Coordinates: 43°43′N 10°24′E

Pisa
Pisa (/ˈpiːzə/ PEE-zə, Italian: [ˈpiːza] ( listen) or [ˈpiːsa][4]) is a city and
comune in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it Pisa
empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Comune
Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower (the bell
tower of the city's cathedral), the city of over 91,104 residents (around Comune di Pisa
200,000 with the metropolitan area) contains more than 20 other historic
churches, several medieval palaces, and various bridges across the Arno.
Much of the city's architecture was financed from its history as one of
the Italian maritime republics.

The city is also home to the University of Pisa, which has a history
going back to the 12th century and also has the Scuola Normale
Superiore di Pisa, founded by Napoleon in 1810, and its offshoot, the
Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, as the best-sanctioned Superior
Graduate Schools in Italy.[5]

Historic centre of Pisa on river Arno

Contents
History
Ancient times
Late Antiquity and Early Middle Ages Flag
11th century Coat of arms
12th century Location of Pisa
13th century
Decline
Geography
Climate
Government
Main sights
Museums
Educational institutions
Churches
Palaces, towers and villas
Notable people associated with Pisa
Transport
Travel links
Pisamover
Buses
Trains
Cars
Pisa
Sports
Festivals and cultural events
International relations
Twin towns and sister cities
References
 Notes
Bibliography
External links

History
Historical affiliations
Roman Republic 180–27 BC Ancient times

Roman Empire 27 BC–285 The origin of the name, Pisa, is a

AD mystery. While the origin of the
Western Roman Empire city had remained unknown for
285–476 centuries, the Pelasgi, the Greeks,
Kingdom of Odoacer 476– the Etruscans, and the Ligurians
493 had variously been proposed as
founders of the city (for example, a Location of Pisa in Italy
Ostrogothic Kingdom
colony of the ancient city of Pisa,
493–553
Greece). Archaeological remains
Eastern Roman Empire
from the fifth century BC
553–603
confirmed the existence of a city at
Lombard Kingdom 603–
the sea, trading with Greeks and
773 Pisa
Gauls. The presence of an Etruscan
Carolingian Empire 774–
necropolis, discovered during
812
excavations in the Arena Garibaldi
March of Tuscany 812–
in 1991, confirmed its Etruscan
1000
origins.
Republic of Pisa 1000–
1406 Ancient Roman authors referred to
Republic of Florence Pisa as an old city. Strabo referred
1406–1569 Pisa's origins to the mythical
Grand Duchy of Tuscany Nestor, king of Pylos, after the fall
1569–1801 of Troy. Virgil, in his Aeneid, states Pisa (Tuscany)
Kingdom of Etruria 1801– that Pisa was already a great center Coordinates: 43°43′N 10°24′E
1807 by the times described; the settlers
First French Empire 1807– Country Italy
from the Alpheus coast have been
1815 Region Tuscany
credited with the founding of the
Grand Duchy of Tuscany Province Pisa (PI)
city in the 'Etruscan lands'. The
1815–1859 Virgilian commentator Servius Frazioni Calambrone, Coltano,
United Provinces of wrote that the Teuti, or Pelops, the Marina di Pisa, San Piero a
Central Italy 1859–1860 king of the Pisaeans, founded the Grado, Tirrenia
Kingdom of Italy 1861– town 13 centuries before the start Government
1946 of the common era. • Mayor Michele Conti
Italian Republic 1946–present
The maritime role of Pisa should Area[2]
have been already prominent if the • Total 185 km2 (71 sq mi)
ancient authorities ascribed to it the invention of the naval ram. Pisa took Elevation 4 m (13 ft)
advantage of being the only port along the western coast between Genoa Population (January 1, 2015)[3]
(then a small village) and Ostia. Pisa served as a base for Roman naval
• Total 91,104[1]
expeditions against Ligurians, Gauls, and Carthaginians. In 180 BC, it
became a Roman colony under Roman law, as Portus Pisanus. In 89 Demonym(s) Pisano
BC, Portus Pisanus became a municipium. Emperor Augustus fortified Pisan (English)
the colony into an important port and changed the name to Colonia Iulia Time zone UTC+1 (CET)
obsequens. • Summer (DST) UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code 56121–56128
ISTAT code 050026 (http://ottomilac
ensus.istat.it/comune/0
Pisa supposedly was founded on the shore, but due to the alluvial 50/050026)
sediments from the Arno and the Serchio, whose mouth lies about 11 km Patron saint San Ranieri
(7 mi) north of the Arno's, the shore moved west. Strabo states that the Saint day June 17
city was 4.0 km (2.5 mi) away from the coast. Currently, it is located
Website Official website (http://w
9.7 km (6 mi) from the coast. However, it was a maritime city, with ships
ww.comune.pisa.it)
sailing up the Arno.[6] In the 90s AD, a baths complex was built in the
city.

