Pisa trip
Pisa is world-renown thanks to iconic Leaning Tower, and this tends to be more or less the only thing that people know or care about, when it comes to Pisa, but the truth is that the Leaning Tower is just one of a trio of Romanesque buildings in the same piazza, and those are just some of the other sights and attractions that you can see while in Pisa.
One such architectural gem is the Chiesa di Snata Maria della Spina which is a wonderful example of Pisan-Gothic style. The church was built between 1223 and 1230 in order to house a thorn of Christ’s crown. The building has been deconsecrated but its wonderfully ornate exterior is still encrusted with tabernacles ans status while the interior is rather simple and almost spartan.
The Duomo in Pisa has a very interesting history and legacy, it was built with the spoils from an attack on an Arab fleet that entered Palermo in 1063, and the cathedral was built featuring alternating bands of green and cream marble which then became pretty much the floor blueprint for Romanesque churches all throughout the region of Tuscany. The actual dome of the church, was the first elliptical dome in Europe and it was added in 1380.
The Nazionale di San Matteo is not only a major repository of medieval masterpieces but the building itself is one, it is a former Benedictine convent built in the 13th century. The gallery itself features a wonderful collection of 14th and 15th century Pisan sculptures as well as a collection of painting from the Tuscan school.
Now even though this might seem like a somewhat strange type of sight, the Cemetery is hauntingly beautiful, a rather wonderful final resting place for many prominent Pisans. The soil here was shipped from Calvary during the Crusades and it is reputed to reduce bodies to bones within days.
