Pisan Romanesque style


Pisan Romanesque style is a variant of the Romanesque architectural style that developed in 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.
The Pisan Romanesque culture developed above all at the construction sites of Piazza dei Miracoli, and from there it spread to other Pisa projects, to the territories controlled by the Republic of Pisa and to Tuscany, especially the northern band from Lucca to Pistoia.

Architecture

History

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, Pisa Baptistery, the bell tower, Camposanto Monumentale di Pisa were erected there. Few precursor structures that exhibited some of the elements of the style can be pointed to. Although these buildings introduced some features similar to the Pisan Romanesque as defined by the Duomo, their connections to the Duomo, the grand "overture" of the style, are relatively weak. The style primarily originated with construction of the Pisa Cathedral and is credited to its architects, Buscheto and his successor Rainaldo.
The well-defined style was popular from the 11th to early 13th century. while the Republic of Pisa was at its peak.
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 later in the 13th century.

Features

The style successfully fused together elements that came from multiple diverse sources:
Researchers name some notable structures immediately influenced by the original buildings on the Piazza:
The influence of the Pisan Romanesque spread wide beyond Pisa:
  • due to Pisa being an important maritime power at the time, its architecture was exported to areas then-controlled by Pisa: Sardinia and Corsica, Liguria, Apulia, and even to the shores of the Adriatic Sea ;
  • on land, the style affected multiple location that had business ties with Pisa, in particular Lucca and Pistoia.
The notable and geographically spread examples include parts of Genoa Cathedral, San Giovanni Fuoricivitas,, Massa Marittima Cathedral, Troia Cathedral.