Late Antiquity and Early Middle Ages

During the last years of the Western Roman Empire, Pisa did not
decline as much as the other cities of Italy, probably due to the
complexity of its river system and its consequent ease of defence. In
the seventh century, Pisa helped Pope Gregory I by supplying
numerous ships in his military expedition against the Byzantines of
Ravenna: Pisa was the sole Byzantine centre of Tuscia to fall
peacefully in Lombard hands, through assimilation with the
neighbouring region where their trading interests were prevalent. Pisa
began in this way its rise to the role of main port of the Upper
Tyrrhenian Sea and became the main trading centre between Tuscany
and Corsica, Sardinia, and the southern coasts of France and Spain.

After Charlemagne had defeated the Lombards under the command Hypothetical map of Pisa in the fifth century AD
of Desiderius in 774, Pisa went through a crisis, but soon recovered.
Politically, it became part of the duchy of Lucca. In 860, Pisa was
captured by vikings led by Björn Ironside. In 930, Pisa became the county centre (status it maintained until the arrival of
Otto I) within the mark of Tuscia. Lucca was the capital but Pisa was the most important city, as in the middle of 10th
century Liutprand of Cremona, bishop of Cremona, called Pisa Tusciae provinciae caput ("capital of the province of
Tuscia"), and a century later, the marquis of Tuscia was commonly referred to as "marquis of Pisa". In 1003, Pisa was the
protagonist of the first communal war in Italy, against Lucca. From the naval point of view, since the 9th century, the
emergence of the Saracen pirates urged the city to expand its fleet; in the following years, this fleet gave the town an
opportunity for more expansion. In 828, Pisan ships assaulted the coast of North Africa. In 871, they took part in the
defence of Salerno from the Saracens. In 970, they gave also strong support to Otto I's expedition, defeating a Byzantine
fleet in front of Calabrese coasts.

11th century

The power of Pisa as a maritime nation began to grow and reached

its apex in the 11th century, when it acquired traditional fame as one
of the four main historical maritime republics of Italy (Repubbliche
Marinare).

At that time, the city was a very important commercial centre and
controlled a significant Mediterranean merchant fleet and navy. It
expanded its powers in 1005 through the sack of Reggio Calabria in
the south of Italy. Pisa was in continuous conflict with some
'Saracens' - a medieval term to refer to Arab Muslims - who had their
bases in Corsica, for control of the Mediterranean. In 1017, Sardinian
Giudicati were militarily supported by Pisa, in alliance with Genoa,
Hypothetical map of Pisa in the 11th century AD
to defeat the Saracen King Mugahid, who had settled a logistic base
in the north of Sardinia the year before. This victory gave Pisa
supremacy in the Tyrrhenian Sea. When the Pisans subsequently
ousted the Genoese from Sardinia, a new conflict and rivalry was born between these major marine republics. Between
1030 and 1035, Pisa went on to defeat several rival towns in Sicily and conquer Carthage in North Africa. In 1051–1052,
the admiral Jacopo Ciurini conquered Corsica, provoking more resentment from the Genoese. In 1063, Admiral Giovanni
Orlandi, coming to the aid of the Norman Roger I, took Palermo from the Saracen pirates. The gold treasure taken from
the Saracens in Palermo allowed the Pisans to start the building of their cathedral and the other monuments which
constitute the famous Piazza del Duomo.

