The Baptistry, Duomo …. and Leaning Tower of Pisa
The Baptistry, Duomo and Leaning Tower in Pisa’s Campo dei Miracoli (Field of Miracles) which is a wide walled area, recognised as an” important centre of European medieval art and one of the finest architectural complexes in the world. In 1987 the whole square was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site
The round Romanesque Baptistry dedicated to St John the Baptist began in 1153 and was completed in 1363. It is 54,86m high with a circumference of 107,24m and is the largest Baptistry in Italy ..
The Duomo, dedicated to Santa Maria Assunta, is one of the finest Pisan-Romanesque buildings in Tuscany
Bronze doors replaced the original (1180) which were destroyed by fire in 1595 ..
Camposanto Monumentale (Monumental Cemetery) .. an oblong Gothic cloister built in 1278 ..
.. and then there is the Leaning Tower (Campanile/bell tower built for the Duomo)
Construction began in 1173 on sandy silt subsoil and started to tilt even before the 3rd storey was finished in 1274
Despite the shallow foundations, construction continued and was completed in 1350, when the tower tilted 1.4m from vertical
From this angle the tower looks straight …
By 1817 the tower was leaning 3.8m from vertical
By 1995 the tower was leaning 5.4m from vertical. The tower is now supported by a stone raft underneath the foundations
Statue of Angels ..
… and of course ….. you can’t leave Pisa without doing the customary holding-up-the-tower photo!
Trafalgar had arranged to take photographs for their 2014 catalogue .. hubby and I were included 🙂 yay !!! They used several couples and singles, from our tour group and the other ‘Best of Italy’ tour group and were to choose the best ones for the up-coming catalogue. Sadly, the photo they took of hubby and I wasn’t not chosen 🙁 However, they had promised to send us our photo from the mini photoshoot, but we never received them 🙁 so I can’t prove that we did, in fact, take part. I took pics of our fellow ‘chosen ones’ being arranged for the appropriate holding-up-the-tower and pushing-the-tower .. I didn’t take a pic of Rowan and Clare ‘pushing-the-tower’ …unfortunately for hubby and I (also ‘pushing-the-tower’ pic ) .. they were the ‘ chosen ones’ !
I don’t have the catalogue but I spotted an ad in the travel section of our local newspaper a month or two ago for the Trafalgar Costsavers Tours … and there they are !!! …
Panforte .. a traditional Italian dessert from Tuscany, containing nuts, honey, sugar, fruits and spices. Dates back to the 13th century … … rather rich but very delishhh!!!
Walking back to our coach through the throngs of stalls laden with souvenirs .. all made in China! .. hence I didn’t buy anything at all .. our next destination … a two night stopover in beautiful Florence .. next post
One Reply to “The Baptistry, Duomo …. and Leaning Tower of Pisa”
Visiting this spot, as far as history and goes, must be right up there with Rome. Wow, how I would love to be able to see this one day.