The cemetery (Camposanto Monumentale) was founded in 1277 and finished in 1464. The building surrounds a courtyard with cloisters; it is said that some people from Pisa brought back some soil from the Holy Land with them from the first crusade (c. 1146) and buried it there. The walls were painted with great murals and frescoes, but these were largely destroyed in the Second World War. Today, the Camposanto contains a large number of stone sarcophagi, and, after asking for and obtaining permission, I photographed most of htem along with their captions. I have transcribed the English part of the captions; if you would like to help me with the Italian (or any other) parts, please do so: email the text to me together with the complete and exact URL of the page containing the caption.
Title: The Camposanto Monumentale cemetary in Pisa
Date: 2007
Total items: 367
Stock image royalty-free for non-commercial uses only, usage credit required, or as marked.
A statue of a bishop or cardinal or pope strikes a particularly effeminate pose as he gazes at the sculptor while holding an open book.
Taken from above
A carved animal in the quadrangle at the Camposanto. There are probably four of them, one for each evangelist.
With festoons. And cherubs (or more accurately putti). [more...]
Theatrical mask from late Roman stone coffin 2
“acroteria with theatrical masks” close-up. The empty eyes and the open mouth might indeed be a theatrical mask (perhaps an actor was buried in this [...] [more...]
An ornate tombstone with an equally ornate skull and crossbones motif. And my bare right foot.
A shot from the other side (so to speak); she is resting one arm on a book entitled, in legibus salus and carries a sceptre or wand. [more...]
Overview of the whole sarcophagus, with its inscription and its cherubic little angels.
Statue of Leonardo Fibonacci 8
Another shot of this statue of Fibonacci, holding a book in one hand and with his other hand outstretched, and with the remains of the ancient fresco on the wall behind him. [more...]
Statue of Leonardo Fibonacci 3
A closer view of his head and face.
Camposanto Cloister Courtyard 2
A peaceful place for those who grieve for the dead.
The lady, again, with the pattern of light and shadow from the cloister window.
Showing one of the two long galleries on either side of the courtyard (those at the ends are shorter). You can see the ancient roman sarcophagi arranged along [...] [more...]
Close-up of a Latin (or Italian) inscription in the cemetery in Pisa.
I think a female angel, a slightly sad but compassionate young woman’s face, with wings. It might be a portrait of the deceased for a tomb, but I am not certain. [more...]
Mourn not for the dead; mourn for the living
This sculpted woman is a monument to death; it is a portrait of one had passed away. She wears I think a tiara, so was quite possible a princess or queen. She has her hands on her lap. The pattern on the wall behind her, which bears the remains of a [...] [more...]
The cemetery (Camposanto Monumentale) was founded in 1277 and finished in 1464. The building surrounds a courtyard with cloisters; it is said that some people from Pisa brought back some soil from the Holy Land with them from the first crusade (c. 1146) and buried it there. The walls were painted with great murals and frescoes, but these were largely destroyed in the Second World War. Today, the Camposanto contains a large number of stone sarcophagi, and, after asking for and obtaining permission, I photographed most of htem along with their captions. I have transcribed the English part of the captions; if you would like to help me with the Italian (or any other) parts, please do so: email the text to me together with the complete and exact URL of the page containing the caption.
Note: If you got here from a search engine and don’t see what you were looking for, it might have moved onto a different page within this gallery.