Architecture of Pisa

The maritime Republic of Pisa was one of the central cities of Europe in the High Middle Ages. The port of Pisa was a gateway for international commerce and a junction for Mediterranean travel. Pilgrims, merchants and crusaders waited in Pisa for embarkations to North Africa and the Holy Land, making the city a multinational crossroads. Pisa’s financial and political flowering was expressed in monumental architecture throughout the 11th to the 13th centuries. In the northwestern corner of the city, in today’s Piazza del Duomo, the Late Antique Church of Santa Reparata was replaced by a grand Romanesque cathedral (1064). West of the cathedral a monumental round baptistery replaced an octagonal Late Antique one (1153), perhaps as homage to Pisa’s participation in the First Crusade. In the 13th (or 14th century according to new scholarship) a monumental cemetery known as the “Camposanto” was built north of the cathedral. The great buildings of the Piazza were founded in the height of political and naval power in the 11th to 13th centuries, but received sculptural and fresco decoration even in the greatest time of turmoil until the end of the 15th century. In 1325 Pisa lost dominion over Sardinia and ultimately lost its freedom. Following a failed rebellion in 1405 the city was taken over by Florence. Despite the loss of power and even freedom artistic patronage in the Piazza continued. The art and architecture of the Piazza del Duomo monuments has been a major focus of scholarly attention. However, research has also addressed other medieval churches such as San Michele in Borgo (1016), San Matteo (1027 or 1028), San Paolo a Ripa d’Arno and San Zeno (both documented after 1027), the Hospitaller octagonal church of San Sepolcro (c. 1113) and the oratory of Santa Maria della Spina (founded 1230). Major scholarship has been dedicated to other aspects of Pisa’s past—commercial, social, religious, and political. Scholarship of these complementary historical issues is included here only when it pertains directly to architecture and urbanism. Research of architectural ornament—especially sculpture and fresco—also feature only when analyzed in the broader context of the building. Architectural furnishings in Pisa, such as Nicola Pisano’s pulpit or Guido Bigarelli da Como’s font in the baptistery, are some of the most celebrated pieces of Italian sculpture. Scholarship of these often directly complements the study of their respective architectural settings.