“Piazza dei Miracoli” in Pisa, Cathedral Square UNESCO World Heritage Site

Pisa Cathedral Square is located northwest of the city. Within the square, known as Piazza dei Miracoli, are the city’s most important monuments: the Cathedral, the Baptistery, the Campo Santo, and the Leaning Tower, also known as the Tower of Pisa. Since 1987, Pisa Cathedral Square has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Pisa Cathedral Square is pedestrianized, covered, and features a large lawn.

The Cathedral of Pisa

The Cathedral of Pisa is the Duomo of Santa Maria Assunta. Located in the center of Piazza dei Miracoli, it is a true tribute to Pisan Romanesque style. It dates back to 1063 and was designed by the architect Buscheto. It combines various stylistic elements: classical, Lombard-Emilian, Byzantine, and especially Islamic, reflecting the international presence of Pisan merchants at that time. Starting in 2000, access to the Cathedral of Pisa has been regulated, differentiating tourist visits from religious ones. Visiting hours were established, and an entrance ticket was introduced, turning the cathedral into a museum-like monument. This allows better tourist enjoyment of the building without interfering with its religious function and ensures better preservation of the artwork it houses.

The Tower of Pisa, the Leaning Tower

The so-called Leaning Tower of Pisa (Leaning Tower or Tower of Pisa) is the bell tower of the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta, in Cathedral Square, today the most famous monument there due to its characteristic tilt. It is a freestanding bell tower about 56 meters tall above ground (58.36 meters including the foundation level), built over two centuries, from the 12th to the 14th century.

Weighing 14,453 tons, its predominant feature is the curved line, with blind arcade rings and six floors of open galleries. Its tilt is due to ground subsidence that occurred during the early stages of construction. The building’s current inclination measures 3.97° from the vertical axis.

The Tower of Pisa remains balanced because the vertical line passing through its center of mass falls within its base of support.
It has been proposed as one of the seven wonders of the modern world. After years of studies and works to reduce its inclination and secure it, the tower was reopened to the public in the summer of 2001. Inside, a staircase of 294 steps leads to the top, offering a unique view of the Square and the entire city of Pisa.

Construction began in August 1173 and continued with two long interruptions for about two hundred years. The foundation of the building is attributed to Bonanno Pisano, who also created the cathedral’s bronze doors. The construction of the bell chamber is attributed to Giovanni di Simone in the 14th century. Already during construction, the tower began to lean due to ground subsidence. The Tower of Pisa is off-limits to children under 8 years old; children between 8-12 years must be accompanied by hand during the visit; minors under 18 must be accompanied by adults.

The Baptistery of Pisa

The Baptistery of Pisa is a monument open to the public under conditions similar to a museum, part of the museums and monuments complex of the Opera Primaziale Pisana. Besides the architectural structures, visitors can see important artworks preserved inside.

Visitors can ascend to the galleries on the first floor to enjoy a beautiful panorama of the Piazza dei Miracoli. In the history of the entire monumental complex’s construction at Pisa Cathedral Square, the Baptistery represents the first essential stage in the formation of the Christian, in a path that accompanies from birth to death, from Baptism to awareness, to post mortem rest, all concentrated in the space of Piazza dei Miracoli and marked by the architectural masterpieces that compose it.

Monumental Camposanto of Pisa

The Monumental Camposanto of Pisa, built starting in 1278 by Giovanni di Simone, used to house an extraordinary cycle of frescoes from the 14th and 15th centuries (Taddeo Gaddi, Andrea Bonaiuti, the Master of the Triumph of Death, Benozzo Gozzoli), which suffered serious damage during the last world war.

After the delicate restoration interventions that have returned these precious pieces of medieval and early Renaissance painting to us, the frescoes, already seriously compromised by a long and troubled history, are now approaching their natural and definitive restoration, returning to decorate the monumental walls of the Camposanto, their original setting and therefore the only one able to restore the majesty of a cycle that was unparalleled for its time.

The Opera Primaziale Pisana, in agreement with the Works Directorate, is planning a public presentation of the works carried out and to be carried out, with the necessary painting restoration, of the frescoes cycle in 2006, and visitors will soon be able to admire the Camposanto again in its full structure and decoration integrity. There are also 84 ancient sarcophagi and many medieval funerary monuments preserved there.