Pisa

Pisa is a city in Tuscany, Central Italy. It is where the Arno River meets the Ligurian Sea. Pisa is the capital of the Province of Pisa.

Many people know Pisa because of the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa. But the city has much more to see. It has over twenty historic churches and many beautiful old palaces from medieval and Renaissance times.

Pisa has a long history as one of the Italian maritime republics. This history helped build many of its important buildings. Today, Pisa is also a place for learning. It is home to the University of Pisa, which began in the 12th century. The city also has the Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa and the Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies. This makes Pisa an important place for education and culture.

History

Ancient times

Many believe the name Pisa comes from an ancient group called the Etruscans and means "mouth," because Pisa is at the mouth of the Arno river.

Old digs in the 1980s and 1990s found many old remains, including a tomb from the fifth century BC. This proves Pisa was an Etruscan city. It was also a sea city and traded with other places around the Mediterranean.

Old Roman writers called Pisa an old city. One famous writer, Virgil, said Pisa was already big during the times he wrote about. Pisa was important for sea travel and was the only port between two big places, Genoa and Ostia. It became a Roman town and later an important port under Emperor Augustus.

Late Antiquity and Early Middle Ages

During the last years of the Roman Empire, Pisa did not decline as much as other Italian cities, possibly because of its river system and defenses. Pisa became a main port for the Upper Tyrrhenian Sea and a trading center between Tuscany and places like Corsica, Sardinia, and southern France and Spain.

After a ruler named Charlemagne defeated another leader, Pisa went through a crisis but recovered. It became part of the duchy of Lucca. In 860, Pisa was captured by sea raiders. By 930, Pisa became a county center. In 1003, Pisa had its first big war, fighting against Lucca. From the ninth century, Pisan ships fought off sea raiders and helped others.

11th century

Pisa’s power as a sea nation grew greatly in the 11th century and it became one of the four main sea republics of Italy.

The city was a big trading center with a large fleet and navy. It expanded in 1005 by attacking a city in southern Italy. Pisa fought with other groups called Saracens who had bases in Corsica. In 1017, Pisa helped Sardinian leaders defeat a Saracen king. This gave Pisa control of the Tyrrhenian Sea. Pisa also defeated rival towns in Sicily and conquered Carthage in North Africa. In 1051–1052, a leader named Jacopo Ciurini took over Corsica. In 1063, another leader helped a Norman ruler take Palermo from Saracen pirates. The treasures from this victory helped build Pisa’s famous cathedral and other buildings.

In 1060, Pisa fought its first battle with Genoa. Pisa’s victory helped it grow in the Mediterranean. In 1077, a pope recognized Pisa’s sea laws, and in 1081, an emperor recognized its government. In 1092, another pope gave Pisa control over Corsica and Sardinia and made it an archbishopric.

Pisa’s fleet captured a city in 1087 and got a ransom. In 1091, Pisan and Genoese ships helped a ruler push out another leader from a city. A Pisan fleet also joined the First Crusade and helped take Jerusalem in 1099. On the way, they attacked some islands. The Pisans were led by their archbishop, Daibert, who later became a leader in Jerusalem. Pisa and other sea republics set up trading posts and colonies in many eastern coastal cities. They had special rights in places like Antioch, Acre, Jaffa, Tripoli, Tyre, Latakia, and Accone. They also had places in Jerusalem, Caesarea, Cairo, Alexandria, and Constantinople, where they had special trading rights given by the Byzantine Emperor Alexius I Comnenus.

12th century

In 1113, Pisa and a pope worked with others to free the Balearic Islands from rulers called Moors; the queen and king of Mallorca were brought to Tuscany. Although the Moors soon took the islands back, the treasure helped Pisa build more, especially the cathedral, and Pisa became important in the Western Mediterranean.

In the following years, Pisa’s fleet fought off raiders after tough battles. Though short-lived, this success increased rivalry with Genoa. Pisa traded with places like Languedoc, Provence, Noli, Savona, Fréjus, and Montpellier, which affected Genoese interests in cities like Hyères, Fos, Antibes, and Marseille.

