Stereoscopic photograph by Alphonse Bernoud showing an interior view in Italy, 'Campo Santo, Pisa'. French School, Italy, ca. late 1850s.

Stereoscopic photograph showing an interior view in Italy, 'Campo Santo, Pisa'. Lettered with artist's name and addresses (Naples and Florence) and inscribed in ink with the number 327. Inscribed in ink on the back with title.

The Camposanto ("Holy Field") or Monumental Cemetery in Pisa was constructed in 1278 around sacred dirt brought back from Golgotha by Archbishop Ubaldo Lanfranchi (1108-78) during the Crusades. Later decorated with extensive frescoes, it was the burial place of the Pisan upper class for centuries.
In 1278, Giovanni di Simone (architect of the Leaning Tower) designed a marble cloister to enclose the holy ground, which became the primary cemetery for Pisa's upper class until 1779. In the 14th and 15th centuries, the walls of the Camposanto were decorated with frescoes by Taddeo Gaddi, Spinello Aretino, Benozzo Gozzoli, Andrea Bonaiuti, Antonio Veneziano, and Piero di Puccio.

Tragically, the extensive frescoes of the Camposanto were almost completely destroyed by a bombing raid during World War II. On July 27, 1944, American warplanes launched a major air attack against Pisa, which was still held by the Nazis. The wooden roof caught fire, its lead panels melted and the hot metal ran all over the frescoes. Many were completely destroyed and the few that remained were badly damaged.
The Camposanto has since been fully restored and most of the surviving frescoes, along with preparatory sketches (sinopie) found underneath, have been moved to the Museo delle Sinopie in Pisa.

E.1420-1992