Piazza del Duomo contains an array of elegant buildings that heralded the Pisan Romanesque style.

But Piazza del Duomo isn't Pisa Central, not the central plaza in town as in most Tuscan cities. When it was built between the 11th and 13th centuries, the square was against the city walls, surrounded by farmland. But this peripheral location also somehow plays a role in the piazza's uniqueness. A very large but hidden part of its appeal, aside from the beauty of the buildings, is its spatial geometry. The piazza's medieval engineers knew what they were doing. If you take an aerial photo of the square and draw connect-the-dot lines between the centers, doors, and other focal points of the buildings and the spots where streets enter the piazza, you'll come up with all sorts of perfect triangles, tangential lines of mathematical grace, and other unfathomable hypotenuses.

Incidentally, only the tourist industry calls it Campo dei Miracoli. Pisans think that's just a bit too much and refer to it, as they always have, as Piazza del Duomo. I recommend visiting the Camposanto after the two museums, since both contain exhibits that'll help you appreciate the loss of the Camposanto frescoes.

Campo dei Miracoli Admissions 

Admission charges for the group of monuments and museums on the campo are tied together in a needlessly complicated way. The Cattedrale alone costs 2€ ($2.60). Any other single sight is 5€ ($6.50). Any two sights are 6€ ($7.80). The Cattedrale plus any two other sights is 8€ ($10). An 8.50€ ($11) ticket gets you into the Baptistery, Camposanto, Museo dell'Opera del Duomo, and Museo delle Sinopie, while a 11€ ($14) version throws in the Cattedrale as well. Children under 10 enter free. For more information, visit their collective website at www.opapisa.it.

Admission to the Leaning Tower (17€/$22) is by advance reservation only.