The war between Pisa and Genoa started in 1119 when Genoa attacked Pisan ships and lasted until 1133. They fought on land and sea, but it was mostly raids and attacks.

In June 1135, a leader named Bernard of Clairvaux helped a meeting in Pisa, supporting a pope against another pope who was supported by Norman rulers. The pope resolved the conflict with Genoa, letting Pisa and Genoa have their own areas. Pisa then helped the pope fight against a Sicilian king. Pisa conquered Amalfi on August 6, 1136, destroying ships and castles and driving back an army. This victory made Pisa very powerful, equal to Venice. Two years later, Pisan soldiers attacked and sacked Salerno.

Pisa supported a group called the Ghibelline party, which was liked by a ruler named Frederick I. He gave Pisa many rights, like trading freely in the empire, control of parts of the coast, and shares of cities like Palermo, Messina, Salerno, Naples, Gaeta, Mazara, and Trapani, and a street with houses for merchants in every city of the Kingdom of Sicily. These rights were later confirmed by other rulers, but they made other cities like Lucca, Massa, Volterra, and Florence unhappy, as they wanted to expand to the sea. The fight with Lucca also involved control of a castle and a main trade route between Rome and France. Pisa’s growing power also led to another war with Genoa.

Genoa had become strong in southern France. The war started in 1165 when an attack on a convoy going to Pisan trade centers on the Rhône river by Genoa and an ally failed. Pisa was allied with Provence. The war continued until 1175 without big wins. Another fight happened in Sicily, where both cities had rights. In 1192, Pisa took over Messina. This led to battles ending with Genoa taking Syracuse in 1204. Later, trading places in Sicily were lost when a new pope allied with a group led by Florence. The pope also made an agreement with Genoa, weakening Pisa in southern Italy.

To fight Genoa’s control in the southern Tyrrhenian Sea, Pisa strengthened ties with bases in Spain and France like Marseille, Narbonne, and Barcelona and tried to challenge Venice’s rule of the Adriatic Sea. In 1180, Pisa and Venice agreed not to attack each other in the Tyrrhenian and Adriatic seas, but the death of a Byzantine emperor in Constantinople changed things. Soon, attacks on Venetian ships happened. Pisa made trade and political agreements with Ancona, Pula, Zara, Split, and Brindisi; in 1195, a Pisan fleet went to Pola to defend its independence from Venice, but Venice took it back.

The cities signed a peace treaty in 1196, which was good for Pisa, but in 1199, Pisa broke it by blockading the port of Brindisi in Apulia. In the next sea battle, they were defeated by the Venetians. The war ended in 1206 with a treaty where Pisa gave up hopes to grow in the Adriatic but kept trading places there. After that, Pisa and Venice worked together against Genoa and sometimes helped each other in Constantinople.

13th century

In 1209 in Lerici, meetings were held to end the rivalry with Genoa. A 20-year peace treaty was signed, but in 1220, an emperor confirmed his control over the Tyrrhenian coast, making Genoa and Tuscany unhappy with Pisa. In the following years, Pisa fought with Lucca in Garfagnana and was defeated by the Florentines at Castel del Bosco. Pisa’s strong support for the Ghibelline party made it oppose the pope, who was fighting the Holy Roman Empire, and the pope tried to take away Pisa’s lands in northern Sardinia.

In 1238, the pope formed an alliance between Genoa and Venice against the empire and Pisa. In 1239, the pope told a ruler to leave and called for a meeting in Rome in 1241. On May 3, 1241, a fleet of Pisan and Sicilian ships attacked a Genoese group carrying leaders from northern Italy and France near the isle of Giglio, in front of Tuscany; Genoa lost 25 ships, and about a thousand sailors, two leaders, and one bishop were captured. After this big win, the meeting in Rome failed, but Pisa was told it could no longer support the empire and was removed from support in 1257. Pisa tried to take over a city in Corsica and even attack Genoa in 1243.

