The
Duomo of Pisa is built in the much imitated but never surpassed
‘Pisan Romanesque' style, much seen throughout Tuscany.
It was started in 1064 and as such predates the leaning tower
by one hundred years. Much of the interior was badly damaged
by a fire in 1596, therefore much of what we now see dates
from the Renaissance or later.
Not
to be missed are the original bronze doorway (Portale di San
Ranieri), the pulpit by Giovanni Pisano, the tomb of the Holy
Roman Emperor, Henry VII, and the mosaic of Christ in the
apse.
The
forerunner of the huge bronze incense burner found in the
central aisle was said to have given Galileo the inspiration
for his theory of the movement of the pendulum. |