In 1060, Pisa had to engage in their first battle with Genoa. The Pisan victory helped to consolidate its position in the
Mediterranean. Pope Gregory VII recognised in 1077 the new "Laws and customs of the sea" instituted by the Pisans, and
emperor Henry IV granted them the right to name their own consuls, advised by a council of elders. This was simply a
confirmation of the present situation, because in those years, the marquis had already been excluded from power. In 1092,
Pope Urban II awarded Pisa the supremacy over Corsica and Sardinia, and at the same time raising the town to the rank of
archbishopric.

Pisa sacked the Tunisian city of Mahdia in 1088. Four years later, Pisan and Genoese ships helped Alfonso VI of Castilla
to push El Cid out of Valencia. A Pisan fleet of 120 ships also took part in the First Crusade, and the Pisans were
instrumental in the taking of Jerusalem in 1099. On their way to the Holy Land, the ships did not miss the occasion to sack
some Byzantine islands; the Pisan crusaders were led by their archbishop Daibert, the future patriarch of Jerusalem. Pisa
and the other Repubbliche Marinare took advantage of the crusade to establish trading posts and colonies in the Eastern
coastal cities of the Levant. In particular, the Pisans founded colonies in Antiochia, Acre, Jaffa, Tripoli, Tyre, Latakia, and
Accone. They also had other possessions in Jerusalem and Caesarea, plus smaller colonies (with lesser autonomy) in
Cairo, Alexandria, and of course Constantinople, where the Byzantine Emperor Alexius I Comnenus granted them special
mooring and trading rights. In all these cities, the Pisans were granted privileges and immunity from taxation, but had to
contribute to the defence in case of attack. In the 12th century, the Pisan quarter in the eastern part of Constantinople had
grown to 1,000 people. For some years of that century, Pisa was the most prominent commercial and military ally of the
Byzantine Empire, overcoming Venice itself.

12th century

In 1113, Pisa and Pope Paschal II set up, together with the count of Barcelona and other contingents from Provence and
Italy (Genoese excluded), a war to free the Balearic Islands from the Moors; the queen and the king of Majorca were
brought in chains to Tuscany. Though the Almoravides soon reconquered the island, the booty taken helped the Pisans in
their magnificent programme of buildings, especially the cathedral, and Pisa gained a role of pre-eminence in the Western
Mediterranean.

In the following years, the mighty Pisan fleet, led by archbishop Pietro Moriconi, drove away the Saracens after ferocious
combats. Though short-lived, this success of Pisa in Spain increased the rivalry with Genoa. Pisa's trade with the
Languedoc and Provence (Noli, Savona, Fréjus, and Montpellier) were an obstacle to Genoese interests in cities such as
Hyères, Fos, Antibes, and Marseille.

The war began in 1119 when the Genoese attacked several galleys on their way to the motherland, and lasted until 1133.
The two cities fought each other on land and at sea, but hostilities were limited to raids and pirate-like assaults.

In June 1135, Bernard of Clairvaux took a leading part in the Council of Pisa, asserting the claims of Pope Innocent II
against those of Pope Anacletus II, who had been elected pope in 1130 with Norman support, but was not recognised
outside Rome. Innocent II resolved the conflict with Genoa, establishing Pisan and Genoese spheres of influence. Pisa
could then, unhindered by Genoa, participate in the conflict of Innocent II against king Roger II of Sicily. Amalfi, one of
the maritime republics (though already declining under Norman rule), was conquered on August 6, 1136; the Pisans
destroyed the ships in the port, assaulted the castles in the surrounding areas, and drove back an army sent by Roger from
Aversa. This victory brought Pisa to the peak of its power and to a standing equal to Venice. Two years later, its soldiers
sacked Salerno.

