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Medieval Cloister
This medieval cloister forms the heart of the San Matteo monastic complex in Pisa, with the museum galleries arranged around it. You can visit it through the Museo di San Matteo. One of the few original elements surviving from the former Benedictine monastery, it has remained largely intact through the various transformations the complex has undergone over the centuries. The cloister provides insight into monastic life and the architectural layout of the medieval religious community.
Medieval Pisan Painting Section
The medieval Pisan painting section at Museo Nazionale di San Matteo houses the world's finest collection of monumental painted crosses, showcasing the Pisan School's golden age between the 11th and 13th centuries. Over two hundred works on display span from the early 12th century through to the modern period, featuring pieces by Giunta Pisano, Berlinghiero and Simone Martini amongst others. This exceptional gathering of Pisan artistic achievement offers genuine insight into a crucial period of European medieval art.
Lapidary Sculpture Section
The stone sculpture section at Museo Nazionale di San Matteo houses one of the museum's most important collections, spanning from the medieval period through to the 16th century. Here you'll find outstanding Romanesque works alongside masterpieces by Nicola Pisano and Donatello. The section brings together a significant array of carved stone pieces that chart the development of Italian sculpture across several centuries, making it essential viewing for anyone interested in Renaissance and medieval art.
Metalwork and Numismatics Section
The goldsmithing and numismatic section of Pisa's Museo Nazionale di San Matteo showcases fine metalwork alongside a collection of medieval coins and seals, primarily from the Franceschi and Supino collections. Located in Room 15, the numismatic collection spans the 13th to 19th centuries and includes merchant lead seals and official stamps from Pisa and other Italian states. What to see here are rare examples of medieval currency and precious metalwork from the region's commercial past.
Polyptych of Santa Catalina by Simone Martini
Simone Martini's Santa Catalina of Alexandria Polyptych stands as one of the finest examples of 14th-century Italian panel painting. Executed in tempera and gold on wood in 1320, measuring 95×339 cm, this masterwork originally hung on the high altar of the Dominican church of Santa Catalina di Alejandría in Pisa. Today you can visit it at the Museo Nazionale di San Matteo, where it occupies a prominent position on the far wall of a spacious rectangular gallery. It remains the most ambitious and intricate polyptych Martini ever created, and ranks amongst the most significant intact medieval polyptychs to survive.
Donatello's Bust-Reliquary of Saint Rossore
Donatello's gilded and silvered bronze Bust-reliquary of San Rossore (1424–1427) is a pivotal work housed in the Museo Nazionale di San Matteo in Pisa. Measuring 56 x 60.5 cm, it represents the martyr San Lussorio, popularly known as San Rossore. This pioneering example of the modern reliquary in cast bronze portrait form departs strikingly from medieval convention, presenting the saint with remarkable naturalism and individualized features rather than the formal idealisation of earlier pieces. The downward gaze is deliberate—the work was designed to be positioned high out of reach, protecting it from theft. What to see here is a watershed moment in Renaissance sculpture.
Madonna del Latte de Nino Pisano
This marble sculpture by Nino Pisano depicts the Virgin nursing the Christ Child and is housed in the Museo Nazionale di San Matteo in Pisa. Originally commissioned for a niche in the church of Santa Maria della Spina, where a copy now remains, it stands as one of the museum's finest medieval works. A landmark of 14th-century Italian sculpture, the piece is celebrated for its emotional depth and stylistic innovation, making it well worth seeing during your visit to Pisa.
- 1.Medieval Cloister
- 2.Medieval Pisan Painting Section
- 3.Lapidary Sculpture Section
- 4.Metalwork and Numismatics Section
- 5.Polyptych of Santa Catalina by Simone Martini
- 6.Donatello's Bust-Reliquary of Saint Rossore
- 7.Madonna del Latte de Nino Pisano
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