Ambo of the Cathedral of Pisa, marble pulpit in Pisa Cathedral, Italy

The ambo of Pisa Cathedral is a polygonal marble pulpit carved by Giovanni Pisano, supported by smooth dark reddish-brown columns with carved light capitals and bases, and by caryatids and telamons. Light grey carved lions sit at the column bases, and a parapet of relief figures runs above the columns. Slightly curved panels show the Life of Christ, and the whole stands on a stepped platform inside the cathedral.

Giovanni Pisano carved this marble reading stand between 1301 and 1311, when Pisa was showing its wealth through grand artistic works. The piece was created during a period when the city held influence through maritime trade and artistic patronage.

The pulpit's curved panels carry the Life of Christ, from the Annunciation to the Last Judgement, with the Elect and the Damned flanking Christ as Judge. One caryatid stands for Ecclesia, resting on the four cardinal virtues, which Giovanni's inscription also reads as the four parts of the world, the four rivers of Paradise and the four ages of woman.

The pulpit stands inside Pisa Cathedral, raised on a stepped marble platform enclosed by a low rope between posts, so it is viewed from below rather than climbed. Its polygonal shape means the carved panels and the lions at the column bases read differently from each side; walk around it to compare. A stained-glass window behind it lights the upper parapet.

The carved figures show muscular bodies and active movement, looking quite different from the stiff figures typical of the medieval period. This more lifelike approach was unusual for its time and pointed toward a new way of making sculpture.