Michelagnolo di Cristofano da Volterra, Le mirabile et inaldite belleze e adornamenti del Campo Sancto di Pisa (c. 1487-1499)

Little is known about the author of the poem "The Wondrous and Incredible Beauties and Adornments of the Camposanto in Pisa". From a short text which he wrote about himself on the 6th of June 1488 we know that Cristofano di Giovanni da Volterra was born in the city of Volterra on the 29th of…Continue reading

Ranieri Prosperi, Descrizione della città di Pisa (1792)

In his Descrizione della città di Pisa of 1792, Ranieri Prosperi gives an account of the history of the Camposanto, the architecture and the paintings. He agrees with other authors that it was Archbishop Ubaldo who brought the earth from the Holy Land and that he was the one who founded the Camposanto, although it…Continue reading

Alessandro da Morrona (1741-1821), Pisa illustrata nelle arti del disegno (1787)

In his discussion of the Camposanto in Pisa illustrata nelle arti del disegno of 1787, Alessandro da Morrona refers explicitly to other authors such as Roncioni and Tronci. He begins by describing how the Pisans fought in the Holy Land, and how Ubaldo Lanfranchi brought the holy earth back to Italy and bought a piece…Continue reading

Gioacchino Cambiagi (1747-1822), Il forestiero erudito (1773)

Gioacchino Cambiagi writes about the Camposanto in his Il forestiero erudito from 1773. He discusses the architecture and the history of the building as well as the paintings, although not in much detail. He does mention important dates and names that were part of the early stages of construction, and he also relates how it…Continue reading

Pandolfo Titi (1696-1765), Guida per il passeggiere dilettante di pittura, scultura, architettura nella Città di Pisa (1751)

Pandolfo Titi’s Guida per il passeggiere dilettante di pittura, scultura, architettura nella Città di Pisa, from 1751, is considered to be the first guide (in the eighteenth-century sense of the word) to Pisa. From 1726, Titi was a member of the order of St. Stephen. His aim seems to be to provide a guide for…Continue reading

Filippo Baldinucci, Notizie de’ Professori del Disegno da Cimabue in qua (1681-1686)

Filippo Baldinucci came from a prominent and wealthy family of Florentine merchants. A painter, theoretician, and biographer of mostly Italian artists, he worked for both the Grand Duke of Tuscany, Ferdinando II de’ Medici, and for his brother Cardinal Leopoldo de’ Medici. As a curator of the Grand Ducal collection, he was one of Italy’s…Continue reading

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