Pisa Cathedral
Buscheto; Rainaldo · Pisa, Italy · 1118
Pisa Cathedral is the central monument of the Piazza dei Miracoli and a seminal work of Pisan Romanesque architecture. Buscheto and Rainaldo combined a basilican plan, transepts and an elliptical dome with layered exterior arcades and alternating marble bands. Classical spolia, Islamic and Byzantine references reflect Pisa's maritime networks, while the broad façade turns the church into a finely scaled screen against the open lawn. The interior's granite columns and coffered ceiling reinforce its ceremonial dimension. Consecrated in 1118, the cathedral continued to receive additions and rebuilding, so the date marks an early institutional milestone rather than the final state of the fabric.