In the following years, Pisa was one of the staunchest supporters of the Ghibelline party. This was much appreciated by
Frederick I. He issued in 1162 and 1165 two important documents, with these grants: Apart from the jurisdiction over the
Pisan countryside, the Pisans were granted freedom of trade in the whole empire, the coast from Civitavecchia to
Portovenere, a half of Palermo, Messina, Salerno and Naples, the whole of Gaeta, Mazara, and Trapani, and a street with
houses for its merchants in every city of the Kingdom of Sicily. Some of these grants were later confirmed by Henry VI,
Otto IV, and Frederick II. They marked the apex of Pisa's power, but also spurred the resentment of cities such as Lucca,
Massa, Volterra, and Florence, thwarting their aim to expand towards the sea. The clash with Lucca also concerned the
possession of the castle of Montignoso and mainly the control of the Via
Francigena, the main trade route between Rome and France. Last, but not least,
such a sudden and large increase of power by Pisa could only lead to another war
with Genoa.

Genoa had acquired a largely dominant position in the markets of southern

France. The war presumably began in 1165 on the Rhône, when an attack on a
convoy, directed to some Pisan trade centres on the river, by the Genoese and
their ally, the count of Toulouse, failed. Pisa, though, was allied to Provence. The
war continued until 1175 without significant victories. Another point of attrition
New city walls, erected in 1156 by
was Sicily, where both the cities had privileges granted by Henry VI. In 1192,
Consul Cocco Griffi
Pisa managed to conquer Messina. This episode was followed by a series of
battles culminating in the Genoese conquest of Syracuse in 1204. Later, the
trading posts in Sicily were lost when the new Pope Innocent III, though
removing the excommunication cast over Pisa by his predecessor Celestine III, allied himself with the Guelph League of
Tuscany, led by Florence. Soon, he stipulated a pact with Genoa, too, further weakening the Pisan presence in southern
Italy.

To counter the Genoese predominance in the southern Tyrrhenian Sea, Pisa strengthened its relationship with their
traditional Spanish and French bases (Marseille, Narbonne, Barcelona, etc.) and tried to defy the Venetian rule of the
Adriatic Sea. In 1180, the two cities agreed to a nonaggression treaty in the Tyrrhenian and the Adriatic, but the death of
Emperor Manuel Comnenus in Constantinople changed the situation. Soon, attacks on Venetian convoys were made. Pisa
signed trade and political pacts with Ancona, Pula, Zara, Split, and Brindisi; in 1195, a Pisan fleet reached Pola to defend
its independence from Venice, but the Serenissima soon reconquered the rebel sea town.

View of the Piazza dei Miracoli

One year later, the two cities signed a peace treaty, which resulted in favourable conditions for Pisa, but in 1199, the Pisans
violated it by blockading the port of Brindisi in Apulia. In the following naval battle, they were defeated by the Venetians.
The war that followed ended in 1206 with a treaty in which Pisa gave up all its hopes to expand in the Adriatic, though it
maintained the trading posts it had established in the area. From that point on, the two cities were united against the rising
power of Genoa and sometimes collaborated to increase the trading benefits in Constantinople.

13th century

In 1209 in Lerici, two councils for a final resolution of the rivalry with Genoa were held. A 20-year peace treaty was
signed, but when in 1220, the emperor Frederick II confirmed his supremacy over the Tyrrhenian coast from Civitavecchia
to Portovenere, the Genoese and Tuscan resentment against Pisa grew again. In the following years, Pisa clashed with
Lucca in Garfagnana and was defeated by the Florentines at Castel del Bosco. The strong Ghibelline position of Pisa
brought this town diametrically against the Pope, who was in a strong dispute with the Empire, and indeed the pope tried
to deprive the town of its dominions in northern Sardinia.
In 1238, Pope Gregory IX formed an alliance between Genoa and Venice against the empire, and consequently against
Pisa, too. One year later, he excommunicated Frederick II and called for an anti-Empire council to be held in Rome in
1241. On May 3, 1241, a combined fleet of Pisan and Sicilian ships, led by the emperor's son Enzo, attacked a Genoese
convoy carrying prelates from northern Italy and France, next to the isle of Giglio (Battle of Giglio), in front of Tuscany;
the Genoese lost 25 ships, while about a thousand sailors, two cardinals, and one bishop were taken prisoner. After this
major victory, the council in Rome failed, but Pisa was excommunicated. This extreme measure was only removed in
1257. Anyway, the Tuscan city tried to take advantage of the favourable situation to conquer the Corsican city of Aleria
and even lay siege to Genoa itself in 1243.

