PIAZZA DEI MIRACOLI, Cathedral Exterior

Completely isolated, Pisa's Cathedral stands on a large platform with stairs, like the temples of antiquity. Thus you can walk entirely around it, which I strongly recommend doing, to observe its decorative details and enjoy the fascinating variations of light and shadow on its marble surfaces.

Work on this Romanesque masterpiece dedicated to Santa Maria Assunta began in 1063. On the left side of the church you can see a Latin inscription solemnly recalling the event with the words: "This church was built by the citizens of Pisa: powerful, courageous, and famous".

As often happens in the great medieval cathedrals, its construction began at the back and ended with the façade over a century later. Its architecture will become the model for the entire Campo dei Miracoli, and some of its elements will be recreated in all the other square's monuments: simple volumes, overlapping arches, white and black striped marble, precious geometric inlays with recessed circles and diamonds in the walls....