Discover Pisa: Piazza del Duomo, Museums and Botanical History

Pisa is a destination where medieval architecture, botanical tradition and art can be experienced in tangible places. At its heart is Piazza del Duomo. It forms a unique group of four masterpieces of medieval architecture: the cathedral, the baptistery, the bell tower, also known as the Leaning Tower, and the cemetery. For your holiday in Pisa, this square provides a clear introduction to the city's cultural history.

Architecture and History around Piazza del Duomo

The monuments of Piazza del Duomo in Pisa are a reference point for research into the Pisan Romanesque style. The Museo delle Navi antiche offers a different perspective on the city's past. In eight sections, it tells more than 1,000 years of Pisa's history and its relationship with water. The museum is housed in the Arsenali Medicei. Guided tours focus on ancient ships and archaeological finds from excavations in the Pisa San Rossore area. If, while on holiday, you want to consider historical connections rather than individual sights, these themes complement one another in a particularly comprehensible way.

Botanical Tradition at the Orto Botanico di Pisa

The Orto Botanico di Pisa was founded in 1543 and is the oldest university botanical garden in the world. It is divided mainly according to historical criteria into seven areas: Scuola Botanica, Orto del Cedro, Orto del Mirto, Serre, Piazzale Arcangeli, Orto Nuovo and Orto Del Gratta. The garden covers around two hectares and is home to approximately 3,000 cultivated plants. Its layout also makes the site interesting for visitors who want to learn about botanical subjects not in isolation, but in connection with Pisa's long history of education and science.

Art between Palazzo Blu and Santa Maria della Spina

The collection of Palazzo Blu was conceived according to the principle that the works are connected with Pisa and its surrounding area through their creators, commissioners, origins or subject matter. The mural Tuttomondo, created by Keith Haring in Pisa in 1989, also provides a striking highlight. The Chiesa di Santa Maria della Spina is an exceptional example of Pisan Gothic architecture and was built on the banks of the Arno in 1230. The Museo nazionale di San Matteo preserves an extensive collection of medieval Islamic ceramics, medieval coins and medieval seals. The cultural spectrum thus extends from medieval sacred architecture to artworks and collections with different historical connections.

Historic Walls and Urban Orientation

The medieval walls of Pisa had a circumference of approximately 7 km, towers spaced 300 m apart and around 20 gates. These dimensions convey the spatial scale of the historic fortifications. For your own orientation, the official free tourism app of the city of Pisa, Walking in the City, offers eight urban walking tours. The area around Piazza del Duomo is closed to public and private vehicle traffic. When choosing a hotel in Pisa, you can take these cultural highlights and the local traffic situation into account when planning your daily activities.

For further travel planning, you can also discover Tirrenia, Marina Di Pisa, Calambrone and Riglione-Oratoio.

For the overarching travel overview: Pisa.

More destinations

Other places within the same destination:

Usigliano, Orentano, Lorenzana, Montescudaio.