Tuesday, November 01, 2011

The Tower of Pisa and Lots More

This view from the top of the Tower shows the Duomo (the Cathedral), the Baptistry (beyond it left)  and over
 on the right the Camposanto Monumentale (The Monumental Cemetery)

From some directions the tower doesn't appear to lean
so much.

And from others, it does.

If you think this looks crowded, imagine it
during the "on" season.


Looking down the long side of the Duomo to the Bapistry


Nicola Pisano's pulpit, resting on fierce lions


The Romanesque facade of the Duomo


Looking down at Guido Bargarelli's baptismal
font and the inlaid floor and walls


For me, the  interior is the most beautiful of any
cathedral I saw on my trip


Giovanni Pisano's pulpit, done about 1300
and disasembled and removed for about 400
year as it was too "strange" for people of
that time. The sculpture is a mixture of Greek
myth and religious themes.


One panel of the pulpit, The Last Judgement


Cimabue's mosiac of Christ rises in gold and
glittering colors above the alter


Looking up at the varied work on the roof


Looking up again, this time before the long
ascent to the top of the tower.


View down from the Tower to the Camposanto built in the
1270's and severely damaged during bombing in the Second
Word War and many priceless treasures lost

The view of the mountains beyond Pisa where we go
tomorrow to Lucca

The huge square of the Campo dei Miracoli on the northern
edge of the town, just inside the walls

Scott descending the stairs inside the Tower

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