Buy tickets & tours:GetYourGuide Piazza dei Miracoli, officially known as Piazza del Duomo, is the most important artistic and religious space in Pisa. Located in the north-western part of the historic city, the square brings together the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta, the Baptistery of San Giovanni, the Leaning Tower, the Camposanto, and two major museums. The popular name “Square of Miracles” comes from the admiration inspired by the complex. Gabriele d’Annunzio famously described the area as the “Prato dei Miracoli” in his 1910 novel Forse che sì forse che no. The expression later spread widely, especially after the Second World War and during mass tourism. Since 1987, Piazza dei Miracoli in Pisa has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The recognition is based on the exceptional artistic value of the complex, its influence on medieval architecture, and the way its monuments express the religious, civic, and cultural identity of medieval Pisa. Piazza dei Miracoli is mostly pedestrian and covered by a large lawn, which gives the marble buildings a striking visual unity. Its current open appearance is not entirely medieval. It was shaped especially in the 19th century, when several later constructions were removed and the monuments Read more [...]
All Squares in Pisa
Pisa’s most important square is Piazza dei Miracoli, officially Piazza del Duomo, the monumental religious center of the city. It contains the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta, the Baptistery of San Giovanni, the Leaning Tower, and the Campo Santo. Piazza dei Cavalieri is another major square, once the political heart of medieval Pisa.
Other important squares show the city’s civic and everyday life. Piazza delle Vettovaglie is a historic market square surrounded by arcades and used for food trade for centuries. Piazza Garibaldi, near Ponte di Mezzo, is a lively meeting point, while Piazza Dante is closely connected to the University of Pisa and its academic buildings.
Piazza dei Cavalieri
Piazza dei Cavalieri is, after the more famous Piazza dei Miracoli, the second most important square of the city of Pisa. In ancient times, the square represented the center of civil power, while starting from the second half of the 16th century it became the headquarters of the Order of the Knights of Saint Stephen, commissioned by the Grand Duke Cosimo I de’ Medici. SHORT HISTORY Starting with 1140, Piazza dei Cavalieri became the heart of Pisa, with buildings and churches used by the different magistrates of the city. After the seizure of power by the Pisan people in 1254, Palazzo degli Anziani (Palace of the Elders), today Palazzo della Carovana, was built by merging pre-existing buildings. The Captain of the People (Capitano del Popolo) resided in the nearby Palazzo dell’Orologio, which belonged to the Gualandi family and incorporated the famous Tower of Muda or Della Fame, where in 1289 the Count Ugolino died. The works for the complete transformation of the square began in 1558, after Cosimo I decided to dedicate it to the Order of the Knights of Saint Stephen, founded with papal approval in 1562. Giorgio Vasari was comissioned to transform the square. The first reconstruction Read more [...]