# Pisan Romanesque style

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Romanesque architectural style variant

Pisan Romanesque Piazza dei Miracoli in Pisa Years active 11th to 13th century Location Italy

**Pisan Romanesque style** is a variant of the [Romanesque architectural style](/source/Romanesque_architectural_style) that developed in [Pisa](/source/Pisa) at the end of the 10th century and which influenced a wide geographical area at the time when the city was a powerful [maritime republic](/source/Maritime_republic) (from the second half of the 11th century to the first half of the 13th century).

The Pisan Romanesque culture developed above all at the construction sites of [Piazza dei Miracoli](/source/Piazza_dei_Miracoli) (some stylistic elements can also be noticed in the earlier buildings), and from there it spread to other Pisa projects, to the territories controlled by the [Republic of Pisa](/source/Republic_of_Pisa) (including [Corsica](/source/Corsica) and [Sardinia](/source/Sardinia), and going as far as [Elba](/source/Elba)[1]) and to [Tuscany](/source/Tuscany), especially the northern band from [Lucca](/source/Lucca) to [Pistoia](/source/Pistoia).

## Architecture

### History

Coffers and *bacini*

The Pisan Romanesque style had sprung into popularity, "as if by magic", on a location in Pisa that later became known as Piazza dei Miracoli. In a succession, the [Pisa Cathedral](/source/Pisa_Cathedral) (Duomo), [Pisa Baptistery](/source/Pisa_Baptistery), the bell tower (now known as the [Leaning Tower of Pisa](/source/Leaning_Tower_of_Pisa)), [Camposanto Monumentale di Pisa](/source/Camposanto_Monumentale_di_Pisa) were erected there.[1] Few precursor structures that exhibited some of the elements of the style can be pointed to (Collareta lists [Basilica of San Zeno, Verona](/source/Basilica_of_San_Zeno%2C_Verona), [San Piero a Grado](/source/San_Piero_a_Grado), apse of the church of Santa Cristina[*[which?](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Avoid_weasel_words)*] on the left bank of the [Arno](/source/Arno)). Although these buildings introduced some features similar to the Pisan Romanesque as defined by the Duomo (long rows of blind arches under the [eaves](/source/Eaves), ceramic [bacini](/source/Bacini) inside the arches, wall ornaments made of round or diamond-shaped [coffers](/source/Coffers)), their connections to the Duomo, the grand "[overture](/source/Overture)" of the style, are relatively weak.[2] The style primarily originated with construction of the [Pisa Cathedral](/source/Pisa_Cathedral) and is credited to its architects, [Buscheto](/source/Buscheto) and his successor [Rainaldo](/source/Rainaldo).[3]

The well-defined style was popular from the 11th to early 13th century. while the Republic of Pisa was at its peak.[1] The Pisan Romanesque style exhibited unusual longevity; some elements of it were visible in new construction in Pisa even after a switch to [Gothic architecture](/source/Gothic_architecture) later in the 13th century.[4]

### Features

The style successfully fused together elements that came from multiple diverse sources:[1][5]

- superposition of [loggias](/source/Loggia), piers and arcading came from [Lombard Romanesque](/source/Lombard_Romanesque);

- overall plans were borrowed from the [Roman-Christian architecture](/source/Early_Christian_art_and_architecture);

- dome of the cathedral was lifted from [Byzantine architecture](/source/Byzantine_architecture);

- some other features (corner niches with oval [cupola](/source/Cupola), colored marble inserts and dark stripes on the external walls) came from Byzantine or [Islamic](/source/Islamic_architecture) architecture.

