Pisa

Famous for its architecture and as the birthplace of Galileo, Pisa, on the River Arno in Tuscany, north central Italy, is the capital of the province of of the same name. Throughout the middle ages Pisa was an important city-state and commercial centre, but its power waned after its conquest by Florence in 1509. Its most notable architecture includes the marble, Pisan Romanesque complex comprising the Cathedral (1068-1118), the Baptistery (1153-1278), the Campanile, the famous leaning tower (1174-1350), and the Campo Santo (1278-83, with fourteenth and fifteenth century additions). Also of note is the Church of Santa Maria della Spina, Ruskin 's 'Pisan Chapel of the Thorn,' also referred to by him as 'my pet La Spina' ( Works, 35.419). The church was twice drawn by Ruskin, firstly in a picturesque manner in 1840 and later with the aid of the daguerrotype in 1845. The first is reproduced as Plate 4 in Volume 14 of Cook and Wedderburn and the second as Plate 7 in Volume 27. The church was rebuilt at a higher level after flood damage in 1871. Ruskin visited Pisa on his tours to Italy of 1840, 1845 and 1846. The visit of 1840 was in the company of his parents. For Ruskin, 'the first sight of Pisa, where the solemnity and purity of its architecture impressed [him] deeply; yet chiefly in connection with Byron and Shelley', indicates that he still had an associative and picturesque view of architecture ( Works, 35.267). When he returned without his parents in 1845 his reactions were different. He now focussed on the details of architecture. The Campo Santo, which had previously disappointed him, now moved him. These changed perceptions provide some of the grounds for Modern Painters II. In 1846 he again visited Pisa, this time with his parents. John James Ruskin was disappointed with the change in Ruskin's perceptions ( Works, 35.418-19). Ruskin revisited Pisa in 1882 with W. G. Collingwood.

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