Sinopie Museum

When visiting Piazza dei Miracoli in Pisa, most people focus on the monuments like the Tower or the Baptistery, but just a few meters from the Camposanto, almost set aside, there is a museum that deserves attention for reasons beyond just art.

The Museo delle Sinopie is housed in what was once the Spedale Nuovo di Santo Spirito, a medieval building constructed in the 13th century to welcome pilgrims and the sick along the main routes into the city. Today, it holds a unique heritage not found in traditional museums: preparatory sketches, almost like mural notes left by skilled hands as the basis for great frescoes. These sketches, called “sinopie,” are made with reddish pigments directly on the plaster, before the actual colors are applied. They are invisible traces for the final audience but are essential for constructing the artwork.

The story of their rediscovery is closely linked to the events of World War II: in July 1944, a bombing severely hit the area of the square, setting fire to the Camposanto’s roof and causing extensive damage to the frescoes that had been there for centuries. The high temperatures and melted lead severely compromised the wall decorations. To try to save them, it was decided to detach the frescoes from the walls and restore them. During this process, the sinopie—hidden for centuries beneath the paint—were revealed.

The idea of gathering them in a museum came about almost naturally, to give them proper space and allow everyone to see what usually remains invisible. The works come from famous cycles, such as the Triumph of Death or the Last Judgment, and retain expressive details often lost in the final layer of color. Some strokes appear more instinctive, almost more alive, as if the artist’s hand left a more personal imprint in the drawing than in the finished painting.

Walking through the museum, you get the sense of being inside a kind of mental workshop of the artists of the 14th and 15th centuries. The walls reveal a hidden phase of the creative process—a passage rarely visible elsewhere. The museum itself has an intimate atmosphere, distant from the hustle and bustle just outside. For this reason, it’s perfect for a more personal, almost reflective stop, especially if visited slowly, perhaps at the end of the day.

Anyone interested in art, mural techniques, or simply the history of Piazza dei Miracoli can find here an unexpected point of view. No great expertise is needed to appreciate it: you just need to let your eyes guide you. Every sinopia preserves the memory of a gesture, an intention, a story never fully completed. And perhaps, for this very reason, it is even more fascinating.