The Ligurian republic of Genoa, however, recovered fast from this blow and won back Lerici, conquered by the Pisans
some years earlier, in 1256.

The great expansion in the Mediterranean and the prominence of the merchant class urged a modification in the city's
institutes. The system with consuls was abandoned, and in 1230, the new city rulers named a capitano del popolo
("people's chieftain") as civil and military leader. Despite these reforms, the conquered lands and the city itself were
harassed by the rivalry between the two families of Della Gherardesca and Visconti. In 1237 the archbishop and the
Emperor Frederick II intervened to reconcile the two rivals, but the strains continued. In 1254, the people rebelled and
imposed 12 Anziani del Popolo ("People's Elders") as their political representatives in the commune. They also
supplemented the legislative councils, formed of noblemen, with new People's Councils, composed by the main guilds and
by the chiefs of the People's Companies. These had the power to ratify the laws of the Major General Council and the
Senate.

Decline

The decline is said to have begun on August 6, 1284, when the numerically
superior fleet of Pisa, under the command of Albertino Morosini, was defeated by
the brilliant tactics of the Genoese fleet, under the command of Benedetto
Zaccaria and Oberto Doria, in the dramatic naval Battle of Meloria. This defeat
ended the maritime power of Pisa and the town never fully recovered; in 1290,
the Genoese destroyed forever the Porto Pisano (Pisa's port), and covered the land
with salt. The region around Pisa did not permit the city to recover from the loss
of thousands of sailors from the Meloria, while Liguria guaranteed enough sailors
to Genoa. Goods, however, continued to be traded, albeit in reduced quantity, but
the end came when the Arno started to change course, preventing the galleys from
reaching the city's port up the river. The nearby area also likely became infested
Idealized depiction of Pisa from the
with malaria. The true end came in 1324, when Sardinia was entirely lost to the
1493 Nuremberg Chronicle.
Aragonese.

Always Ghibelline, Pisa tried to build up its power in the course of the 14th
century, and even managed to defeat Florence in the Battle of Montecatini (1315), under the command of Uguccione della
Faggiuola. Eventually, however, after a long siege, Pisa was occupied by Florentines in 1405.[7] Florentines corrupted the
capitano del popolo ("people's chieftain"), Giovanni Gambacorta, who at night opened the city gate of San Marco. Pisa
was never conquered by an army. In 1409, Pisa was the seat of a council trying to set the question of the Great Schism. In
the 15th century, access to the sea became more difficult, as the port was silting up and was cut off from the sea. When in
1494, Charles VIII of France invaded the Italian states to claim the Kingdom of Naples,[7] Pisa reclaimed its independence
as the Second Pisan Republic.

The new freedom did not last long; 15 years of battles and sieges by the Florentine troops led by Antonio da Filicaja,
Averardo Salviati and Niccolò Capponi were made, but they failed to conquer the city. Vitellozzo Vitelli with his brother
Paolo were the only ones who actually managed to break the strong defences of Pisa and make a breach in the Stampace
bastion in the southern west part of the walls, but he did not enter the city. For that, they were suspected of treachery and
Paolo was put to death. However, the resources of Pisa were getting low, and at the end, the city was sold to the Visconti
family from Milan and eventually to Florence again. Its role of major port of Tuscany went to Livorno. Pisa acquired a
mainly cultural role spurred by the presence of the University of Pisa, created in 1343, and later reinforced by the Scuola
Normale Superiore di Pisa (1810) and Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies (1987).
Pisa was the birthplace of the important early physicist Galileo Galilei. It is still
the seat of an archbishopric. Besides its educational institutions, it has become a
light industrial centre and a railway hub. It suffered repeated destruction during
World War II.