Genoa recovered quickly and took back Lerici, which the Pisans had taken earlier, in 1256.

The growth in the Mediterranean and the rise of merchant classes led to changes in the city’s government. The old system with leaders called consuls was replaced, and in 1230, new rulers chose a "people's chieftain" as both civil and military leader. Even with these changes, the lands they controlled and the city itself were troubled by fights between two families, the Della Gherardesca and the Visconti. In 1237 the archbishop and the emperor helped the two sides make peace, but problems continued. In 1254, the people rebelled and chose 12 "People's Elders" to represent them. They also added new groups called People’s Councils made of leaders from guilds and companies, which could approve laws made by the Main Council and the Senate.

Decline

The decline of Pisa is said to have started on August 6, 1284, when a bigger fleet from Pisa was defeated by the Genoese in a big sea battle called the Battle of Meloria. This defeat ended Pisa’s sea power and the city never fully recovered; in 1290, the Genoese destroyed Pisa’s port, and salt was spread on the land. The area around Pisa did not allow the city to recover from losing thousands of sailors, while Liguria had enough sailors for Genoa. Trade continued but in smaller amounts, and the end came when the Arno river changed its course, stopping ships from reaching the city’s port. The nearby area also likely got sick with malaria. The true end came in 1324, when Sardinia was lost to the Aragonese.

Always supporting the Ghibelline party, Pisa tried to grow in the 14th century and even beat Florence in a battle in 1315, under a leader named Uguccione della Faggiuola. However, after a long siege, Pisa was taken over by Florentines in 1405. Florentine leaders tricked the "people's chieftain," Giovanni Gambacorta, who opened the city gate of San Marco at night. Pisa was never taken by an army. In 1409, Pisa hosted a meeting about a big church problem. In the 15th century, it became harder to reach the sea as the port silted up. When a French ruler invaded Italy in 1494 to claim Naples, Pisa declared its independence as the Second Pisan Republic.

The new freedom did not last long; 15 years of battles and sieges by Florentine troops were made, but they could not take the city. One leader named Vitellozzo Vitelli with his brother Paolo managed to break through Pisa’s walls in the southwest part but did not enter the city. For this, they were suspected of working with others and Paolo was killed. However, Pisa’s resources were running low, and in the end, the city was sold to a family from Milan and then to Florence again. Livorno took over as the main port of Tuscany. Pisa took on more of a cultural role, helped by the University of Pisa, created in 1343, later strengthened by the Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, founded in 1810 by Napoleon, and more recently by the Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa (1987).

For fourteen years between 1801 and 1815, Tuscany was ruled by France and Spain. In 1801, the area became the Kingdom of Etruria, made from the Grand Duchy of Tuscany under a treaty, ruled by a king who was a cousin of the King of Spain, as part of an agreement between France and Spain. However, after only six years, in 1807, Napoleon broke up the kingdom and made it part of France, with Pisa within the new French department of Méditerranée. But only eight years later, after Napoleon’s final defeat in 1814, the department was disbanded in 1815, under the terms of the Congress of Vienna, and the Grand Duchy of Tuscany was given back to its previous ruler, Ferdinand III.

Pisa was the birthplace of the important early scientist Galileo Galilei. It is still the seat of a leader of the church. Besides its schools, it has become a center for industry and a railway hub. It was damaged many times during World War II.

Since the early 1950s, the US Army has kept Camp Darby just outside Pisa, which is used by many US military personnel as a base for vacations in the area.

Geography

Climate

Pisa has a mix of humid subtropical and Mediterranean climate. Winters are cool to mild, and summers are hot. Rain usually falls more in the autumn, and snow is very rare.

Government

See also: List of mayors of Pisa

Pisa is a city in Italy with its own local government. It is led by a mayor and a group of people who help make decisions for the city. This helps the community work together to handle important matters.

Culture

Pisa has many fun traditions and cultural events. One famous game is called Gioco del Ponte, or the Game of the Bridge. This game started a long time ago on a big bridge in the city. Players used wooden boards, but followed rules to keep it safe. The goal was to push the other team off the bridge. Today, the game is remembered with special parades and events.

