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Piazza
del Duomo:
Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta
The masterpiece of Pisan
Romanesque, the cathedral was founded in 1064, at the high point of
commercial and political power of Pisa. There are fused different
stylistic elements, classic, Lombard-Emilian, Byzantine and in
particular, Islamic. The three bronze doors of the façade, executed
after the disastrous fire of 1595, belong to the workshop of Giambologna.
The structure is of a Latin cross of five naves and apse and transept of
three naves. Of the medieval works there remain the extraordinary door
of San Ranieri, executed by Bonanno Pisano (1180) and in the great
mosaic in the apse, on which Cimabue also worked (1302). The masterpiece
of the Gothic sculpture is the pulpit by Giovanni Pisano (1302-1311) on
the panels of which are carved episodes of the life of Christ. The 27
paintings behind the high altar, with episodes from the Old and New
Testaments, were executed between the 16th and the 17th centuries by
major Tuscan painters, among which are Andrea del Sarto, il Sodoma and
Domenico Beccafumi.
Battistero di San Giovanni Battista
This extraordinary building
of Romanesque structure, enhanced by a rich Gothic decoration, was begun
in 1152 by Diotisalvi; after various interruptions, from 1260 the work
was taken up again under the direction of Nicola Pisano and afterwards
by his son Giovanni, to be finished only in 1386 with the erection of
the dome. The interior is characterized by a turn of columns alternating
with pilasters. At the center of the edifice rises the baptismal font by
Guido da Como (1246), shaped by an octagonal basin finely decorated. On
the left rises the pulpit of Nicola Pisano (1260): the splendid reliefs
that originally were painted and gilded are one of the most emblematic
examples of the “biblia pauperum”, of Bible of the Poor, that is, a
way to communicate through images to the many illiterate faithful
followers.
Campanile
Camposanto
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