Description
Pisans call it the "old cathedral." The church of San Paolo a Ripa d'Arno stands on the riverfront, in a square that bears its name, and is among the masterpieces of Pisan Romanesque.
The nickname makes sense once you look at the façade: pilasters, five blind arches with oculi and lozenges, three orders of loggias, as in the Cathedral on Piazza dei Miracoli. The cladding in two-tone bands reuses Roman marbles.
The church is documented from 1032, but it was founded before the year 1000. While the Duomo was being built, services for the great feast days could be held here. In 1149 it was consecrated by Pope Eugene III.
The plan is T-shaped, with three naves, seven bays, a dome at the crossing of the transept and an open timber roof. Slightly pointed arches and slender windows bring light onto the thick walls.
Don't miss the 4th-century Roman sarcophagus, with the two spouses carved at the center, reused to bury Burgundio, a medieval jurist. Then the frescoes by Buffalmacco on a pillar: Saint Bartholomew and Saint Francis, back to back.
The Crucifix on panel is also worth a look, with its head from the 12th century and the rest from the 13th. In the left transept is the Madonna and Child with Saints by Turino Vanni, from 1397.
For centuries the church was the heart of a monastery, first Benedictine, then Vallombrosan from 1092 to 1409, and finally belonging to the Knights of Saint Stephen. Behind the apse there was a cloister, and a second one stood against the south side.
The bombings of the Second World War changed everything: cloisters and bell tower were demolished, and only the little chapel of Sant'Agata remains, behind the apse. In 1798, with the suppression of the Order, the church became a parish. Closed in 2012 because of its poor roof, it was restored, partly through a fundraiser, and returned to worship in 2019.
The nickname makes sense once you look at the façade: pilasters, five blind arches with oculi and lozenges, three orders of loggias, as in the Cathedral on Piazza dei Miracoli. The cladding in two-tone bands reuses Roman marbles.
The church is documented from 1032, but it was founded before the year 1000. While the Duomo was being built, services for the great feast days could be held here. In 1149 it was consecrated by Pope Eugene III.
The plan is T-shaped, with three naves, seven bays, a dome at the crossing of the transept and an open timber roof. Slightly pointed arches and slender windows bring light onto the thick walls.
Don't miss the 4th-century Roman sarcophagus, with the two spouses carved at the center, reused to bury Burgundio, a medieval jurist. Then the frescoes by Buffalmacco on a pillar: Saint Bartholomew and Saint Francis, back to back.
The Crucifix on panel is also worth a look, with its head from the 12th century and the rest from the 13th. In the left transept is the Madonna and Child with Saints by Turino Vanni, from 1397.
For centuries the church was the heart of a monastery, first Benedictine, then Vallombrosan from 1092 to 1409, and finally belonging to the Knights of Saint Stephen. Behind the apse there was a cloister, and a second one stood against the south side.
The bombings of the Second World War changed everything: cloisters and bell tower were demolished, and only the little chapel of Sant'Agata remains, behind the apse. In 1798, with the suppression of the Order, the church became a parish. Closed in 2012 because of its poor roof, it was restored, partly through a fundraiser, and returned to worship in 2019.