The Tomb
Pisa was a Ghibelline city, which means that the city supported the Holy Roman Emperor. When Henry VII died, Pisans built a monumental tomb inside their cathedral. The tomb was centered behind the High Altar in the apse. The choice of the place was intended to demonstrate the devotion of the Pisans to the Emperor.
The tomb was built in 1315 by Tino di Camaino and was composed by the grave itself, the statue of Henry VII lying above it and many other statues and angels. But the tomb didn't have a long life: for political reasons it was dismantled and the parts were reused in other places in the square. Until 1985, the grave of the Emperor had been shifted to the right transept of the cathedral, near the tomb of Saint Ranieri; a couple of statues were put on the top of the façade and a number of statues portraying Henry VII himself and his counsellors were in the Cemetery. Nowadays the statues have been translated in the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo in Pisa, while the tomb remains in the cathedral.
Read more about this topic: Henry VII, Holy Roman Emperor
Famous quotes containing the word tomb:
“Laid out for death, let thy last kindness be
With leaves and moss-work for to cover me:
And while the wood-nymphs my cold corpse inter,
Sing thou my dirge, sweet-warbling chorister!
For epitaph, in foliage, next write this:
Here, here the tomb of Robin Herrick is.”
—Robert Herrick (1591–1674)
“But these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them.”
—Bible: New Testament, Luke 24:11.
Response to women who describe the empty tomb of Jesus.