What you need to know first
- Tickitaly is not the official channel for the Tower of Pisa. It is an agency that resells tickets.
- It costs more: €25.50 against €20 on the Opera della Primaziale Pisana's website.
- It doesn't refund: once the order has been sent, the money doesn't come back.
- The Florence to Pisa and Lucca day trip no longer exists, even though some pages still mention it.
If you want to climb the Tower, book on the official site. The rest of this review explains why, and when Tickitaly might still be useful.
Who is behind it
Tickitaly.com is a product of Renting In Italy Srl, VAT number 05144650487, registered with the Florence Chamber of Commerce and run by Cristiano Castellani. It is based in the province of Florence, apparently in Empoli, as the 0571 area code of the support number also suggests. Judging by the footer the site has been online for more than twenty years, and it claims more than 140,000 tickets sold every year. So it is not a fly-by-night site: it is a small agency with a narrow catalogue and pages that are not well maintained.
It is a licensed travel agency, so a legitimate business. It is not, however, the body that runs the monuments, and it has no special relationship with the Opera della Primaziale.
"Official tickets": what it really means
The Tower page sells "reserved entrance official tickets". The wording is technically true: the ticket you receive is a valid entry to the Tower. But it is a resold ticket, not one sold by the body that runs the site. The Opera della Primaziale points out that, on its own channel, the only valid ticket is the original PDF it sends; resellers issue their own voucher.
The price confirms it: €25.50 for the Tower and Duomo, which is €5.50 more than the official €20. At our last check the calendar on the page also carried the note "temporarily only at weekends": check which dates can really be booked before you plan the rest of your trip.
The Tower's rules don't change with the channel: children are only admitted if they turn 8 during the year, under-18s must be with an adult, backpacks go to the left-luggage office, and you should arrive 15 minutes early. If you are late for your slot you won't get in and you won't be refunded. You'll find it all in our guide to Pisa.
The Pisa + Lucca day trip is gone
Many people land on Tickitaly looking for the day trip from Florence to Pisa and Lucca. It no longer exists: the old addresses redirect to a generic page with four private tours and no dates available. The Tower page still contains a sentence that mentions it, but that text was never updated.
If you want to see both cities in a day, the train works well:
| Route | Price | Journey time |
|---|---|---|
| Florence SMN → Pisa Centrale | €9.80 | about 1 hour |
| Pisa Centrale → Lucca | €4.10 | 27–35 minutes |
Many trains between Pisa and Lucca also stop at Pisa San Rossore, the station closest to the Piazza dei Miracoli. A good order is Pisa in the morning, with the Tower booked on the official site, and Lucca in the afternoon, on foot or by bike along the city walls. We cover it on the page about Lucca.
If you'd rather go on an organised trip, the big platforms sell a half day in Pisa from Florence, with or without the climb.
What's left in the catalogue
Besides the Tower, Tickitaly sells "Heart of Pisa", a guided walk of about an hour around the centre, with or without the climb. It is the only product that adds real value, because the Opera della Primaziale doesn't offer guides. Otherwise the Tuscan catalogue is small and some pages are out of date.
No refunds: the rule that decides everything
Tickitaly's terms are clear: once the order has been sent, no refunds are possible. Changes are allowed, but with an administration fee.
Compare that with the official site: on orders that include the Tower you can cancel up to 2 hours before and change the time, though not the date. A non-refundable ticket that costs more than a refundable one is hard to justify.
Tickitaly reviews: what customers say
The picture here is thin. At our last check the site showed an average of 4.8 from 360 reviews, but these were collected by its own internal system, not by an independent service. At our last check there was no Trustpilot page, and on Tripadvisor the average was 2.6 from just 8 reviews. Some travel forum threads complain about the service. With numbers this small no statistical judgement is possible, and that in itself tells you something: people who buy here are doing so almost blind.
Customer support answers on +39 0571 981064 and at info@tickitaly.com, Monday to Friday from 08:30 to 17:30. On Saturdays and Sundays, precisely the days when many people climb the Tower, there is nobody there.
Who it might make sense for
Very few people: those who book the Tower well in advance for a fixed date, accept that they won't get a refund, and find both the official site and the more flexible resellers sold out. Or those who specifically want the one-hour guided walk in Pisa and can't find anything better.
Hence the 2 out of 5, the same as Headout: the same basic flaw, no refunds, plus out-of-date pages and hardly any independent reviews. In its favour are the licence, the base in Tuscany and a person on the phone during office hours.
For everyone else the answer is different: the official site for tickets, and platforms with free cancellation for day trips.
The alternatives
For the Tower, the first channel is always the Opera della Primaziale Pisana. If the official slots are gone, GetYourGuide and Tiqets sell the Tower and Duomo from €24–25; Tiqets doesn't refund, while on GetYourGuide it depends on the listing. Musement also sells it from €24. Below you'll find the half day in Pisa from Florence and entry to the Tower, with prices that change often and that we update accordingly.
To plan the day, also read the pages on day trips and on Versilia, 20 minutes by train from Lucca.