Pisa is a city and comune in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower, the city contains more than twenty other historic churches, several medieval palaces, and bridges across the Arno. Much of the city's architecture was financed from its history as one of the Italian maritime republics.
Lucca is a city and comune in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the Serchio River, in a fertile plain near the Ligurian Sea. The city has a population of about 89,000, while its province has a population of 383,957.
The Leaning Tower of Pisa, or simply the Tower of Pisa, is the campanile, or freestanding bell tower, of Pisa Cathedral. It is known for its nearly four-degree lean, the result of an unstable foundation. The tower is one of three structures in the Pisa's Cathedral Square, which includes the cathedral and Pisa Baptistry.
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of medieval Europe that was predominant in the 11th and 12th centuries. The style eventually developed into the Gothic style with the shape of the arches providing a simple distinction: the Romanesque is characterized by semicircular arches, while the Gothic is marked by the pointed arches. The Romanesque emerged nearly simultaneously in multiple countries ; its examples can be found across the continent, making it the first pan-European architectural style since Imperial Roman architecture. Similarly to Gothic, the name of the style was transferred onto the contemporary Romanesque art.
The Piazza dei Miracoli, formally known as Piazza del Duomo, is a walled 8.87-hectare (21.9-acre) compound in central Pisa, Tuscany, Italy, recognized as an important center of European medieval art and one of the finest architectural complexes in the world. It was all owned by the Catholic Church and is dominated by four great religious edifices: Pisa Cathedral, the Pisa Baptistery, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and the Camposanto Monumentale. Partly paved and partly grassed, the Piazza dei Miracoli is also the site of the Ospedale Nuovo di Santo Spirito, which now houses the Sinopias Museum and the Cathedral Museum.
The Florence Baptistery, also known as the Baptistery of Saint John, is a religious building in Florence, Italy, and has the status of a minor basilica. The octagonal baptistery stands in both the Piazza del Duomo and the Piazza San Giovanni, across from Florence Cathedral and the Campanile di Giotto.
The province of Lucca is a province in the Tuscany region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Lucca.
The Basilica of San Frediano is a Romanesque church in Lucca, Italy, situated on the Piazza San Frediano.
The Pisa Baptistery of St. John is a Roman Catholic ecclesiastical building in Pisa, Italy. Construction started in 1152 to replace an older baptistery, and when it was completed in 1363, it became the second building, in chronological order, in the Piazza dei Miracoli, near the Duomo di Pisa and the cathedral's free-standing campanile, the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa. The baptistery was designed by Diotisalvi, whose signature can be read on two pillars inside the building, with the date 1153.
The Republic of Pisa was an independent state existing from the 11th to the 15th century and centered on the Tuscan city of Pisa. It rose to become an economic powerhouse, a commercial center whose merchants dominated Mediterranean and Italian trade for a century, before being surpassed and superseded by the Republic of Genoa.
Pisa Cathedral is a medieval Catholic cathedral dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, in the Piazza dei Miracoli in Pisa, Italy, the oldest of the three structures in the plaza followed by the Pisa Baptistry and the Campanile known as the Leaning Tower of Pisa. The cathedral is a notable example of Romanesque architecture, in particular the style known as Pisan Romanesque. Consecrated in 1118, it is the seat of the Archbishop of Pisa. Construction began in 1063 and was completed in 1092. Additional enlargements and a new facade were built in the 12th century and the roof was replaced after damage from a fire in 1595.
San Frediano is a Romanesque-style Roman Catholic church in Pisa, Tuscany, Italy. It now functions as the official church of the University of Pisa.
San Paolo a Ripa d'Arno is a Roman Catholic church in Pisa, region of Tuscany, Italy. It is a pre-eminent example of Tuscan Romanesque church architecture. The church is also locally known as Duomo vecchio.
San Pietro in Vinculis is a Romanesque-style, Roman Catholic church in Pisa, region of Tuscany, Italy.
Pistoia Cathedral, or Cathedral of Saint Zeno is the main religious building of Pistoia, Tuscany, central Italy, located in the Piazza del Duomo in the centre of the city. It is the seat of the Bishop of Pistoia and is dedicated to Saint Zeno of Verona.
Carrara Cathedral is a Roman Catholic church, dedicated to Saint Andrew, in the town of Carrara, located in central Italy. Most of the exterior, and much of the interior, is covered in the local Carrara marble.
Dolianova Cathedral, dedicated to Saint Pantaleon, is a Roman Catholic cathedral church in the historical center of Dolianova, Sardinia, Italy. It is one of the main Romanesque buildings in the island. Formerly the episcopal seat of the diocese of Dolia, it is now a co-cathedral in the Archdiocese of Cagliari.
Cagliari Cathedral is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy, dedicated to the Virgin Mary and to Saint Cecilia. It is the seat of the archbishop of Cagliari.
Buscheto or Busketus was an Italian architect. He designed the plans for Pisa's Cathedral Square and thus created the distinct Pisan Romanesque design style used throughout the square. Buscheto had unitary vision fusing together architectural ideas of classical Rome, Byzantine, Arab, and Lombard Romanesque architectures, placing him amongst the best architects of the 11th and 12th centuries.
Rainaldo was a 12th-century architect in Pisa. He is assumed to be the one who completed the work on the Pisa Cathedral started by Buscheto. The attribution is based on his own declaration left on the façade of the cathedral that defined the Pisan Romanesque style. Rainaldo, together with Buscheto, is therefore considered a creator of this influential style.
