Pisa

20 July 2011

It was a sunny day, the best of the 3 days in Lucca and Pisa.  The beauty of the buildings shown to its best.  We got off a station prior to the main railway station in Pisa, getting through a normal street in the town, the baptistery came in sight, became concrete and admirable.  The famous building group is situated on a lawn, white marble on the green, a soothing contrast - gorgeous!

Everywhere is full of people.  All came for the leaning tower. It is really stunning.  Our attention was always on the tower and shot it from all prespectives.  Most tourists were posting as resisting / supporting the 'falling' tower or gave it a kick to accelerate the fall.  We?  We did not take such post.  It costs 17 Euro to climb the tower.  We did not but bought a 10 Euro joint ticket to appreciate the Sinopia, Duomo, baptistery, Camposanto and the cathedral museum.

Frescoes can withstand time but must be painted on a fresh base.  It means they have to be completed quickly. Once they are dry, they cannot be touched up anymore.  To overcome this disadvantage, a sketch or underdrawing (sinopia, a town at the shores of the Black Sea providing the reddish-brown pigments) is drawn on the wall.  Pisa Sinopia shows the underdrawings of the Camposanto frescoes, which was mostly damaged in 1944.  The sinopia was removed and restored.  Now it is displayed in a high-ceiling chamber covering two floors. 

Having said about the Camposanto, here shows some frescoes.  The rich showed their dislike of the stinking corpse by using their hand to block the smell.  The other shows the dead suffering in the hell. This is part of the famous frescoes depicting the Triumph of Death, by Buffalmacco.  It is one of the most insteresting examples of 14C Italian painting.  It was probably painted shortly after the plague epidemic of 1348, illustrates the vanity of earthly pleasure and the shortness of life.

Not getting less attention than the leaning tower is the cathedral. The simple Pisan styled Romanesque is clean and classic. White and pastel green marble demonstrates elegance. See the external art decoration, motifs, bronze doors, sculpture.... It is so beautiful!  The interior has got impressive gaint nave.  Of special attention is a spendid pulpit by Giovanni Pisano, a master piece of strength and delicacy.



Pisa Baptistery is majestic, both in terms of the artistic value and the immense height.  The first two levels were designed in the Pisan Romanesque style.  The second floor is decidedly Gothic flavour. 

The exterior is beautified with exquisite sculpture and columns. The interior is impressive of the giant height and the amount of light penetrated in.  The pulpit is designed by Nicola Pisano.

The Duomo Museum houses a nice collections of art.  First and foremost, you've got a fabulous view of the learning tower. The tour in the museum starts with funeral monuments.  The Treasury displays two 12C Limoges reliquaries (11C ivory chest, a small 12C silver gilt Crucifix), sculptures, colourful and artistic antique books.

Pisa's beauty is not limited to the Leaning Tower but pretty squares, churches dotted around the city and its river.  Spacious and tranquil Piazza dei Cavalieri lies in the heart of this medival town.  It is frequented by university students. The square is dominated by the palazzo dei Cavalieri, commissioned by Cosimo I de'Medici, an authoritarian ruler of Tuscany. The statue in the middle of the square demonstrates his power and mightiness.

Head to the river and you will soon find the elegant facade of Santa Maria dells Spina built of white marble standing elegantly, proudly and admirably as another landmark of Pisa.  It is a little gem of the city, suggested by its name, for its proximity to the river, small size and wonder Gothic pinnacles.