Art

The Cathedral Complex is situated outside the main city of Pisa, in the Field of Miracles or Campo dei Miracoli. Approaching from the west, the Baptistery appears first, followed by the Cathedral or Duomo shaped like a cross (cruciform), the Leaning Bell tower or Campanile and the cemetery or Camposanto to the north. The free standing baptistery and campanile are characteristic to Italian structures.

Pisa in the 11th century was a thriving maritime town with a strong navy. Between 1016 and 1062, Pisan navy made several conquests and in 1063, it triumphed over the Saracens at the port of Palermo. It was decided that the spoils of war would be used to construct a monument that would celebrate the glory of God and bring pride to the town. Thus began the construction of the Cathedral.

Cathedral or Duomo  The cathedral seems to closely resemble the Early Christian basilica with its wooden roof, clerestory (above the nave) and columnar arcade but its cruciform design with an apse, crossing dome and arcaded galleries distinguish it as Romanesque.1 Romanesque was the architectural style during 800-1300 AD.  It was characterized by the presence of rounded arches (a design allowing the construction of wide open naves central portion of the church by distributing the load of the ceilings and walls over the arch and down the pillars to the ground), thick walls and blind arcades (range of arches with diamond shaped decorations, carried by columns and piers and attached to a wall).  The striped marble effect of the grey and white stones and the stacked blind faade (open air loggias rooms with one side open to the air stacked on columns of different styles from three to five levels) give it the unique Pisan Romanesque look. 2

In comparison with Speyer Cathedral of Milan and Durham cathedral, Pisas Cathedral has a wooden roof instead of a groin or rib groin vault. (A groin vault is an architectural design allowing the presence of large windows in the nave, a technique mastered by the 11th century masons by using cut stone blocks held together by mortar).2. A similarity shared with the cathedral at Lucca is the faade with its multi storied arcade and marble encrustation.

Campanile or Bell tower  The Pisan Romanesque style is visible at the lower level and arcaded galleries in marble are seen in the upper six levels. The construction started in 1173 and after several delays was completed in 1350 with addition of the belfry.

The lean was discovered during the initial construction and several delays allowed the building to settle and not topple. This lean was due to the clayey nature of the soil and a shallow foundation. Attempts to correct the tilt were made by using larger stones on the south side of the upper three levels in contrast to the north cement injected to the foundation to make it waterproof but they were futile. In 1990, 600 tons of lead was used as counter weight on the northern side which prevented the tower from leaning further. Holes were drilled below the northern side, removing the soil causing the tower to move back to its inclination of 1838.3 The idea is to keep the Pisa leaning safely for the next 200 years.

The repeated theme of stripes of marble and blind arcades especially on the lower part is seen on the Cathedral, Campanile and Baptistery giving the entire complex an architectural coherence. Thus, the cathedral complex continues to bring credit and prosperity to the Pisans even in the 21st century.

The View of the Cathedral Complex, Pisa with the Baptistery in the foreground, followed by the cathedral and Campanile at the back.

The cathedrals faade with its stacked blind arcade

The Campanile or Leaning Tower of Pisa with its six floors of arcaded galleries and belfry at the top.