Church sights in Pisa
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Chiesa di Santa Maria della Spina
This breathtakingly exquisite church on the Arno's southern bank is a fine example of Pisan-Gothic. The now-deconsecrated church was built between 1230 and 1223 to house a reliquary of a spina (thorn) from Christ's crown. Its ornate, triple-spired exterior is encrusted with tabernacles and statues, but the interior is simple and perfectly suited to quiet reflection. The focal point is Andrea and Nino Pisano's Madonna and Child (aka Madonna of the Rose; 1345–48), a masterpiece of Gothic sculpture that still bears traces of its original colours and gilding.
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Duomo
Pisa's cath-edral was paid for with spoils brought home after Pisans attacked an Arab fleet entering Palermo in 1063. Begun a year later, the cathedral, with its striking cladding of alternating bands of green and cream marble, became the blueprint floor for Romanesque churches throughout Tuscany. The elliptical dome, the first of its kind in Europe at the time, was added in 1380.
The cathedral was the largest in Europe when it was constructed; its breathtaking proportions were designed to demonstrate Pisa's domination of the Mediterranean. Its main facade – not completed until the 13th century – has four exquisite tiers of columns diminishing skywards, while the vast…
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