Pisa Sights from Cathedral to Tuttomondo
Sights of Pisa from cathedral to Tuttomondo
Pisa’s best sights sit in three clusters: the cathedral square in the northwest, the university streets around Piazza dei Cavalieri, and the Arno embankments. Prices are in euros and are 2026 figures, so check each site before you go.
Piazza dei Miracoli
The Cathedral was begun in 1063 and is a masterpiece of Pisan Romanesque, with bands of white and grey marble and four tiers of open arcades on the facade. Inside are Giovanni Pisano’s carved pulpit and Cimabue’s apse mosaic of Christ in Majesty. The large bronze lamp is called Galileo’s lamp, though it was cast in 1587, after the pendulum story it is tied to, so treat that as a legend. Cathedral entry is free, and any paid ticket includes an untimed pass.
The Baptistery, begun in 1152, is the largest in Italy. Staff demonstrate its echo every 30 minutes, and Nicola Pisano’s 1260 pulpit is a landmark of early Renaissance sculpture. Some areas may be closed for restoration.
The Camposanto is a Gothic cloister founded in 1277 that holds Roman sarcophagi and tombs. Its fourteenth-century frescoes, including The Triumph of Death, were badly damaged when the roof burned after Allied shelling in July 1944, and decades of restoration followed. Keep voices low here. The Museo delle Sinopie shows the preparatory drawings found beneath the frescoes, and the Museo dell’Opera del Duomo has original sculpture and an upper terrace with a close view of the Tower.
The complete ticket with the Tower is EUR 27, and without the Tower it is EUR 11. Winter hours run from 9:00 to 18:00.
Piazza dei Cavalieri
Giorgio Vasari remodelled this square after 1558 for the Knights of Saint Stephen. The Palazzo della Carovana, now home to the Scuola Normale Superiore, has a facade of grey and white sgraffito. The Palazzo dell’Orologio joins two medieval towers, one of which is the tower where Count Ugolino was imprisoned in 1289, as told in Dante’s Inferno. The church of Santo Stefano dei Cavalieri holds banners taken from Ottoman ships in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
The Arno embankments
Santa Maria della Spina, a small Gothic church on Lungarno Gambacorti built in 1230, was taken apart and rebuilt higher up the bank in 1871 to escape floods. Palazzo Blu is close by, and Caffè dell’Ussero at Lungarno Pacinotti 26 has served customers since 1775. Palazzo Reale at Lungarno Pacinotti 46 is open mornings, with a Friday afternoon opening.
Tuttomondo
Keith Haring painted the 180 square metre mural Tuttomondo in June 1989 on the wall of the church of Sant’Antonio Abate, about five minutes from Pisa Centrale. Thirty interlocking figures represent peace and harmony. It is free to see at any hour.
Read more: Pisa walking tours and attraction tours .
Official information: Piazza dei Miracoli opening times and Palazzo Reale . Tours to compare: Pisa sightseeing tours on GetYourGuide .