San Frediano is a Romanesque-style

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

church in

Pisa Pisa ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Tuscany, Central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for the Leaning Tow ...

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of 3,660,834 inhabitants as of 2025. The capital city is Florence. Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its in ...

, Italy. It now functions as the official church of the University of Pisa.Comune of Pisa
tourism entry on church.

History

Its existence is documented as early as 1061. Founded by the family Buzzaccherini-Sismondi and originally dedicated to Saint Martin, it once had a hospital annexed to it. The Romanesque façade, dating to the early 12th-century shows some of the typical features of the

Pisan Romanesque style Pisan Romanesque style is a variant of the Romanesque architectural style that developed in Pisa at the end of the 10th century and which influenced a wide geographical area at the time when the city was a powerful maritime republic (from the se ...

, such as the blind arcades, the lozenges and the use of bichrome stones (present also in the city's cathedral). The upper section is crowned by a large mullioned window. The interior, despite being damaged by fire in 1675, has maintained the original basilica plan with a central nave and two aisles. The marble columns have capitals decorated with Romanesque-style sculpted figures. It houses a rare wooden cross painted on a gilded panel and titled the ''Crucifix and Histories of the Passion'' (12th century), several Baroque altars and a few 17th-century paintings by Ventura Salimbeni (''Annunciation'' and ''Nativity''), Aurelio Lomi (''Adoration of the Magi''), as well as frescoes by Domenico Passignano. The frescoes of the dome were completed by Rutilio Manetti. The sturdy bell tower is in

brickwork Brickwork is masonry produced by a bricklayer, using bricks and mortar. Typically, rows of bricks called '' courses'' are laid on top of one another to build up a structure such as a brick wall. Bricks may be differentiated from blocks by ...

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Frediano Pisa Frediano 12th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Romanesque architecture in Pisa