5 curiosities about Pisa that you might not have known

Among the cities to visit in Tuscany at least once in a lifetime is undoubtedly Pisa, which is a veritable open-air museum. Everyone knows it and dreams of visiting it. It is a small and fascinating city full of history and things to see that has always fascinated travellers from all over.

Pisa is world famous for the Leaning Tower and the beautiful Piazza dei Miracoli. But there are some curiosities that only a few people know about. Discover them with us.

1. Why is Piazza dei Miracoli called that?

Included by Unesco in the prestigious list of World Heritage Sites, Piazza dei Miracoli is undoubtedly the first stop for anyone coming to the city. This beautiful square houses four masterpieces of medieval architecture: the Cathedral, the Baptistery, the Campanile or Leaning Tower and the Cemetery, also known as Campo Santo. Everyone knows what it is called but perhaps few know why. The origin of the name can be attributed to the famous writer Gabriele D’Annunzio, who in one of his 1910 novels ‘Forse che sì, forse che no’ called it the ‘meadow of miracles’. From D’Annunzio’s nickname, the name ‘Piazza dei Miracoli’ was later derived.

2. Why does the Tower of Pisa hang?

The Leaning Tower is the symbol of Pisa as well as being one of the best-known monuments in the world. There are many tourists who allow themselves to be immortalized in the famous ritual photo, in which thanks to a small optical illusion they pretend to hold up the tower. But few ask why the tower is leaning. The slope is not due to architectural virtuosity, but rather to a subsidence of the land on which the base of the bell tower rests which already manifested itself in the early stages of construction. In addition to the tower, the façade of the Cathedral and the Baptistery also have slight slopes.

3. The Tower of Pisa is not the only leaning tower in the city

Did you know that the Tuscan city doesn’t just have a leaning tower? In addition to the famous tower in Piazza dei Miracoli, in Pisa there are two other inclined towers, which are little known but no less interesting. In via Santa Maria, in the historic center, there is the Church of San Nicola, whose bell tower is slightly inclined (about 2.5 degrees) and buried in relation to the road surface by about 150 centimetres. In the eastern area of Pisa, in the square of the same name, stands the Church of San Michele degli Scalzi, which has a bell tower inclined by as much as 5 degrees, more than the Tower of Pisa.

4. The Devil’s claws

Another of the masterpieces present in Piazza dei Miracoli is the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta, also known as the Cathedral of Pisa. It is the main example of a religious building in Pisan Romanesque style. On the north side of the beautiful building, the one overlooking the Campo Santo, there is a piece of marble of Roman origin with many small holes. Legend has it that these holes are the claws left by the Devil as he tried to climb up the side of the cathedral with the intention of preventing its construction. But an angel managed to block his plan and the mark of his claws remained as a reminder of this event.

5. Tuttomondo by Keith Haring

The Tuscan city is known throughout the world for the extraordinary beauty of its monuments and historic buildings. However, not everyone knows a peculiarity of Pisa: on the external wall of the rectory of the Church of Sant’Antonio Abate there is a mural, called Tuttomondo, created in 1989 by the famous American painter and writer Keith Haring. It is the artist’s last public work before his death. The magnificent mural, which portrays 30 dynamic figures fitted together like in a puzzle, conveys a message of peace and harmony in the world.