Everyone was excited, we finally get to see, touch, experience & even climb the tower of Pisa. We met our tour group close by and walked to our bus. There was only 17 of us so it was bearable. The guide on this trip was amazing in knowledge. Throughout the whole journey from Florence to Pisa, he gave s the history of Florence, told us much about each province we crossed. I honestly learnt so much on this trip.
The kids got so excited when they saw the tower of Pisa from a distance. We stopped and it was quite a walk to get to the Piazza dei Miracoli (Miracle Square). The crowd there was unbelievable. We were transferred off to another guide.
The first place we went to was the cathedral. The massive bronze main doors were made in the workshops of Giambologna, replacing the original doors destroyed in a fire in 1595. The central door was in bronze and made around 1180 by Bonanno Pisano, while the other two were probably in wood. However worshippers never used the façade doors to enter, instead entering by way of the Porta di San Ranieri (St. Ranieri's Door), in front of the Leaning Tower, made in around 1180 by Bonanno Pisano.
Above the doors there are four rows of open galleries with, on top, statues of Madonna with Child and, on the corners, the Four evangelists.
Also in the façade we can find the tomb of Busketo (on the left side) and an inscription about the foundation of the Cathedral and the victorious battle against Saracens.
At the east end of the exterior, high on a column rising from the gable is a modern replica of the Pisa Griffin, the largest Islamic metal sculpture known, the original of which was placed there probably in the 11th or 12th century, and is now in the Cathedral Museum.
The interior is faced with black and white marble and has a gilded ceiling and a frescoed dome. It was largely redecorated after a fire in 1595, which destroyed most of the Renaissance art works.
Fortunately, the impressive mosaic, in the apse, of Christ in Majesty, flanked by the Blessed Virgin and St. John the Evangelist, survived the fire. It evokes the mosaics in the church of Monreale, Sicily. Although it is said that the mosaic was done by Cimabue, only the head of St. John was done by the artist in 1302 and was his last work, since he died in Pisa in the same year. The cupola, at the intersection of the nave and the transept, was decorated by Riminaldi showing the ascension of the Blessed Virgin.
Galileo is believed to have formulated his theory about the movement of a pendulum by watching the swinging of the incense lamp (not the present one) hanging from the ceiling of the nave. That lamp, smaller and simpler than the present one, it is now kept in the Camposanto, in the Aulla chapel.
The impressive granite Corinthian columns between the nave and the aisle came originally from the mosque of Palermo, captured by the Pisans in 1063.
The coffer ceiling of the nave was replaced after the fire of 1595. The present gold-decorated ceiling carries the coat of arms of the Medici.
The elaborately carved pulpit (1302–1310), which also survived the fire, was made by Giovanni Pisano and is one the masterworks of medieval sculpture. It was packed away during the redecoration and was not rediscovered and re-erected until 1926. The pulpit is supported by plain columns (two of which mounted on lions sculptures) on one side and by caryatids and a telamon on the other: the latter represent St. Michael, the Evangelists, the four cardinal virtues flanking the Church, and a bold, naturalistic depiction of a naked Hercules. A central plinth with the liberal arts supports the four theological virtues.
The present day reconstruction of the pulpit is not the correct one. Now it lies not in the same original position, that was nearer the main altar, and the disposition of the columns and the panels are not the original ones. Also the original stairs (maybe in marble) were lost.
The upper part has nine panels dramatic showing scenes from the New Testament, carved in white marble with a chiaroscuro effect and separated by figures of prophets: Annunciation, Massacre of the Innocents, Nativity, Adoration of the Magi, Flight into Egypt, Crucifixion, and two panels of the Last Judgement.
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.
Pope Gregory VIII was also buried in the cathedral. The fire in 1595 destroyed his tomb.
The Cathedral has a prominent role in determining the beginning of the Pisan New Year. Between the tenth century and 1749, when the Tuscan calendar was reformed, Pisa used its own calendar, in which the first day of the year on March 25, which is the day of the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary. The Pisan New Year begins 9 months before the ordinary one. The exact moment is determined by a ray of sun that, through a window on the left side, hit a shelf egg-shaped on the right side, just above the pulpit by Giovanni Pisano. This occurs at noon.
In the Cathedral also can be found some relics brought during the Crusades: the remains of three Saints (Abibo, Gamaliel and Nicodemus) and a vase that it is said to be one of the jars of Cana.
The building, as have several in Pisa, has tilted slightly since its construction. - Wikipedia
Our tour included the climb up the leaning tower of Pisa. The stairs were narrow and there was not railing to hang on to. It was enough for just one person but occationally you have people decending. They had landings which you could stop and catch your breath and a little viewing window. Once you reach the top, the view was amazing. It is quite daunting with the tilt when you do look down as you get the feeling that you are going to fall. Unfortunately the fencing put up on the top hindered good photography shots but I guess safety is better than beauty?!?
Upon our climb down which was a lot easier, we did take a lot of trick photography as you usually do at such places. I scored myself a beautiful image of the leaning tower of Pisa in the form of a light at one of their gift shops. Today it sits at our dining buffet and looks amazing when lit up.
We reached Florence later that day and set out to find "David". After walking for ages (our legs feeling like jelly after the Pisa climb and the kids whinging), we found the entrance (it was tricky) but when we saw the queue, we knew we were at the right place. It was 4pm and we had wanted to get to a Pizza & Gelato making class at 6pm, hence we decided against standing in the queue and giving "David' a miss. This alone warrants another visit to Florence !!
We walk all the way back to the Duomo, taking pictures again not game to trust our legs for another climb, we found our way back to Florencetown the tour group which were organising the Pizza making classes. To our horror, they were fully booked !! We were now too late to go stand in the queue to see "David", crushed we couldn't do the class when we had been told during our Cinque Terra Tour that we should be able to get in as we were back too late to make a booking and we left for Pisa early the next day - dashed !!! Our hotel staff tried to find us another place which did something similar, but no luck with that too.
Lessons learnt - always book !! Now we just have to come back to Florence again.
