Camposanto Monumentale

The Camposanto Monumentale in Pisa is a historic monumental cemetery located on the north side of the city’s cathedral square, the Piazza dei Miracoli. The building is a long, rectangular cloistered cemetery that has historically housed Roman sarcophagi and large fresco cycles.

Interior spaces display funerary monuments and fresco fragments that illustrate medieval and Renaissance themes, and the cloistered courtyard contains monumental tombs and sculptural elements. The Camposanto’s frescoes were long regarded as an important example of Italian mural painting.

Construction of the cemetery began in the late 13th century to house sacred earth and funerary monuments from across Pisa, and the complex developed over subsequent centuries as new tombs and decorations were added. The cemetery suffered serious damage to its frescoes and structure from aerial bombing in World War II and underwent lengthy conservation and restoration work afterwards.

The Camposanto sits in Pisa’s historic centre within the Piazza dei Miracoli, immediately adjacent to the Cathedral and the Leaning Tower, making it centrally located and accessible on foot from the city centre.

• Piazza location: Located within Pisa's Piazza dei Miracoli complex, it sits adjacent to the Cathedral, Baptistery and Leaning Tower, so many visitors combine all four monuments in one visit.
• Artworks and restoration: Contains medieval fresco cycles and Roman sarcophagi; much of the fresco work was damaged during 20th-century conflict and restored in subsequent decades.