Pisa Baptistery

Address Piazza del Duomo, 56126 Pisa
Admission Combined Opera del Duomo ticket

The circular marble baptistery, the largest in Italy at 55 metres across, is the second of the four great buildings of the Campo dei Miracoli. It was begun in 1152 by Diotisalvi, who left an inscription on the central column, and finished in Gothic style by Nicola and Giovanni Pisano a century and a half later. The mismatch between the lower Romanesque arcades and the spiky upper storey is one of the building's surprises.

Inside, the bare interior holds Nicola Pisano's first great pulpit (1260), older than the one in the cathedral and inscribed proudly with his name. The hexagonal plan, with its classical-revival figures, marks the moment Italian sculpture re-engaged with antiquity. Time your visit for one of the acoustic demonstrations.

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The acoustics inside are extraordinary: a sustained note held in the centre of the floor will resound for around twelve seconds, the longest reverberation of any building in Europe. Every half-hour an attendant sings three notes that overlap into a perfect chord. The effect was probably accidental — the architect simply liked tall round buildings — but it has been the highlight of every visit for eight hundred years.

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