Camposanto

Background

The Monumental Cemetery of Pisa was the final structure to be built on the Piazza del Duomo, following the cathedral, the baptistery, and the famous Leaning Tower. The cemetery, a central lawn bordered by Gothic porticoes, was built in 1277 and, during the late Middle Ages, prominent local people were buried there in traditional Roman sarcophagi. The earth of the grassy courtyard was thought to have been carried back from Palestine in the Second Crusade and therefore earned the name camposanto, literally “holy field.” The walls of the porticoes that run along its perimeter were covered with frescoes in the fourteenth century by respected artists Francisco Traini, Bonamico Buffalmacco, Andrea Bonaiuti, and Antonio Veneziano. They depicted images from Dante’s Divine Comedy and stories of Pisan saints. In the fifteenth century, Old Testament scenes were added by Benozzo Gozzoli. When Napoleon reigned as King of Italy in the early nineteenth century, he commanded that all art be taken out of religious buildings and so nearby churches hid their works in the cemetery. During World War II, the frescoes were damaged in a fire started by a grenade and were removed from the walls. Conservation was attempted but the materials and techniques available at the time only harmed them further, causing a white patina to coat the surface.

How We Helped

Opera della Primaziale Pisana, an organization established in the Middle Ages to oversee Piazza del Duomo of Pisa, has been directing the recent study and conservation of the cemetery since the 1990s, in cooperation with conservation studios and nearby universities. By 2007, three major frescoes had already been treated and reinstalled along the portico. The Opera appealed to WMF to support help with the restoration of a fourth, the Building of the Tower of Babel, by Gozzoli. Through WMF’s assistance, the white patina and other accumulations were carefully removed from its surface, the paint was retouched, and the fresco was returned to its original location. In March 2007, a three-day conference was convened, bringing experts together to develop effective restoration methods for the frescoes. Multiple training courses were held in conjunction with local universities and these workshops were so successful that a few students were offered jobs with Opera della Primaziale Pisana.

Why It Matters

Over the centuries, the Monumental Cemetery of Pisa became the resting place for scores of significant political and intellectual figures, including members of the Medici family and professors from the University of Pisa. The cemetery became a public museum when Napoleon’s decree dramatically increased its holdings of art and it now forms a crucial and beautiful part of the Piazza del Duomo. The Opera della Primaziale Pisana, which is slowly expanding its efforts, is committed to restoring the entire structure.