PIAZZA DEI MIRACOLI

The most imposing scenographic space in Italian Romanesque architecture. The Piazza dei Miracoli, a city within a city, dominated by the white marble of its monuments and the green of the surrounding meadow. For the Etruscans, this square was already considered an important religious center. Its complexes symbolize the stages of life: the baptistery, birth; the cathedral, life; and the Camposanto cemetery, death.

Also known as the campo or piazza del Duomo, the Piazza dei Miracoli offers an open, almost metaphysical dimension, in contrast to the usual enclosed space of traditional public squares. The word "miracles" is associated with this space, reflecting the city of Pisa's desire to demonstrate its wealth and power.

Opening hours: daily, November to February 10 a.m.-5 p.m., March 10 a.m.-6 p.m., April to September 8 a.m.-8 p.m., October 9 a.m.-7 p.m.

BATTISTERO SAN GIOVANNI

The ideal starting point for a visit to the Piazza dei Miracoli, Pisa's baptistery, dedicated to St. John the Baptist, is located on the west side of the cathedral. With a circumference of 107.25 m and a height of almost 55 m, it is the largest baptistery in Italy. Construction began in 1152 under the impetus of a talented architect named Diotisalvi, 90 years after the cathedral. Work was not completed until over two centuries later, in 1363. Its solid, perfectly circular shape and refined marble decoration, blending Romanesque-Pisan and Gothic styles on the upper floors, are impressive.

Covered in red tiles, the dome resembles that of the Templar church in Pisa. At the time of its construction, the baptistery had no roof. Rainwater therefore filled the baptismal font. The overflow drained onto the floor, which was sloped for this purpose. However, out of concern for the safety of the newborns being baptized (there were even reports of drowning...), the architects decided to build a cupola to correct the situation. The bronze statue crowning the dome represents St. John the Baptist and is attributed to Turino di Sano (1382-1427).

The surprisingly sober interior features twelve columns and, above all, the beautiful pulpit by Nicola Pisano (1220-1284), an important work of religious art symbolizing the beginnings of Italian Gothic. Octagonal in shape, it was built in 1260 and is surprisingly well placed. Detached from the walls, it seeks to occupy space. It should be read from base to top, evoking youth and ending with death.

On the second floor, the Gothic decoration of an elegant arcade surmounted by gables and pinnacles, inspired by the Florence Baptistery, is attributed to Nicola and Giovanni Pisano, and dates from the ^13th century.

A janitor helps visitors appreciate the building's remarkable acoustics, no doubt due to the marble, which repels sound waves rather than absorbing them, approximately every quarter of an hour in summer. Not to be missed!

DUOMO

This Romanesque-Pisan masterpiece, begun in 1064 and completed at the end of the ^12th century, has remained a benchmark for Tuscan architecture of subsequent periods. When completed, it was the largest cathedral in Europe. Just imagine!

The façade is adorned with four orders of loggias. Its decorative elements underline the grandeur of Pisa, then a powerful maritime republic, and include oriental elements such as the elliptical dome dating from 1380, the first of its kind in Europe.

The superb interior features five naves and sixty-eight granite columns from the island of Elba. The coffered ceiling, made of Lebanese cedar and decorated with 80 kg of gold, is not the original one, but dates from the late ^16th century. The apse features a mosaic of Christ (1302) by Cimabue. The cathedral, dedicated to Our Lady of the Assumption, also houses works by Giovanni Pisano, including a fine pulpit built between 1300 and 1311. The pulpit itself explains the phases of its construction. Some of its panels offer a true snapshot of the activity in the square at the time. The precision of the carving, the volume of the figures and the depiction of the massacre of innocents make this pulpit an extremely lively work.

TORRE PENDANTE

Unmissable and majestic, the Tower of Pisa, with its legendary inclination, is one of Europe's most famous and most visited monuments. Dating from 1173, it was begun by the architect and sculptor Bonanno Pisano (although doubts remain as to the true identity of the designer). Located to the right of the dome, in the aptly-named Piazza dei Miracoli, it's THE symbol of the city, which always looks down on you! The tower is better known for its inclination than for its elegant architecture. Yet it's a superb Romanesque building, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, housing seven bells and eight storeys of white marble vaulted arcades. The leaning tower was originally intended as a bell tower for Pisa Cathedral.

Standing 58.5 metres high, the tower declined from the moment it was founded in 1173, sinking 4.5 metres from its vertical axis in 1372. This was due to the nature of the soil in which the tower's foundations were laid. Pisa lies on an alluvial plain, and the soil is clayey and spongy. To remedy this, the four upper floors were laid diagonally to compensate for the slope. Projects to prevent the tower from collapsing followed one another... Malicious tongues say that the Pisan authorities are doing everything in their power to keep it leaning in order to attract the public (millions of tourists every year!).

The leaning tower was used for experiments by the famous astronomer and physicist Galileo Galilei. The story goes that he launched two cannonballs of different weights from the top of the tower to prove that their fall times were not related to their masses. Heavy and light objects fell at the same speed!

The most courageous will attempt to climb this famous tower, which seems to defy the laws of balance. You'll feel as if you're swaying, with a paradoxical sense of both power and fragility. To do so, you have to climb the eight floors and 273 steps (yes, we counted!). The view is superb and dizzying. It's a (cultural) experience not to be missed!

CAMPOSANTO

Often forgotten, Camposanto's Gothic cemetery also holds its share of symbols. It was the last monument to be erected in the square, and its long marble wall marks the northern boundary. It was founded in 1277 to house the tombs previously scattered around the cathedral. From the ^16th century onwards, the cemetery housed the tombs of the professors of Pisa's Athenaeum, as well as members of the Medici family.

The arcades seem to play with the wind, as if the architects wanted to allow the spirits to visit the site. ^{Fourteenth-century} frescoes, mostly by two great artists, Francesco Traini and Bonamico Buffalmacco, adorn the interior walls of this cemetery, which resembles an immense cloister. Not to be missed, in the Ammanatti chapel, are the frescoes of the Trionfo della Morte, created in the ^14th century by an anonymous artist and which inspired Liszt's composition Totentanz, as well as the L'Antico Testamento cycle by Benozzo Gozzoli.

MUSEO DELL'OPERA DEL DUOMO

Opened in 1986, this museum preserves significant works from Pisa's cathedral and baptistery. In particular, sculptures from the ^11th and 16th^centuries , and works by Giovanni Pisano, including a beautiful Madonna and Child and a magnificent polychrome Christ.

MUSEO DELLE SINOPIE

The hidden part of the frescoes! Sinopie are preparatory drawings for frescoes (made from a red clay called sinopia). A precious testimony to artists such as Bonamico Buffalmacco, Taddeo Gaddi and Pietro di Puccio da Orvieto. The museum exhibits a number of important works, including the Last Judgment and the Crucifixion, then executed on the walls of the Camposanto. A unique collection, brought to light after a fire during the Second World War.