Piazza dei Miracoli

Pisa's Piazza del Duomo (Cathedral Square) is universally known by the name Piazza dei Miracoli. Here visitors can admire all the monuments that make up the centre of the town's religious life and which the poet Gabriele d’Annunzio once defined as miracles, due to their beauty and originality: the Cathedral, the Baptistry, the Camposanto Monumentale and the Leaning Tower. The Piazza was classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987.

The Piazza is a pedestrian area and is covered by a large lawn. It only assumed its definitive appearance in the 19th century, mainly through the work of architect Alessandro Gherardesca, who oversaw the restoration of the famous monuments. The leaning of the Tower, the most famous bell tower in the world, is due to the sandy silt soil on which its foundations were laid, just three metres deep. Consolidation works in the 1990s reduced the leaning by around 40 centimetres and the Tower was once again opened to the public, albeit with more limited access than previously permitted.

The nucleus of the Piazza is the Cathedral, a splendid marble cathedral dedicated to Santa Maria Assunta. Building began on the five-aisle Latin cross plan structure in 1063. The Baptistry, dedicated to St. John the Baptist, rises in front of the western façade of the Cathedral, replacing a previous, smaller baptistry that used to be to the north of the Cathedral. Its interior is an unusual truncated cone-shaped dome that only covers the internal round of pillars. With a circumference of 107.25 m, it is the largest baptistry in both Italy and the world.

Leaning Tower

The first stone of the Leaning Tower was set during the commemoration of the Assumption on 9 august 1173. While the signatures of the creators of the other monuments in the Piazza can be traced, the Bell Tower is not signed; an intriguing detail that fuels the debate on its first creator and first decade of the Bell Tower. In 1185 sinking and the resulting leaning halted works for almost a century. Giovanni di Simone, who had been engaged on the Church of San Francesco with its bold bell tower in those years, was entrusted to carry on the works. Thanks to the architect's extraordinary skill in containing the effects of the inclination, the works continued until the date of the navel defeat of the Meloria in 1284. The seventh and last ring of the Bell Tower, used as a bell tower cell, was conceived and produced by Tommaso Pisano around the mid-14th century.

Cathedral

An open space outside of the ancient walls was chosen as the setting for the Pisan Cathedral. Works began under the direction of Buscheto in the wake of the successful expedition to Palermo in 1063. His conception of the Cathedral, dedicated to Santa Maria Assunta, meant that the entire religious structure would centre on the large dome. One hundred years later, under the design and direction of another great architect, Rainaldo, the nave was lengthened and the splendid façade produced.

Baptistry

Construction of Pisa Baptistry was begun in 1153 by Diotisalvi, architect of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The monument was renovated in 1278, according to an inscription between two pillars of the building. There is little information on the exact working methods used or on how the baptistry was built in its current form. The baptistry is surrounded by archlets decorated with heads and sculptures believed to be by Nicola and Giovanni Pisano and considered to be some of their most important works. At the centre of the monument is a beautiful baptismal font; the 1260 pulpit by the great Nicola Pisano is set close to the altar.

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