San Nicola is a church in Pisa

Pisa

Pisa is a city in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the right bank of the mouth of the River Arno on the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa...

, Tuscany

Tuscany

Tuscany is a region in Italy. It has an area of about 23,000 square kilometres and a population of about 3.75 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence ....

, Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

.

Church

San Nicola is mentioned for the first time, together with the annexed convent, in 1097. In 1297-1313 the Augustinians enlarged it, perhaps under design by Giovanni Pisano

Giovanni Pisano

Giovanni Pisano was an Italian sculptor, painter and architect. Son of the famous sculptor Nicola Pisano, he received his training in the workshop of his father....

 (eastern side). In the 17th century the edifice was restored with the addition of altars and the Sacrament Chapel by Matteo Nigetti

Matteo Nigetti

Matteo Nigetti was an Italian architect and sculptor. He is considered the most important Baroque architect in Florence....

 (1614).

The façade features pilaster strips, blind arches and lozenges, and is decorated with 12th century intarsia

Intarsia

Intarsia is a form of wood inlaying that is similar to marquetry. The term is also used for a similar technique used with small, highly polished stones set in a marble matrix .- History :...

.
The interior houses the panels of Madonna with Child (by Matteo Traini, 14th century) and of St. Nicholas Saving Pisa from the Plague (15th century), canvases by Giovanni Stefano Marucelli

Giovanni Stefano Marucelli

Giovanni Stefano Marucelli was an Italian painter and architect of the Baroque period, active in Tuscany, including Florence and Pisa.His name is also written as Maruscelli, Maruscielli, or Marscelli...

 and Giovanni Biliverti

Giovanni Biliverti

Giovanni Biliverti was an Italian painter of the late-Mannerism and early-Baroque period, active mainly in his adoptive city of Florence, as well as Rome. His father had been born in was born at Maastricht. Also known as Giovanni Biliverti. He was the son of the Flemish painter in Florence,...

, a Crucifix by Giovanni Pisano

Giovanni Pisano

Giovanni Pisano was an Italian sculptor, painter and architect. Son of the famous sculptor Nicola Pisano, he received his training in the workshop of his father....

, a Madonna with Child by Nino Pisano

Nino Pisano

thumb|280px|"Euclid", panel from [[Giotto's Bell Tower]], now in the [[Museo dell'Opera del Duomo |Museo dell'Opera del Duomo]], [[Florence]].Nino Pisano thumb|280px|"Euclid", panel from [[Giotto's Bell Tower]], now in the [[Museo dell'Opera del Duomo (Florence)|Museo dell'Opera del Duomo]],...

 and an Annunciation by Francesco di Valdambrino.

A covered passage connects the church to the Torre De Cantone and, from it, to the Palazzo delle Vedove

Palazzo delle Vedove

The Palazzo delle Vedove is a palace in Pisa, Tuscany, Italy.The palace, built in the 12th–14th centuries, is sited land which in antique times was the domus of the Bocci family of Pisa. Detail of the medieval edifice can still be seen in the exterior, including a marble quadruple mullioned window...

: it was used by the Medici

Medici

The House of Medici or Famiglia de' Medici was a political dynasty, banking family and later royal house that first began to gather prominence under Cosimo de' Medici in the Republic of Florence during the late 14th century. The family originated in the Mugello region of the Tuscan countryside,...

 gentlewoman residing in the latter to reach the church without walking in the streets.

Bell tower

The octagonal bell tower, the second most famous in the city after the Leaning Tower

Leaning Tower of Pisa

The Leaning Tower of Pisa or simply the Tower of Pisa is the campanile, or freestanding bell tower, of the cathedral of the Italian city of Pisa...

, most likely dates to 1170. There is no proof, but, as in the case of its other more famous counterpart, the architect seems to be Diotisalvi

Diotisalvi

Diotisalvi, Deotisalvi or Deustesalvet was an architect from Pisa, Italy, active in the 12th century in Pisa. Little is known of him.- Biography :...

. Originally it was separated from the nearby buildings. It is also slightly tilting; the base is under the current street level.

The lower part starts at the top of each side with blind arches including lozenges. The bell has instead a good plan, with a single mullioned window on each side, and is surrounded by a gallery with small arches supported by columns. The cusp has a pyramidal shape.

The polychrome effect was obtained by using stones from different locations.

External links

• Page on the bell tower at Pisa's comune website