Religion | Mark Simms Photography

Siena’s Baptistry – In and Around

A few shots from in and around Siena’s magnificent Battistero di San Giovanni (the Baptistry):

© Mark Simms Photography (2015)

Siena Cathedral – Interior

Following on from my last post, here are a few shots of the spectacular interior of Siena’s Duomo:

Cathedral Interior, Siena, Tuscany, Italy

© Mark Simms Photography (2015)

Siena’s Cathedral – Exterior

Siena’s other main tourist attraction (along with the Piazza del Campo) is the magnificent striped Duomo mainly built-in the 13th/14th centuries with various later alterations.

I’ve seen so many cathedrals, castles and stately homes in my 43 years (many at home in the UK) that it is easy to take them for granted…….but we really shouldn’t. The skill, craftsmanship, determination and ambition that went into the construction of these monuments is truly staggering, I doubt very much whether we would even contemplate building something like this these days. So each time we visit one we should doff our caps to the “greater fools” of a bygone age who masterminded their construction.

In case you’re wondering I first came across the phrase “Greater Fool” in Aaron Sorkin’s excellent TV series “The Newsroom”:

“The greater fool is someone with the perfect blend of self-delusion and ego to think that he can succeed where others have failed” – Sloan Sabbith to Will McAvoy in “The Newsroom”.

© Mark Simms Photography (2015)

St Martin’s in Lucca

For my last post from Lucca, here are a few shots from the largely 14th/15th century St Martin’s Cathedral. It may not be as grand or famous as the Duomo’s of Florence or Pisa, but it is still very impressive nevertheless:

St Martin's Cathedral in Lucca, Tuscany, Lucca

© Mark Simms Photography (2015)

Inside Pisa’s Camposanto

A few shots from inside the Camposanto in Pisa:

Camposanto Interior, Piazza dei Miracoli, Pisa, Tuscany, Italy

© Mark Simms Photography (2015)

Inside Pisa’s Duomo

A few shots from inside the Duomo in Pisa:

Duomo Interior, Piazza dei Miracoli, Pisa, Tuscany, Italy

Inside Pisa’s Baptistry

A few shots from inside the Baptistry in Pisa:

Baptistry Interior, Piazza dei Miracoli, Pisa, Tuscany, Italy

Piazza dei Miracoli: The Camposanto

Arguably the most interesting of the four buildings situated in Pisa’s Piazza dei Miracoli is the Camposanto: a massive walled cemetery that is supposed to contain earth from Calvary (the site outside Jerusalem where Jesus was crucified) shipped to Pisa during the Crusades:

Piazza dei Miracoli: The Duomo

Pisa’s Cathedral is the oldest of the four main buildings situated in the Piazza dei Miracoli. Started in 1064, it was the largest in Europe at the time and it’s design provided the blueprint for all subsequent Romanesque churches in Tuscany. It’s elliptical dome (another first of its kind) was added in 1380.

Piazza dei Miracoli: View from the Baptistry

A shot of the Duomo in Pisa with the top of the Leaning Tower just showing over the Cathedrals right shoulder……taken from the upper level of the Baptistry: