4. Pisa complex mainly
comprises of
1. Pisa Cathedral
2. Campanile
3. Baptistery
4. Cemetry
It was cited to be built
due to touristy reasons
and establish Pisa as
centre of power.
Pisa Complex
5. The cathedral complex at Pisa dramatically testifies to the prosperity that
the busy maritime city enjoyed.
The cathedral, its freestanding bell tower, and the baptistery, where infants
and converts were initiated into the Christian community, present an
opportunity to study a coherent group of three Romanesque buildings.
Save for the upper portion of the baptistery, with its remodeled Gothic
exterior, the three structures are stylistically homogeneous.
6. Construction of Pisa Cathedral began first—in 1063.
Pisa Cathedral is large, with a nave and four aisles, and is one of the
most impressive and majestic of all Romanesque churches.
According to a document of the time, the Pisans wanted their
bishop’s church not only to be a monument to the glory of God but
also to bring credit to the city.
7. Construction on the baptistery began in the Romanesque style under Diotisalvi
in 1153. Nicola and Giovanni Pisano gave the upper part a Gothic
transformation between 1277 and 1297 and Cellino di Nese added the Gothic
dome in the 1300s. It was finally completed in 1363.
Italy's largest baptistery (54.86m tall and 104m in circumference), the
Battistero di San Giovanni is also slightly taller than the Leaning Tower across
the square. As it shares the same unstable ground as the tower, the baptistery
also has a slight lean of 0.6 degrees towards the cathedral.
The lower register of the baptistery is 12th-century Romanesque (with round
blind arches), while the upper parts are predominantly 13th-century Gothic
(with pointed arches).
The exterior of the second register was decorated with statues and designs by
Giovanni Pisano;
The square main portal bears interesting reliefs by an unknown artist of the
13th century. The left side depicts the Labors of the Months while the right side
portrays the Apostles (in pairs), the Harrowing of Hell, and King David.
8. The interior is fairly plain, dimly lit and not especially attractive, but it
includes two great treasures: the first of the great Pisano pulpits and the large
baptismal font in the centre.
The baptistery's pulpit is a masterpiece carved in 1255-60 by Nicola Pisano. It
was the prototype for a series of four monumental pulpits he created with his
son Giovanni (the last, Giovanni's greatest work, is in Pisa's Duomo; the other
two are in Pistoia and Siena).
The pulpit's high reliefs, which depict scenes from the life of Christ, are
strongly influenced by classical art - including the Roman sarcophagi and
Greek vase now in the Camposanto.
The central baptismal font was carved and inlaid in 1246 by the Gothic
sculptor Guido Bigarelli da Como (active 1238-57). In the centre of the font is a
20th-century statue of St. John the Baptist, to whom the baptistery is
dedicated.
The baptistery is renowned for its perfect acoustics - choir concerts held
inside can be heard from miles away. You can test the acoustics by arriving
when it is least crowded (such as first thing in the morning), getting as close to
the centre as possible and sounding a loud note - it will echo around the room
as it fades.
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12. At first glance, the cathedral resembles an Early Christian basilica with a
timber roof, columnar arcade, and clerestory but the broadly projecting
transept with apses, the crossing dome, and the facade’s multiple arcaded
galleries distinguish it as Romanesque.
Begun in 1093, Pisa Cathedral (Duomo di Pisa) is a masterpiece of
Romanesque architecture.
The first stone of Pisa Cathedral was laid in 1093, initiating what would
become the distinctive Pisan Romanesque style.
The main architect was Buscheto, who is buried in the last blind arch
on the left side of the facade. The facade itself was built by Buscheto's
successor, Rainaldo.
The façade is marble.
The bottom section has tall blind arcades with pastel-colored marble
inlay and three portals with bronze doors. Above this are four rows of
open arcades with delicate columns rising to the top of a gable that is
much taller than the cathedral roof.( use of false façade)
13. The spacious nave has a Cosmatesquemarble pavement and two aisles
on each side; the transept crossing is covered by a painted oval dome.
The famous medieval artwork in this church are Giovanni Pisano’s
pulpit, St. Agnes with her lamb bronze angels, mosaic of Christ
Pancrator.
The Cathedral has a prominent role in determining the beginning of
the Pisan New Year. Between the tenth century and 1749, when the
Tuscan calendar was reformed, Pisa used its own calendar, in which the
first day of the year was March 25, the feast day of the Annunciation of
Mary. Years were counted such that the Pisan New Year begins 9
months before the ordinary one. The exact moment is determined by a
ray of sun that, through a window on the left side, falls on an egg-
shaped marble, just above the pulpit by Giovanni Pisano; this occurs at
noon.
