Pisa, Piazza del Duomo
Piazza del Duomo, Pisa, is one of seven inscribed UNESCO sites within the Tuscan Region of Italy. It is located near the coast on the western side of the country. It is a short train ride away from Florence, usually taking anywhere from 45 minutes to a little over an hour. There are numerous trains leaving Florence’s Santa Maria Novella Station a day that stop in Pisa.
The Piazza del Duomo was inscribed onto the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1987, with a small boundary modification in 2007. It is made up of four structures: the baptistry, the cathedral, the cemetery, and of course the campanile, or iconic “Leaning Tower of Pisa.” All of the structures in the piazza were constructed between the 11th and 14th centuries. The site met four criteria in order to be inscribed on the list. First, for the artistic treasures held within the walls of all four monuments and the way they are spatially situated. Second, for the unique demonstration of a distinct type of Romanesque architecture, known as Pisan Romanesque, that is found elsewhere in Tuscany. Third, for being a demonstration of medieval Christian architecture, as all four buildings were built for religious usage. Fourth, it was at this complex that Galileo Galilei conducted his research into the study of dynamics, including tests on falling objects from the top of the tower.
The Cathedral, called the Duomo of Santa Maria Assunta, was constructed first, the location chosen for its historical location as a river port. The architect of the cathedral, Buscheto di Giovanni Giudice, chose to create a white marble cathedral and used Arab architectural influences in the design and construction of the facade. The Baptistry was constructed centuries later, but designed to complement the design of the Cathedral while incorporating gothic design elements that were popular at the time. The medieval cemetery structure was constructed in the 13th century and sits at the north side of the main square. It was originally home to a number of medieval frescoes, but many were destroyed in a disastrous fire in the 1940s.
The real draw of the Piazza del Duomo, Pisa, however, is the iconic Leaning Tower. The tower was begun at the end of the 12th century, but the sinking lands that it was being built on severely hindered the architectural plans. Because of that, it took over 100 years to build. Since World War II, efforts to stabilize the tower were made, culminating in the removal of 38 cubic meters of soil from beneath it, which straightened the tower to the 4 degree tilt seen today. The tower reopened to the public in 2001 after eleven years of closure and in 2008, engineers announced that for the first time in history the tower had stopped moving. It was declared to be stable for the next 200 years. Today, the tower is open to the public to climb and the rest of the monuments can also be visited with a combined ticket.