### Influence

Researchers name some notable structures immediately influenced by the original buildings on the Piazza:[1][6]

- [San Paolo a Ripa d'Arno](/source/San_Paolo_a_Ripa_d'Arno), also in Pisa (a small-scale version of the Duomo);

- [Santo Sepolcro, Pisa](/source/Santo_Sepolcro%2C_Pisa), a small-scale version of the Duomo;[6]

- [San Frediano, Pisa](/source/San_Frediano%2C_Pisa) that borrowed from the Baptistry (and [Dome of the Rock](/source/Dome_of_the_Rock));

- multiple churches nearby: [Sant'Agata Chapel](/source/Sant'Agata_Chapel), [San Pierino](/source/San_Pietro_in_Vinculis%2C_Pisa), [San Frediano](/source/San_Frediano%2C_Pisa), [Sant'Andrea](/source/Sant'Andrea_Forisportam%2C_Pisa), [San Paolo all'Orto](/source/San_Paolo_all'Orto), and [San Michele in Borgo](/source/San_Michele_in_Borgo).

The influence of the Pisan Romanesque spread wide beyond Pisa:[6]

- due to Pisa being an important maritime power at the time, its architecture was exported to areas then-controlled by Pisa: [Sardinia](/source/Sardinia) and [Corsica](/source/Corsica), [Liguria](/source/Liguria), [Apulia](/source/Apulia), and even to the shores of the [Adriatic Sea](/source/Adriatic_Sea) ([Marche](/source/Marche) and [Croatia](/source/Croatia));

- on land, the style affected multiple location that had business ties with Pisa, in particular [Lucca](/source/Lucca) and [Pistoia](/source/Pistoia).

The notable and geographically spread examples include parts of [Genoa Cathedral](/source/Genoa_Cathedral), [San Giovanni Fuoricivitas](/source/San_Giovanni_Fuoricivitas), [Santa Guista in Bazzano](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Santa_Guista_in_Bazzano&action=edit&redlink=1) [[it](https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giusta_di_Bazzano)], [Massa Marittima Cathedral](/source/Massa_Marittima_Cathedral), [Troia Cathedral](/source/Troia_Cathedral).[7]

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEValdesPistolesiPauli19947_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEValdesPistolesiPauli19947_1-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEValdesPistolesiPauli19947_1-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEValdesPistolesiPauli19947_1-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEValdesPistolesiPauli19947_1-4) [Valdes, Pistolesi & Pauli 1994](#CITEREFValdesPistolesiPauli1994), p. 7.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTECollareta2022439_2-0)** [Collareta 2022](#CITEREFCollareta2022), p. 439.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEBarsali1972_3-0)** [Barsali 1972](#CITEREFBarsali1972).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTECollareta2022443_4-0)** [Collareta 2022](#CITEREFCollareta2022), p. 443.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTECollareta2022439–440_5-0)** [Collareta 2022](#CITEREFCollareta2022), pp. 439–440.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTECollareta2022442_6-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTECollareta2022442_6-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTECollareta2022442_6-2) [Collareta 2022](#CITEREFCollareta2022), p. 442.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEConant1993383_7-0)** [Conant 1993](#CITEREFConant1993), p. 383.

## Sources

- Valdes, G.; Pistolesi, A.; Pauli, E. (1994). ["Pisan Romanesque"](https://books.google.com/books?id=PHGn0tDuNFkC&pg=PA7). *Art and History of Pisa*. Art and History Series. Bonechi. p. 7. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-88-8029-024-7](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-88-8029-024-7). Retrieved 2023-12-02.

- Collareta, Marco (2022-04-15). "Art in Pisa in the Middle Ages". *A Companion to Medieval Pisa*. BRILL. pp. 435–455. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1163/9789004512719_020](https://doi.org/10.1163%2F9789004512719_020). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-90-04-51271-9](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-90-04-51271-9).

- Barsali, Isa Belli (1972). ["Buscheto (Busketus, Buschetto, Boschetto)"](https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/buscheto_%28Dizionario-Biografico%29). *[Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani](/source/Dizionario_Biografico_degli_Italiani)* (in Italian). Vol. 15: Buffoli–Caccianemici. Rome: [Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana](/source/Treccani). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-88-12-00032-6](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-88-12-00032-6).

- Conant, K.J. (1993). [*Carolingian and Romanesque Architecture, 800 to 1200*](https://books.google.com/books?id=qWa5KTPL1LUC&pg=PA383). The Yale University Press Pelican History of Art Series. Yale University Press. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-300-05298-5](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-300-05298-5). Retrieved 2023-12-09.

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