Some relics brought back during the Crusades can also be found in the
Cathedral: alleged remains of three Saints (Abibo, Gamaliel,
and Nicodemus), and a vase that is said to be one of the jars of Cana.
14. The granite Corinthian columns between the nave and the
aisle came originally from the mosque of Palermo,
captured by the Pisans in 1063.
Earlier the church had a coffered ceiling
The elaborately carved pulpit (1302–1310) was made
by Giovanni Pisano, a masterwork of medieval sculpture.
The pulpit is supported by plain columns (two of which are
mounted on lion's sculptures) on one side and
by caryatids and a telamon on the other: the latter
represent St. Michael, the Evangelists, the four cardinal
virtues flanking the Church, and a bold, naturalistic
depiction of a naked Hercules. A central plinth with
the liberal arts supports the four theological virtues.
15. Above the doors are four rows of open galleries with, on top,
statues of Madonna with Child and, on the corners, the Four
evangelists.
Also in the façade is found the tomb of Buscheto (on the left
side) and an inscription about the foundation of the Cathedral
and the victorious battle against the Saracens.
At the east end of the exterior, high on a column rising from
the gable, is a modern replica of the Pisa Griffin, the
largest Islamic metal sculpture known, the original of which was
placed there probably in the 11th or 12th century, and is now in
the Cathedral Museum.
The interior is faced with black and white marble and has
a gilded ceiling and a frescoed dome. It was largely redecorated
after a fire in 1595, which destroyed most of the Renaissance art
works.
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The Leaning Tower of Pisa (Torre Pendente di Pisa in Italian) is one of the great icons of
Europe. Begun in 1173, the bell tower of Pisa Cathedral is famous for the shifting of its
sandy foundations that has led to a significant lean of 5.5 degrees.
The campanile was begun in 1173 as the final structure of the magnificent cathedral
complex on the Campo dei Miracoli in Pisa. The settling of its foundations and resulting
lean became apparent before it was even finished - after only three stories were
completed. The engineer, believed to be Bonnano Pisano, tried to compensate by making
the new stories a little taller on one side. However, the extra materials caused the tower to
sink even more.
Made of gleaming white and pastel marbles, the Leaning Tower has a diameter of 52 feet
(16 m) at the base and would stand 185 feet (56 metres) high if it were straight. It
currently leans 5.5 degrees, which amounts to about 15 feet or 4.5 metres from vertical.
The famous lean of the bell tower often overshadows its magnificent architecture, which
is an exceptional example of the Romanesque style. The round tower is made of fine
multi-coloured marble and has eight stories in all, each surrounded by an arcaded
gallery. The repeating registers of arches give the tower an exceptionally harmonious and
rhythmic appearance.
24. The bottom register of the tower has a blind arcade
and an ornately carved portal, which features
grotesque sculptures of animals. The second through
seventh stories have open arcaded galleries and the
eighth story houses the bell chamber. The
medieval bells remain in place, but for stability
reasons are no longer rung.
Inside the tower is a 294-step spiral staircase leading
to the bell chamber. Happily visitors are once again
allowed to climb the tower in small groups, which
provides not only a close look at the iconic tower but a
fine view of the Piazza del Duomo.
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26. The Camposanto Monumentale (Monumental Cemetery), also known
as Campo Santo is located at the northern edge of the square. This
walled cemetery is said to have been built around a shipload of sacred
soil from Calvary, brought back to Pisa from the Fourth Crusade by
Ubaldo de' Lanfranchi, the archbishop of Pisa in the 12th century. This
is where the name Campo Santo (Holy Field) originates.
The outer wall is composed of 43 blind arches. There are two doorways.
The one on the right is crowned by a gracious Gothic tabernacle and
contains the Virgin Mary with Child surrounded by four saints. It is the
work from the second half of the 14th century by a follower of Giovanni
Pisano. Most of the tombs are under the arcades, although a few are on
the central lawn. The inner court is surrounded by elaborate round
arches with slender mullions and plurilobed tracery.
The Camposanto Monumentale once contained a large collection of
Roman sculptures and sarcophagi, but now there are only 84
remaining. The walls were once covered in frescoes, the first were
applied in 1360, the last about three centuries later.
27. The Opera Palace is a complex of houses in the north
east[ corner of the square. They have been built in
different periods, with the main building dating back
to at least the XIV century and the latest to the XIX
century.
Originally these houses belonged to the workmen of
the cathedral complex: the tailor, the gardener, the bell
ringers, etc.
28. The Ospedale Nuovo di Santo Spirito (New Hospital of
Holy Spirit) is located on the southeast corner of the
square. Built in 1257 by Giovanni di Simone over a
preexisting smaller hospital, the function of this
hospital was to help pilgrims, poor, sick people, and
abandoned children by providing a shelter..
