce), chaired by my Dutch colleague Harrie:
\n\"DSF1931\"<\/p>\n

36_46<\/strong>
\nThe conference ended at lunchtime on Friday, but there were no good flights back that afternoon, so I had to stay in Pisa till Saturday.I decided to use Friday afternoon to visit the nearby town Pontedera, 20 minutes or so by train from Pisa. On the way to the train station I passed this couple:
\n\"DSF1955\"<\/p>\n

36_47<\/strong>
\nI arrived in Pontedera, a small town, but even in small towns they want public art, like this sculpture in front of the station:
\n\"DSF1961\"<\/p>\n

36_48<\/strong>
\nAn Italian classic:
\n\"DSF1979\"<\/p>\n

36_49<\/strong>
\nThe reason for going to Pontedera was to see the Piaggio museum. The iconic Vespa scooter was born here immediately following World War II. The former factory is now a business incubator (Vespa scooters are still manufactured in Pontedera, but in another location):
\n\"DSF1980\"<\/p>\n

36_50<\/strong>
\nIn the 1930s the company also built planes, and seeing one on display gave me a bit of a sour taste. Living in Alicante, I could not help thinking that planes like this were involved in numerous bombardments of our city during the Spanish Civil War:
\n\"DSF1981\"<\/p>\n

36_51<\/strong>
\nThe museum was wonderful, however, with Vespas dating back to the beginning in 1945, also displaying special models producted in various countries:
\n\"DSF1994\"<\/p>\n

36_52<\/strong>
\nOver the decades, Vespas have also served as artists’ canvasses:
\n\"DSF2013\"<\/p>\n

36_53<\/strong>
\nPiaggio also owns other Italian motorcycle brands, including Gilera:
\n\"DSF2025\"<\/p>\n

36_54<\/strong>
\n\"DSF2015\"<\/p>\n

36_55<\/strong>
\nOn Saturday morning, I went once again to see my last sunrise in Pisa this time around:
\n\"DSF2041\"<\/p>\n

36_56<\/strong>
\nAfterwards, I walked to a well-known bakery to buy some cantuccini<\/em> to take home:
\n\"DSF2082\"<\/p>\n

36_57<\/strong>
\n\"DSF2077\"<\/p>\n

36_58<\/strong>
\nSome great man from the past, provided with a refreshment the night before:
\n\"DSF2084\"<\/p>\n

36_59<\/strong>
\nI walked back to the Piazza dei Duomo, taking some more tourist snaps:
\n\"DSF2086\"<\/p>\n

36_60<\/strong>
\nBut my reason for going there was to take a walk on the Mura di Pisa, a 3 km long restored city wall, now a nice promenade:
\n\"DSF2106\"<\/p>\n

36_61<\/strong>
\nThe Lion’s Gate is a great place to view the square below:
\n\"DSF2096\"<\/p>\n

36_62<\/strong>
\nLots of people queuing to enter the famous buildings:
\n\"DSF2100\"<\/p>\n

36_63<\/strong>
\nLots of people buying souvenirs:
\n\"DSF2102\"<\/p>\n

36_64<\/strong>
\nI did not have time to walk the whole circuit, but I walked about 1 km and then returned to my hotel walking on a normal street. This building with picturesque peeling paint was the last photo I took before retrieving my baggage from the hotel and making my way to the airport:
\n\"DSF2122\"<\/p>\n

A full gallery of Pisa is here<\/a>, and I also have a small gallery from Pontedera<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I spent most of the week in Pisa, attending the annual conference of the European Policy for IP Association, the most important academic conference on intellectual property in Europe, if not the world (and there are many participants and speakers from North America and Asia, even if of course the majority are Europeans). I travelled […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":4205,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fotocycle.dk\/paws\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4438"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fotocycle.dk\/paws\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fotocycle.dk\/paws\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fotocycle.dk\/paws\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fotocycle.dk\/paws\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4438"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.fotocycle.dk\/paws\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4438\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4445,"href":"https:\/\/www.fotocycle.dk\/paws\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4438\/revisions\/4445"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fotocycle.dk\/paws\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4205"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fotocycle.dk\/paws\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4438"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}