Since the early 1950s, the US Army has maintained Camp Darby just outside
Pisa, which is used by many US military personnel as a base for vacations in the
area.[8][9]

Geography

Climate

Pisa experiences a Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification Csa).

The city is characterized by cool-mild winters and hot summers. This transitional
climate allows Pisa to enjoy a summer almost devoid of rain, typical of central and
southern Italy, as the summer (the driest season) experiences occasional rain
showers. Rainfall peaks in the autumn. Bonus certificate of Pisa, issued
July 19, 1875

Climate data for Pisa

Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year

Record high 17.6 21.0 24.0 27.9 30.9 35.0 37.8 38.8 36.2 30.2 24.0 20.4 38.8
°C (°F) (63.7) (69.8) (75.2) (82.2) (87.6) (95.0) (100.0) (101.8) (97.2) (86.4) (75.2) (68.7) (101.8)

Average 11.4 12.6 15.2 17.8 22.2 26.0 29.4 29.5 25.7 20.9 15.3 11.8 19.8
high °C (°F) (52.5) (54.7) (59.4) (64.0) (72.0) (78.8) (84.9) (85.1) (78.3) (69.6) (59.5) (53.2) (67.7)

Daily mean 6.8 7.6 9.8 12.5 16.4 20.0 23.1 23.4 20.0 15.8 10.7 7.6 14.5
°C (°F) (44.2) (45.7) (49.6) (54.5) (61.5) (68.0) (73.6) (74.1) (68.0) (60.4) (51.3) (45.7) (58.1)

Average low 2.2 2.5 4.4 7.2 10.7 14.1 16.7 17.2 14.3 10.7 6.1 3.4 9.1
°C (°F) (36.0) (36.5) (39.9) (45.0) (51.3) (57.4) (62.1) (63.0) (57.7) (51.3) (43.0) (38.1) (48.4)

Record low −13.8 −8.4 −8.2 −3.2 2.8 5.8 8.8 8.2 3.8 0.3 −7.2 −7.2 −13.8
°C (°F) (7.2) (16.9) (17.2) (26.2) (37.0) (42.4) (47.8) (46.8) (38.8) (32.5) (19.0) (19.0) (7.2)

Average
63.4 57.5 59.8 89.1 61.5 47.8 25.4 49.4 101.5 140.3 123.5 74.4 893.6
precipitation
(2.50) (2.26) (2.35) (3.51) (2.42) (1.88) (1.00) (1.94) (4.00) (5.52) (4.86) (2.93) (35.17)
mm (inches)

Average
precipitation
8.1 7.2 7.6 9.7 7.3 5.2 2.5 3.6 6.3 8.8 9.4 8.5 84.2
days
(≥ 1.0 mm)

Average
relative
75 71 70 72 72 70 67 68 71 72 74 76 72
humidity
(%)

Mean
monthly
105.4 121.5 151.9 192.0 241.8 267.0 316.2 279.0 219.0 176.7 111.0 93.0 2,274.5
sunshine
hours

Source 1: Servizio Meteorologico (temperature and precipitation data 1971–2000)[10]

Source 2: Servizio Meteorologico (relative humidity and sun data 1961–1990)[11]

Government
Main sights
While the bell tower of the cathedral, known as "the leaning Tower of Pisa", is the most
famous image of the city, it is one of many works of art and architecture in the city's Piazza
del Duomo, also known, since the 20th century, as Piazza dei Miracoli (Square of Miracles),
to the north of the old town center. The Piazza del Duomo also houses the Duomo (the
Cathedral), the Baptistry and the Campo Santo (the monumental cemetery). The medieval
complex includes the above-mentioned four sacred buildings, the hospital and few palaces.
All the complex is kept by the Opera (fabrica ecclesiae) della Primaziale Pisana, an old non
profit foundation that operates since the building of the Cathedral (1063) to the maintenance
of the sacred buildings. The area is framed by medieval walls kept by municipality
administration.

