Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Before entering, study the three pairs of 16th-century
bronze doors
at the main entrance.
Designed by the school of Giambologna to replace the wooden originals destroyed (along
with most of the cathedral interior) by fire in 1596, the doors are quite spellbinding -
hours can be spent deciphering the biblical scenes illustrating the immaculate conception
of the Virgin and birth of Christ (central doors), the road to Calvary and crucifixion of
Christ etc, and the Ministry of Christ. Kids can play spot the rhino.
Inside, don't miss the extraordinary early-14th-century octagonal
pulpit
in the north
aisle. Sculpted from Carrara marble by Giovanni Pisano and featuring nude and heroic
figures, its depth of detail and heightening of feeling brought a new pictorial expression-
ism and life to Gothic sculpture. Pisano's work forms a striking contrast to the modern
pulpit and altar by Italian sculptor Giuliano Vangi, controversially installed in 2001.
Battistero
RELIGIOUS
(Baptistry; Piazza dei Miracoli; adult/reduced €5/3, combination ticket covering Battistero, Camposanto,
Museo dell'Opera del Duomo and Museo delle Sinópie 1/2/3/4 sights €5/7/8/9 (reduced €3/4/5/6);
8am-7.30pm summer, 10am-4.30pm winter)
The unusual round baptistry has one dome piled on
top of another, each roofed half in lead, half in tiles, and topped by a gilt bronze John the
Baptist (1395). Construction began in 1152, but the building was remodelled and contin-
ued by Nicola and Giovanni Pisano more than a century later and was finally completed in
the 14th century. The lower level of arcades is Pisan-Romanesque; the pinnacled upper
section and dome are Gothic.
Inside, the hexagonal marble
pulpit
(1259-60) by Nicola Pisano is the highlight. Pisan
scientist Galileo Galilei (who, so the story goes, came up with the laws of the pendulum
by watching a lamp in Pisa's cathedral swing), was baptised in the octagonal font (1246).
Don't leave without climbing to the
Upper Gallery
to listen to the custodian demonstrate
the double dome's remarkable acoustics and echo effects, which occurs every half-hour on
the hour/half-hour.
CEMETERY
Camposanto
(Piazza dei Miracoli; adult/reduced €5/3, combination ticket covering Battistero, Camposanto, Museo
dell'Opera del Duomo and Museo delle Sinópie 1/2/3/4 sights €5/7/8/9 (reduced €3/4/5/6); 8am-7.30pm
summer, 10am-4.30pm winter)
Soil shipped from Calvary during the Crusades is said to lie
within the white walls of this hauntingly beautiful final resting place for many prominent
