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Duomo of Santa Maria dell'Assunta |
Duomo of Santa Maria dell'Assunta The Duomo of Santa Maria dell'Assunta is set on a wide platform raised above the piazza; 11 stairs, perhaps originally 12 to represent the Apostles, lead up to the platform. The western facade, an additional bay, was added to the front of the Duomo from c. 1284-1310. Giovanni Pisano is credited with the design, although scholars debate what portion of the front represents his thinking. Some believe he is only responsible for the lower story. The front features three broadly splayed portals of almost the same size with triangular gables above them. Much of the original sculptural decoration by Giovanni Pisano has been removed to the Duomo Museum for preservation. From 1321-39 the Duomo Nuovo was under construction. This ambitious design would have made the existing nave and choir of the cathedral the new transepts, with a new nave constructed at right angles to the old one. As a result of the Black Plague in 1348 and the discovery that the new structure was unsound, this project was given up |