Pisa Italy

Pisa Italy
The Piazza dei Miracoli - 'Square of Miracles'-, formally known as Piazza del Duomo - 'Cathedral Square'-, is a walled 8.87-hectare compound in central Pisa, Tuscany, Italy, recognized as an important center of European medieval art and one of the finest architectural complexes in the world. It was all owned by the Catholic Church and is dominated by four great religious edifices:
• the Pisa Cathedral
• the Pisa Baptistery
• the Leaning Tower of Pisa - the cathedral's campanile or bell tower -
• the Camposanto Monumentale - 'Monumental Cemetery' -

Partly paved and partly grassed, the Piazza dei Miracoli is also the site of the Ospedale Nuovo di Santo Spirito - 'New Hospital of the Holy Spirit' - , which now houses the Sinopias Museum and the Cathedral Museum. In 1987, the whole square was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The Square first started taking shape in 1064 with the creation of the centerpiece of the entire complex: the Cathedral dedicated to Santa Maria Assunta. The cathedral symbolizes the maximum expression of Pisan Romanesque architecture influenced at the same time by various stylistic elements. At the time, Pisa was a Maritime Republic (from the 11th through 15th centuries), and sailors travelled around the Arab world and remained smitten by all the beautiful things they saw.
Years later the enlargement of the fortified wall began (the church at the beginning wasn’t inside the walls) and the building of the baptistery began only in 1152. The baptistery was located directly in front of the Cathedral with a diameter equal to the facade of the cathedral. About 20 years later, work started on the bell tower which is now known simply as the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa. In 1277, work stated on the graveyard, known as the Camposanto.