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Battistero
The unusual round battistero has one dome piled on top of another, each roofed half in lead, half in tiles, and is topped by a gilt bronze John the Baptist (1395). It was started in 1153 by Diotisalvi, notably remodelled and continued by Nicola Pisano and son Giovanni more than a century later and finally completed in the 14th century - hence its hybrid architectural style.
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Cemetery
Soil shipped from Calvary during the Crusades - and reputed to reduce cadavers to skeletons within days - is said to lie within the white walls of this hauntingly beautiful cemetery, a beautiful final resting place for many prominent Pisans, arranged around a garden in a cloistered quadrangle. Many of the more interesting sarcophagi are of Greco-Roman origin, recycled in the Middle Ages.
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Chiesa di Santa Maria della Spina
This gem of a church, Chiesa di Santa Maria della Spina, is a fine architectural example of Pisan-Gothic. It was built in the early 14th century to house a thorn from Christ's crown and is refreshingly intimate after the heavyweights of Piazza dei Miracoli. Its ornately spired exterior cluttered with tabernacles and statues exudes richness but the interior is simple. Highlight: Andrea and Nino Pisano Madonna of the Rose , a masterpiece of Gothic sculpture.
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Chiesa di Santo Stefano dei Cavalieri
Vasari designed the church, Chiesa di Santo Stefano dei Cavalieri.
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Duomo
Pisa's duomo 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.
Showing 1-5 of 5 results
