"It was begun in 1,063 ( the 1,064th according to the Pisan calendar then in force) by the Buscheto , with the tenth part of the spoils of the company Pisa in Sicily in the port of Palermo against the Muslims ( 1063 ). We combine different stylistic elements: classical, Lombardy and Emilia , Byzantine and Islamic in particular, reflecting the international presence of the Pisan merchants in those days. In that same year he was also started the reconstruction of the Basilica of San Marco in Venice , so it may well be that at the time there had been a rivalry between the two maritime republics to create the most beautiful place of worship and sumptuous.
The church was built in the early Middle Ages the area outside the city walls, to symbolize their power of Pisa, which did not require protection. The area chosen was already used in the Lombard era as a necropolis, and in the early years of the eleventh century, a church was erected never completed which was to be dedicated to Santa Maria. The new big church Busketo, in fact, is initially called Santa Maria Maggiore until it was finally dedicated to Santa Maria Assunta.
In 1092 the church, from simple cathedral, goes on to be the Primate, having been awarded the title of Primate Archbishop Daiberto by Pope Urban II , an honor today only formal.
The cathedral was consecrated in 1118 by Pope Gelasius II , belonging to the branch of Pisa Gaetani (or Caetani ), accounts of Soil and Oriseo, but already in the first half of the twelfth century it was expanded under the direction of Rainaldo which has the design of the facade, completed by the workers led by sculptors William and Biduino .
The current appearance of the building complex is the result of repeated campaigns of restoration have occurred at different times. The first radical interventions followed the disastrous fire of 1595 , following which the roof was rebuilt and were performed three bronze doors of the facade, the work of sculptors from the workshop of Fra Domenico Portigiani , including Gasparo Mola and Pietro Tacca , from eighteenth century began the gradual coating of the inner walls with large paintings on canvas, the "bricks" with stories of saints and blessed of Pisa , performed by leading artists of the time thanks to the initiative of some citizens who autofinanziarono creating a separate business.
Among the various interventions worthy of note is to be reported the dismantling of the pulpit by Giovanni Pisano, who was just re-assembled in 1926 in a different position and different parts are missing, including the scale, and the dismantling of the monument to Henry VII created by Lupo di Francesco which was located in front of the door of San Ranieri and subsequently replaced by a simplified and symbolic version.
The following interventions were made ??in the course of the nineteenth and affect both the internal and the external decorations, which in many cases, especially for the sculptures on the facade were replaced by copies (the originals are in the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo )."
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