Before the Pilgrims touched down at Plymouth Rock, they spent five weeks in Provincetown, where they nailed down the definitive version of the Mayflower Contract and made their first “encounters” with Native Americans.

Memorializing the pilgrims’ stay here is a monument (High Pole Hill Rd., 508/487-1310, www.pilgrim-monument.org, 9 a.m.–5 p.m. daily Apr.–May and mid-Sept.–Nov.; 9 a.m.–7 p.m. daily June–mid-Sept., $7 adults, $5 seniors and students, $3.50 children 4–14, free children under 4) that has become a symbol of Provincetown for generations of visitors.

Looking at it, you’d think the Pilgrims had come from Italy, not England, since the tower is a copy of a torre from Sienna, complete with crenellated top and gargoyles perched on the sides. The walk to the top utilizes 60 ramps and 116 steps.

Short of a plane, it’s virtually the only way to behold the geography of the Cape in its glory. On a clear day, you can see Boston. At the base of the monument is the Provincetown Museum, which details the Pilgrims’ brief stay here as only kitschy dioramas can.