Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
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 controver-
sial 2001 pulpit and altar by Italian sculptor Giuliano Vangi.
LOCAL KNOWLEDGE
PISAN PLAY
Art in Pisa comes in all shapes and sizes. Enter Keith Haring's
Tuttomondo
(1989), the last wall mural
the American pop artist painted - on the facade of a convent in Pisa - months before his death in
1990. Play the Pisan: sip a cocktail on the wooden-decking terrace of the hip
Keith
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
(
www.keithcafe.com
; Via Zandonai 4; 7am-11pm; ) cafe-art shop across from
the wall and lament the fading, weather-beaten colours of Haring's 30 signature prancing dancing
men. Free wi-fi, art exhibitions, knitting evenings, puzzle nights, superb coffee and one of the funkiest
outdoor spaces in town ensures the place buzzes.
Baptistry
(Piazza dei Miracoli; adult/reduced €5/3; 8am-8pm summer, 10am-5pm 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 it was re-
modelled and continued by Nicola and Giovanni Pisano more than a century later and fi-
nally 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
(1260) by Nicola Pisano is the highlight. Pisan sci-
entist 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, every half-hour on the half-
hour.
RELIGIOUS
Camposanto
MAP
CEMETERY
GOOGLE MAP
