Pisa Cathedral

Construction was begun in 1063 by architect Busqueto di Giovanni Dzhudiche . It was started with funds raised by the Republic of Pisa during the seizure of Palermo in 1063, and later with funds received as a result of other enterprises, in particular, the campaign to the Balearic Islands in 1113-1115. The architecture of the cathedral included elements of various styles, Byzantine, Lombard and even Islamic, which perhaps symbolized the scope of Pizan trade and military activities. The style that was formed during the construction process is known in literature as the Pisan Romance style . Around the same time, the Cathedral of St. Mark in Venice was built , and one of the tasks of Busqueto was to build a cathedral no worse than that of Venetian competitors.

The cathedral was consecrated in 1118 by Pope Gelasius II , who himself came from the Pisan Caetano family. In the first half of the XII century architect Raynaldo was commissioned to design the facade of the cathedral. The work on the creation of the facade was performed by a team of sculptors under the guidance of Guillelmo and Bidino .

The appearance of the cathedral was repeatedly subjected to reconstruction in different eras. For the first time the cathedral was reconstructed after the devastating fire of 1595 . One of the authors of the reconstruction was Gasparo Mola . In the 17th and 18th centuries, the interior of the cathedral underwent significant changes.

The building was originally built in the form of a Greek cross (with equal cross-beams) in the plan, at the intersection of which the dome was built. Currently, the five-nave cathedral with a three-nave transept in plan has the form of a Latin cross . Such a peculiar plan of the building is similar to the plan of the ancient Christian basilica of Kalat-Siman , located in Syria. ^[1] Inside, there is an effect of huge space, similar to large mosques and achieved through arches and alternation of white and black marble. Two colonnades of black granite in the naves are clear evidence of Byzantine influence. The columns themselves come from the mosque of Palermo , conquered by the Pisans in 1063 .

Appearance

The main facade of the cathedral (see photo) was created in the XII-XIII centuries by the project of the master Raynaldo (see above). This is reported by the inscription on the right above the central portal ^[2] . The facade contains four tiers of external arcade galleries supported by columns. It is made of gray marble and richly decorated with inlays of green, blue, pink and other colored marble, stone carvings and statues.

At the top of the facade of the facade is the statue of the Madonna with the blessing baby Jesus, on the sides of her are the statues of the evangelists Matthew and John (below them their symbols are the angel and the eagle). Below, above the corners of the lower gallery are the evangelists Luke and Mark.

Three original doors of the main facade died in a fire in 1595. The existing doors were completed in 1602 in the Dzhamboloni workshop. To the left of the north door in the main facade wall is the tomb of the first architect of the Cathedral Busqueto di Giovanni Giudice (c. 1110; see above) with a large Latin epitaph comparing it with Dedalus (see photo).

The only surviving after the fire in 1595 is the medieval bronze door of the cathedral, made around 1180 by Bonanno Pisano , was located later in the portal of San Ranieri , in the south wing of the transept (see photo). Now in the portal there is a copy of it, and the original is in the museum of the cathedral . The reliefs on this door represent scenes from the life of Christ. This is one of the first large bronze relief temple doors of Italian production, before such doors were imported into Italy from Byzantium.

On the eastern side of the cathedral (see photo) at the top of the pediment above the apse on the column stands a bronze hippogryph (a fantastic creature with bird wings and beak, horse legs and lion paws). Now a copy is installed here, and the original (see the Pisa Hippogryph ) is transferred to the museum of the cathedral. This is a statue of the Arab production of the X — XI century. It is the largest metal statue produced in the Muslim world in the Middle Ages and preserved to the present. Its original purpose is unknown. She came to Pisa, apparently, as a war booty or tribute. Its placement at the cathedral, obviously, should have served to glorify the success of the Republic of Pisa in naval campaigns against the Arabs.

Interior decoration

The interior of the cathedral underwent significant changes after the fire of 1595. Currently, the walls of the cathedral are decorated with white and black marble. The ceiling is gilded (it depicts the Medici emblem), and the dome is covered with frescoes. A mosaic in the apse (see photo), depicting Christ with the upcoming Mother of God and John the Theologian, survived the fire. According to various sources, either the head of Christ or the figure of John the Theologian on this mosaic were made in 1302 Cimabue , which was the last work of the artist who died in the same year. The fresco of the dome, representing the ascension of the Virgin, was performed by Riminaldi .

The fire also survived the department ^[3] (see photo), made by Giovanni Pisano in 1302-1310, respectively. It represents one of the best examples of Italian sculpture of proto-Renaissance and early Gothic that have come down to us. During one of the reconstructions of the cathedral (presumably after the fire of 1595), the department was dismantled, and it was re-discovered and collected only in 1926 . Since there was no documentation on the original construction of the department, some fragments in this assembly turned out to be “redundant”, they are now kept in several museums of the world. At the same time, four new columns, donated by Mussolini , were added. The upper part of the pulpit consists of nine New Testament scenes (Annunciation, Baby Beating, Christmas, Adoration of the Magi, Escape to Egypt, Crucifixion, two panels of the Last Judgment), carved out of white marble and separated by the figures of the prophets. Below are statues of cardinal virtues , in the form of four female figures; statue of Hercules and others

The chandelier hanging next to the dome of the cathedral is called the “lamp of Galileo” (Lampada di Galileo). According to the testimony of Viviani , Galileo Galilei’s first biographer (the authenticity of this testimony is currently being questioned), in 1583 the 19-year-old young man Galileo, while in the Cathedral of Pisa, drew attention to the chandelier swaying. He noted, counting the beats of the pulse, that the period of oscillation of the chandelier remains constant, despite the fact that their amplitude gradually decreases. Thus, the isochronism of small oscillations of the pendulum was detected. Now in the dome of the cathedral there is another chandelier, and the lamp, which Galileo could see, was transferred to the Aulla chapel in Campo Santo .

• Ottavio Banti. Storia Illustrata di Pisa. - Pacini Editore (Pisa), 2006. - ISBN 88-7781-620-1 .
• Urano Castelli, Ranieri Gagetti. Pisa ei suoi artisti. - Becocci (Firenze), 1977.