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Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta - Pisa in Tuscany

When Pisa, a rapidly growing city, was at the height of its power, it erected its most important Church, surrounded by the Bell Tower, the Baptistery and the Churchyard. The architecture of the four buildings was not the product of only one mind since the square is the result of the collaboration of the best artists who worked in different periods. Mixing the geometry of the classical architecture and the Islamic art, they invented a new style: the Romanesque style. This anticipation of the Florentine Renaissance found famous artists also in the figurative arts, such as Nicola and his son Giovanni, who influenced many artists, among whom Brunelleschi, Donatello and Michelangelo.

An open space outside the most ancient walls was chosen to house the Cathedral of the city. After the victorious expedition of Palermo (1063), the construction work began under the direction of Buscheto. In its original planning the Cathedral, dedicated to Our lady of the Assumption, joined the architectonic movement of the whole holy building around the dome; one hundred years later, another famous architect, Rainaldo, executed and directed the enlargement of the three bays, finished the splendid façade, built the nave and completed the Cathedral, which is still today a beautiful, unique building.

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