Campo dei Miracoli, Pisa

The Campo Dei Miracoli is famous for the Leaning Tower of Pisa and it is amazing, but there are two other buildings you should not miss while you are in Pisa.

My journal entry for the Campo Santo: We started at the Campo Santo (cemetery) and walked through the cloister-like building that holds sculptures, sarcophagi and frescoes. The Last Judgement fresco is really frightening . . . teens today would love it . . . much better than a horror movie and twice as violent!

It was/is a cemetery so you see tombs and even walk on them.

In the Museo delle Sinopie (at the Campo dei Miracoli), you can see several big panels. These panels are placed at three different floors, and there is an elevator for the ones which have trouble climbing the steps, or the ones which are tired of climbing the leaning tower.

In fact these panels are Sinopites, this are preparatory drawings used for the large frescoes painted immediately afterwards in the Cemetery (Campo Santo) on rough plaster.

The name Sinopites originates from the town of Sinope in Asia where the coloured material used to make the drawings on the walls came from.

Some more Sinopites in my Museum - travelogue.

In a previous tip I have already told you about the ancient walls which surrounded the city, these fortified walls can be seen on several places in the city.

You can also see these walls at the Piazzo dei Miracoli, just in the corner behind the Battistero.

The building of these walls started in 1155 and was finished with the Saint Mary tower. Part of this fortified wall and the Saint Mary tower can be visited.

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Campo dei Miracoli is the one giant square of Pisa. At the ticket booths, which are very easy to find, you have a choice of buying individual tickets for sights or a combo for a better deal. I believe you can combine your choice of 5: the cathedral, the bapistry, the cemetery, or either of the 2 museums. I chose a combo of 3: the cemetery, the bapistry, and the cathedral. This costs about 8 euro. The leaning tower is never included. This costs 15 euro to climb and I am told you are allowed limited time inside.

If you do choose the cemetery, the bapistry, and the cathedral, see them in that order. The cemetery was very quiet and very empty at peak tour hours. The bapistry is very simply done but the acoustics are the real attraction. The Cathedral was very beautiful and should be saved for last simply because it out shines the others.

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I have to admit, I am a 35-years-old-italian and I never went to Pisa to see its leaning tower before August 2007. Do you know that the square was so "renamed" thanks to Gabriele D'Annunzio? If you can read Italian, do not miss his poetry...Campo dei Miracoli is so breathtaking that you have to go, also just to see it. The square is very huge and covered by thousands of tourists and all things connected with them: souvenirs' shops, tourist restaurants, (how can I forget a restaurant called "Il turista"? Unforgettable) occasional sellers of everything a tourist there may need (umbrella if it is raning, sun umbrella if it is very sunny....). It's not necessary to say to pay attention to pickpockets....
Anyway, Campo dei Miracoli offers one of the beautiful church I've never seen in my life (said by an Italian, it has a great value): its Dome is spectacular. I know, I know...It' s not fare to pay to go inside but please remind that Pisa richness is only this square.
First of all: try to arrive as soon as you can. We arrive at 10.15 am and it was very crowded. At lunch time it can be better but forget to see the square completely empty. Once arriving, before taking all photos you're exited to take, go and buy the tickets. The Tower itsself costs 15 € each. It's really expensive but the restoration works lasted years and (I was said) Pisa has to repay them. Moreover, you'll be assigned a time to go in. For 8 € you'll have the opportunity to go in the Dome (YOU HAVE TO), the Baptisterium (a bit disappointing after the church, nicer outside than inside) and the Cemetery (also very nice).
Besides Campo dei Miracoli, do not forget that Pisa has one of the most famous University in Italy: the Scuola Normale. To get a place there, you have to be very smart and pass very strong examination. So, if you really want to taste Pisan atmosphere, choose a period of the year where Universities are open. the Scuola Normale building is also nice to see.

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Piazza dei Miracoli - Square of Miracles is a wide, walled area at the heart of the city of Pisa. It is otherwise known as The Piazza del Duomo - Cathedral Square.

Partly paved and partly grassed, it is dominated by four great religious edifices: the Duomo, the Leaning Tower (the cathedral's campanile), the Baptistery and the Camposanto.

The Leaning Tower of Pisa - Torre pendente di Pisa is the campanile, or freestanding bell tower, of the cathedral of the Italian city of Pisa. It is situated behind the Cathedral and it is the third structure by time in Pisa's Piazza dei Miracoli.
Although intended to stand vertically, the tower began leaning to the southeast soon after the onset of construction in 1173 due to a poorly laid foundation and loose substrate that has allowed the foundation to shift direction.
The height of the tower is 55.86 m from the ground on the lowest side and 56.70 m on the highest side. The width of the walls at the base is 4.09 m and at the top 2.48 m. The tower has 294 steps, the seventh floor has two less steps on the north-facing staircase. The tower leans at an angle of 3.97 degrees. This means that the top of the tower is 3.9 meters from where it would stand if the tower were perfectly vertical.

Duomo is the medieval cathedral, entitled to Santa Maria Assunta (St. Mary of the Assumption). This is a five-naved cathedral with a three-naved transept.
The church also contains the bones of St Ranieri, Pisa's patron saint, and the tomb of the Holy Roman Emperor Henry VII, carved by Tino da Camaino in 1315. That tomb, originally in the apse just behind the main altar, was disassembled and changed position many times during the years for political reasons. At last the sarcophagus is still in the Cathedral, but some of the statues were put in the Camposanto or in the top of the façade of the church. The original statues now are in the Museum of the Opera del Duomo.

The Baptistery, dedicated to St. John the Baptist, stands opposite the west end of the Duomo. The round Romanesque building was begun in the mid 12th century. It was built in Romanesque style by an architect known as Diotisalvi (God Save You), who worked also in the church of the Holy Sepulchre in the city.
It is the largest baptistery in Italy. Its circumference measures 107.25 m. Taking into account the statue of St. John the Baptist (attributed to Turino di Sano) on top of the dome, it is even a few centimetres higher than the Leaning Tower.

The Camposanto monumentale (monumental cemetery) lies at the northern edge of the Square. It is a walled cemetery, which many claim is the most beautiful cemetery in the world. It is said to have been built around a shipload of sacred soil from Golgotha, brought back to Pisa from the Fourth Crusade by Ubaldo de' Lanfranchi, archbishop of Pisa in the 12th century.
It contained a huge collection of Roman sculptures and sarcophagi, but now there are only 84 left.

This beautiful square is the highlight of everybody’s Pisa visit with the Baptisteri, the leaning campanile and the Duomo. Moreover you find a multitude of souvenir-shops, some very expensive cafés and, of course, too many tourists! As we had an early flight, we came here very early in the morning, but even at 9:00 am on a Sunday, many tourists were strolling around. Nevertheless you have to come here and admire the buildings, which are definitely worth a visit and the atmosphere of the campo in general.

Yes, there are lots of tourists, but most of them won't go inside. Be different; visit the Baptistry to the Duomo in Pisa. It doesn't take long and is definitely worthwhile.

Then . . . you can go climb the tower!