San Paolo all Orto (St. Paul in the Garden Church), Pisa

San Paolo all Orto means Saint Paul in the Garden, and it is a lovely name for an exquisite church that was forgotten for years before being unconsecrated and used for concerts, exhibitions, meetings and other cultural events. The church was built in 1086 and has a Romanesque style façade of grey and white marble. Its arches, occuli and lozenges are delicately decorated with carved stone flowers and leaves. At the base of each arch are stone animal heads and on each end of the portals are stone lion grotesques. Over the central portal there are three circles depicting geometrical patterns in coloured stone. The bell tower has been rebuilt several times and the one you will see today dates back to the 17th century.

Between the 12th and the 15th centuries the church was a priory and the home of the Order of Augustinian Sisters. The interior has a single nave and two aisles. The apse fell into ruins at the end of the 15th century and was later destroyed. Although the walls are now covered with posters announcing forthcoming cultural events, you can still see the magnificent frescoes and sinopias that were executed in the 12th and 13th centuries.