Other sights include:

The Leaning Tower of
Knights' Square (Piazza dei Cavalieri), where the Palazzo della Carovana, with
Pisa.
its impressive façade designed by Giorgio Vasari may be seen. Sited on the
square
Santo Stefano dei Cavalieri, church sited on Piazza dei Cavalieri,
and also designed by Vasari. It had originally a single nave; two more
were added in the 17th century. It houses a bust by Donatello, and
paintings by Vasari, Jacopo Ligozzi, Alessandro Fei, and Pontormo. It
also contains spoils from the many naval battles between the
Cavalieri (Knights of St. Stephan) and the Turks between the 16th
and 18th centuries, including the Turkish battle pennant hoisted from
Ali Pacha's flagship at the 1571 Battle of Lepanto.
St. Sixtus. This small church, consecrated in 1133, is also close to the
Piazza dei Cavalieri. It was used as a seat of the most important
notarial deeds of the town, also hosting the Council of Elders. It is The Monumental Campo Santo in the
today one of the best preserved early Romanesque buildings in town. Piazza del Duomo

St. Francis. The church of San Francesco may have been designed
by Giovanni di Simone, built after 1276. In 1343 new chapels were
added and the church was elevated. It has a single nave and a
notable belfry, as well as a 15th-century cloister. It houses works by
Jacopo da Empoli, Taddeo Gaddi and Santi di Tito. In the
Gherardesca Chapel are buried Ugolino della Gherardesca and his
sons.
San Frediano. This church, built by 1061, has a basilica interior with
three aisles, with a crucifix from the 12th century. Paintings from the
16th century were added during a restoration, including works by
Ventura Salimbeni, Domenico Passignano, Aurelio Lomi, and Rutilio
Manetti. Façade of Santa Maria della Spina.
San Nicola. This medieval church built by 1097, was enlarged
between 1297 and 1313 by the Augustinians, perhaps by the design
of Giovanni Pisano. The octagonal belfry is from the second half of
the 13th century. The paintings include the Madonna with Child by
Francesco Traini (14th century) and St. Nicholas Saving Pisa from the
Plague (15th century). Noteworthy are also the wood sculptures by
Giovanni and Nino Pisano, and the Annunciation by Francesco di
Valdambrino.
Santa Maria della Spina. A small white marble church alongside the
Arno, is attributed to Lupo di Francesco (1230), is another excellent
Gothic building.
San Paolo a Ripa d'Arno. The church was founded around 952 and St. Francis' Church
enlarged in the mid-12th century along lines similar to those of the
cathedral. It is annexed to the Romanesque Chapel of St. Agatha,
with an unusual pyramidal cusp or peak.
San Pietro in Vinculis. Known as San Pierino, it is an 11th-century church with a
crypt and a cosmatesque mosaic on the floor of the main nave.

Borgo Stretto. This medieval borgo or neighborhood contains strolling

arcades and the Lungarno, the avenues along the river Arno. It
includes the Gothic-Romanesque church of San Michele in Borgo
(990). There are at least two other leaning towers in the city, one at
the southern end of central Via Santa Maria, the other halfway
through the Piagge riverside promenade.
Medici Palace. The palace was once a possession of the Appiano
family, who ruled Pisa in 1392–1398. In 1400 the Medici acquired it, Palazzo della Carovana or dei
and Lorenzo de' Medici sojourned here. Cavalieri.

