This summer the museums and monuments of Pisa’s historic Piazza dei Miracoli have extended their daytime hours until 10:30 pm for all locals and tourists to enjoy at night. The special initiative, continuing until August 31, 2026, allows visitors to purchase a €11 ticket for access to the city’s Cathedral, Baptistery, Camposanto Cemetery, Opera del Duomo (Cathedral) Museum, and Sinopie Museum. For an additional €16 for a total of €27, you can book to climb the iconic Leaning Tower of Pisa with reservations available up to 90 days before your planned visit. This is an excellent deal as tickets for the tower alone are €25 during the rest of the year.
Below is more information about the historic sites you can gain access to with this special ticket:
Cathedral
The duomo of Pisa, also known as the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta, is a gorgeous romaneseque style church constructed in 1064 by Italian architect Buschetto to celebrate the wealth derived from Pisa’s victory over the Moors of Palermo. The cathedral’s marble façade is decorated with delicately rounded arches, ornate mosaics, colorful polychrome inlays and bronze doors crafted by Tuscan artists of the 17th century.
Its interior is of equal grandeur and elegance, featuring tall granite columns and a wooden coffered ceiling added in the 17th century after a fire in 1595 destroyed the original exposed trusses. Lining the walls are elaborate renaissance frescoes of scenes from the Old and New Testament, the most impressive of which is Riminaldi’s dome depicting the Ascension of the Blessed Virgin.
Leaning Tower
Next to the cathedral is one of Italy’s most famous monuments, the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Under the supervision of architect Bonanno Pisano, construction of the marble bell tower began in 1173, however, was halted five years later when tensions between Italian city-states erupted in war. At this time, the tower was three stories high and had already begun to tilt, sinking into the unknowingly soft earth below its foundation.
When work on the tower resumed, engineer Giovanni di Simone attempted to correct the structure’s lean. He made the five new levels slightly taller on the side which had been shortened by the sinking. However, the additional weight of further construction only worsened the situation and thus building ceased at eight stories. After 11 years of closure to stop further inclination (1990-2001) today visitors can climb up 251 steps of the bell tower’s spiral staircase to see a magnificent panoramic view of Piazza dei Miracoli.
Baptistery
The third part of Pisa’s cathedral complex is the Baptistery of San Giovanni. Like the cathedral and the bell tower, this building is a feat of artistic vision and innovative architecture. With a remarkable circumference of 107.24 meters (352 feet) and height of 54.86 meters (180 feet), San Giovanni is Italy’s largest baptistery. Inside, the zebra striped marble walls and intricate geometric patterns on the floor reflect influence from the Islamic world, likely arriving via the city’s merchants and sea ports.
The baptistery was originally designed by Pisan architect Diotisalvi in 1152, however, the structure evolved in 1260 under the hands of sculptor Nicola Pisano and his son Giovanni. Pisano constructed the baptistery’s pulpit, a model which would inspire future artists of the renaissance and Giovanni sculpted the marble figures accompanying his father’s busts mounted on the external loggia. Together, these works of art turned Pisa’s baptistery into a landmark of unique beauty blending classic romanesque elements with a decorative gothic flair.
Camposanto Cemetery
Camposanto, which translates to the “Holy Land” is the duomo’s grandiose marble cemetery designed by Giovanni di Simone in 1277 to house the graves of the city’s important political, artistic, and intellectual characters. Its interior is adorned with detailed gothic style arches that surround the secluded, charming cloister. Along the internal corridors, walls are decorated with masterful frescoes from the 14th and 15th centuries. Some of their most famous painters include Buonamico Buffalmacco, Andrea Bonaiuti, and Benozzo Gozzoli.
Many of the frescoes focus on the theme of Life and Death, illustrating scenes from the sermons of Dominican friar Cavalca and the Divine Comedy of Dante Alighieri. The most historic and best preserved painting of the collection is Buffalmacco’s “Triumph of Death,” which in 2018 was restored after being damaged in WW2 and relocated to its original placement on Camposanto’s walls.
Opera del Duomo Museum
The Opera del Duomo Museum was established in 1986 to display the city’s vast medieval art collection. The museum is housed in a former franciscan convent of the 15th-century. Most prominent of the works on display are the sculptures of Nicola and Giovanni Pisano. These artworks primarily consist of marble figures and bas reliefs originally belonging to the façades of the Cathedral and Baptistery.
Sinopie Museum
The Sinopie Museum exhibits graphic artifacts of the Middle Ages detailing the precise and laborious process of fresco painting. Its name comes from “sinopia,” the compound of red pigment and water used by fresco artists to trace a design onto the artwork’s first plaster layer. These drafts were uncovered in light of tragedy when a fire broke out in Camposanto during World War II. To save what remained, art conservationists stripped the frescoes’ outer layers to reveal the preparatory drawings that today are carefully preserved in the museum.
To learn more about Pisa’s museums, monuments, and most importantly, its tickets for Notturno d’Arte, please visit terredipisa.it.
(Francesca Negri)
