Peter Schipperheyn Sculptor

“Campo dei Miracoli” is the complex made famous by the ludicrously leaning tower of Pisa, ludicrous because how is it possible that this great stone construction hasn’t collapsed yet. This grainy fuzzy iphone snap is all I have of  the magic dusk light that illuminated the “Campo”. Over the years I have been to the magnificent buildings of the Baptistery the Duomo and the Tower many times, I never cease to be amazed by how wonderful this place is. Often my nervous system reacts to powerful aesthetic stimulus buy producing in me the desire to chew.. I assimilate the experience by masticating! So here I was walking around grinding my teeth, specially with the ornately carved Carrara marble exterior  of the Baptistery…crisp washed luminous wedding cake lacework. In contrast the interior of the Baptistery is quite austere. The great arches that support the dome set up a striking visual rhythm, years ago in the pouring rain I went there , at that time a rather shambolic looking guide in his unpressed faded uniform took us in and then unannounced broke into song to demonstrate the extraordinary acoustics with his beautiful tenor voice. I wiped the the rain that was dripping from my head onto the baptistery floor, they could have been tears….

Batistero Pisa