The city also enjoys many festivals and events. Some of these include the Pisa New Year celebration on March 25, the Luminara festival on June 16, and music festivals like Metarock and the Pisa Gospel Festival. These events bring together people to celebrate Pisa's rich culture.

Population

Pisa has many people living in it. The city is part of a bigger area with even more people. It is a busy place with lots of homes and buildings.

Main sights

The bell tower of the cathedral, called the Leaning Tower of Pisa, is the city's most famous sight. Pisa also has many other important artworks and buildings. You can find these in the Piazza del Duomo, also known as Piazza dei Miracoli (Square of Miracles), north of the old town center. The Piazza del Duomo has the Duomo (the Cathedral), the Baptistry, and the Campo Santo (the large cemetery). This medieval area also has an old hospital, now called Museo delle Sinopie, and several palaces. All these buildings are cared for by the Opera (fabrica ecclesiae) della Primaziale Pisana, a group that has looked after them since the Cathedral was built in 1063. The area is surrounded by old walls.

Other interesting places in Pisa include:

• Knights' Square (Piazza dei Cavalieri), where you can see the Palazzo della Carovana, designed by Giorgio Vasari.
• Santo Stefano dei Cavalieri, a church on Piazza dei Cavalieri, also designed by Vasari. It has important artworks.
• St. Sixtus, a small church finished in 1133, close to Piazza dei Cavalieri. It is one of the best-preserved early Romanesque buildings in the city.
• St. Francis, a church built after 1276. It has a single nave, a notable belfry, and a 15th-century cloister. The church has works by several famous artists.
• San Frediano, a church built by 1061, with a basilica interior and important paintings.
• San Nicola, a medieval church enlarged between 1297 and 1313. It contains paintings and wood sculptures by well-known artists.
• Santa Maria della Spina, a small white marble church next to the Arno river, built in 1230.
• San Paolo a Ripa d'Arno, a church founded around 952 and enlarged in the mid-12th century.
• San Pietro in Vinculis, known as San Pierino, an 11th-century church with a crypt and a special mosaic on the floor.
• Borgo Stretto, a medieval neighborhood with strolling arcades. It includes the Gothic-Romanesque church of San Michele in Borgo (built in 990).
• There are at least two other leaning towers in the city.
• Medici Palace, once owned by the Appiano family and later by the Medici family.
• Orto botanico di Pisa, Europe's oldest university botanical garden.
• The Lungarno, the avenues along the river Arno, which have many important buildings:
  • Palazzo Reale. The ("Royal Palace"), once belonged to the Caetani family. Here Galileo Galilei showed the planets he had discovered to the Grand Duke of Tuscany. The palace is now a museum.
  • Palazzo Gambacorti, a 14th-century Gothic palace, now houses the offices of the municipality.
  • Palazzo Agostini, a 15th-century Gothic palace that includes old city walls. It has a famous coffeeshop, Caffè dell'Ussero, and was a meeting spot for important people in the past.
  • Mural Tuttomondo. A modern mural by Keith Haring, painted in June 1989.

Museums

• Museo dell'Opera del Duomo: exhibiting original sculptures, treasures of the cathedral, and other important items.
• Museo delle Sinopie: showing the underdrawings for frescoes from the Campo Santo.
• Museo Nazionale di San Matteo: exhibiting sculptures and paintings from the 12th to 15th centuries, including works by famous artists.
• Museo Nazionale di Palazzo Reale: exhibiting belongings of families that lived in the palace.
• Museo Nazionale degli Strumenti per il Calcolo: exhibiting instruments used in science.
• Museo di storia naturale dell'Università di Pisa (Natural History Museum of the University of Pisa), located outside the city. It houses a large collection of cetacean skeletons.
• Palazzo Blu: a center for temporary exhibitions and cultural activities, located in the old town.
• Cantiere delle Navi di Pisa - The Pisa's Ancient Ships Archaeological Area: A large museum that visitors can explore with a guided tour. It opened in June 2019 and contains many ancient ships and ceramics.

