Piazza dei Miracoli

Fun Facts

• • Galileo Galilei is said to have developed his theory of pendulum isochronism while observing a swinging lamp inside the Cathedral, though the original lamp was replaced long ago.
• • In 1595, a major fire devastated the interior of the Cathedral, destroying most of the medieval artwork, though the famous mosaic attributed to Cimabue miraculously survived.
• • The Baptistery is the largest in Italy and features a unique conical dome that provides it with such perfect acoustics that the interior sounds like a giant organ.
• • The Camposanto was built to house sacred soil from the Holy Land, which was supposedly brought back by ships after the Third Crusade.
• • The Cathedral is technically a Primaziale because the Archbishop of Pisa once held the title of Primate of Corsica and Sardinia.
• • The Lupa Capitolina, or Capitoline Wolf statue, was placed in the square during the Fascist era in 1926 to mark a visit by Benito Mussolini.
• • The Romanesque marble columns used in the cathedral's construction were brought back to Pisa as war booty following a naval campaign against Palermo in 1063.
• • The Vaso del Talento, now kept in storage, was once considered a monumental symbol of imperial power and was thought to be a vessel used by Caesar to measure tax tributes.
• • The famous Leaning Tower is actually the cathedral's bell tower, and it took nearly two hundred years to complete due to interruptions caused by soil instability and political conflicts.
• • The nickname Piazza dei Miracoli was popularised by the Italian poet Gabriele D'Annunzio in his 1910 novel, though locals often referred to the area as the Field of Miracles.
• • The square is built upon a former Etruscan and Roman site, and archaeological excavations have revealed the foundations of ancient homes beneath the green grass.
• • The square was not always a peaceful tourist attraction; during the Medici rule, a portion of the area was used as a Jewish cemetery after the closing of one of the medieval gates.