Churches

• Baptistry
• San Francesco
• San Frediano
• San Giorgio ai Tedeschi
• San Michele in Borgo
• San Nicola
• San Paolo a Ripa d'Arno
• San Paolo all'Orto
• San Piero a Grado
• San Pietro in Vinculis
• San Sisto
• San Tommaso delle Convertite
• San Zeno
• Santa Caterina
• Santa Cristina
• Santa Maria della Spina
• Santo Sepolcro

Palaces, towers and villas

• Palazzo del Collegio Puteano
• Palazzo della Carovana
• Palazzo delle Vedove
• Torre dei Gualandi
• Villa di Corliano
• Leaning Tower of Pisa

Other buildings

• Pisa Courthouse
• Synagogue of Pisa

Sports

Football is a very popular sport in Pisa. The local team, Pisa SC, plays in Serie A, the top football league in Italy. They have had many talented players and play their games at Arena Garibaldi, a stadium that opened in 1919.

Shooting is also an important sport in Pisa. A shooting club was started there in 1862, and they got their own practice field in 1885.

Transport

Airport

Pisa has an international airport called Galileo Galilei in the San Giusto neighborhood. Many airlines fly here to places in Italy and around the world, including some low-cost options.

Pisamover

The airport is linked to Pisa Centrale railway station by a special bus system called Pisamover. This system started in March 2017. It travels a short distance in just 5 minutes and runs every 5 minutes. It also stops at a parking area along the way.

Buses

The city’s public buses are managed by Autolinee Toscane. There are many bus routes for getting around Pisa and nearby areas.

Trains

Pisa has two main train stations for passengers: Pisa Centrale and Pisa San Rossore.

Pisa Centrale is the main station. It connects Pisa to many important cities in Italy such as Rome, Florence, Genoa, Turin, Naples, Livorno, and Grosseto.

Pisa San Rossore links Pisa with Lucca and Viareggio. It is smaller and located near the famous Leaning Tower.

Motorway

Pisa is connected to major highways, including Autostrada A11 from Florence and Autostrada A12 linking Genoa to Rosignano, with exits for Pisa Nord and Pisa Centro – Airport.

Education

Pisa is home to the University of Pisa, which studies Physics, Mathematics, Engineering, and Computer Science. Two special schools, the Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna and the Scuola Normale Superiore, focus on teaching students who finished high school.

The Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa began in 1810 and became a university in 1862. The Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies of Pisa is another special school that studies applied sciences. The University of Pisa is one of Italy’s oldest universities, started in 1343, and it has the oldest botanical garden in Europe, created in 1544.

Notable people

Pisa has been home to many famous people from different fields. Some well-known individuals include Giuliano Amato, a politician who served as Italy's Prime Minister, and Andrea Bocelli, a famous musician. Other famous people are Giosuè Carducci, who won a big prize for writing, and Leonardo Fibonacci, an important mathematician.

The city has also produced athletes like Giorgio Chiellini, a well-known footballer, and Camila Giorgi, a tennis player. These people have done great things and are proud to be from Pisa.

Sport

Pisa has seen many athletes grow and succeed, including Jason Acuña, known for his stunts, and Giorgio Chiellini, a famous footballer. More recently, Nicola Lacorte, born in 2007, is becoming known as a promising racing driver.

Sister cities

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Italy

Pisa is twinned with many cities around the world, showing friendship and support. Some of these cities include:

• Acre, Israel (since 1988)
• Akademgorodok (Novosibirsk), Russia (since 1991)
• Angers, France (since 1982)
• Hangzhou, China (since 2008)
• Iglesias, Italy (since 2009)
• Jericho, Palestine (since 2000)
• Kolding, Denmark (since 2007)
• Niles, United States (since 1991)
• Ocala, United States (since 2004)
• Rhodes, Greece (since 2009)
• Santiago de Compostela, Spain (since 2009)
• Unna, Germany (since 1996)