Orto botanico di Pisa. The botanical garden of the University of Pisa

is Europe's oldest university botanical garden.
Palazzo Reale. The ("Royal Palace"), once belonged to the Caetani
patrician family. Here Galileo Galilei showed to Grand Duke of
Tuscany the planets he had discovered with his telescope. The
edifice was erected in 1559 by Baccio Bandinelli for Cosimo I de
Medici, and was later enlarged including other palaces. The palace is
now a museum.
Palazzo Gambacorti. This palace is a 14th-century Gothic building,
and now houses the offices of the municipality. The interior shows
frescoes boasting Pisa's sea victories.
Palazzo Agostini. The palace is a Gothic building also known as
Palazzo dell'Ussero, with its 15th-century façade and remains of the
ancient city walls dating back to before 1155. The name of the
building comes from the coffee rooms of Caffè dell'Ussero, historic Cittadella vecchia.
meeting place founded on September 1, 1775.
Mural Tuttomondo. A modern mural, the last public work by Keith
Haring, on the rear wall of the convent of the Church of Sant'Antonio,
painted in June 1989.

Museums
Museo dell'Opera del Duomo: exhibiting among others the original
sculptures of Nicola Pisano and Giovanni Pisano and the treasures of
the cathedral.
Museo delle Sinopie: showing the sinopias from the camposanto, the
monumental cemetery. These are red ocher underdrawings for
frescoes, made with reddish, greenish or brownish earth colour with
water.
Museo Nazionale di San Matteo: exhibiting sculptures and paintings
from the 12th to 15th centuries, among them the masterworks of
Giovanni and Andrea Pisano, the Master of San Martino, Simone
Martini, Nino Pisano and Masaccio. Convent, Pisa, Italy, 1895. Brooklyn
Museum Archives, Goodyear
Museo Nazionale di Palazzo Reale: exhibiting the belongings of the
Archival Collection (S03_06_01_001
families that lived in the palace: paintings, statues, armors, etc.
image 291).
Museo Nazionale degli Strumenti per il Calcolo: exhibiting a
collection of instruments used in science, between whose a
pneumatic machine of Van Musschenbroek and a compass probably belonged to Galileo Galilei.
Museo di storia naturale dell'Università di Pisa (Natural History Museum of the University of Pisa), located
in the Certosa di Calci, outside the city. It houses one of the largest cetacean skeletons collection in
Europe.
Palazzo Blu: temporary exhibitions and cultural activities center, located in the Lungarno, in the heart of
the old town, the palace is easy recognizable because it is the only blue building.
Cantiere delle Navi di Pisa - The Pisa's Ancient Ships Archaeological Area: A museum of 10,650 square
meters – 3,500 archaeological excavation, 1,700 laboratories and one restoration center – that visitors
 can visit with a guided tour.[12] The Museum opened in June 2019[13]
and has been located inside to the 16th-century Medicean Arsenals
in Lungarno Ranieri Simonelli, restored under the supervision of the
Tuscany Soprintendenza.[14] It hosts a remarkable collection of
ceramics and amphoras dated back from the 8th century BCE to the
2nd century BC,[15] and also 32 ships dated back from the 2nd
century BCE and the 7th century BC.[16] Four of them are integrally
preserved[17] and the best one is the socalled Barca C, also named Lungarno di Pisa.
Alkedo (written in the ancient Greek characters).[18] The first boat was
accidentally discovered in 1998 near the Pisa San Rossore railway
station and the archelogical excavations were completed 20 years later.[19]

Educational institutions

Pisa hosts the University of Pisa, especially renowned in the fields of Physics, Mathematics, Engineering and Computer
Science. The Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna and the Scuola Normale Superiore, the Italian academic élite institutions are
noted mostly for research and the education of graduate students.

Construction of a new leaning tower of glass and steel 57 meters tall, containing offices and apartments was scheduled to
start in summer 2004 and take 4 years. It was designed by Dante Oscar Benini and raised criticism.

The Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa was founded in 1810, by Napoleonic decree, as a branch of the
École Normale Supérieure of Paris. Recognized as a "national university" in 1862, one year after Italian
unification, and named during that period as "Normal School of the Kingdom of Italy" (Superior Graduate
Schools in Italy i.e. Scuola Superiore Universitaria).

Located at: Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa – Piazza dei Cavalieri, 7 – 56126 Pisa (Italia)

The Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies of Pisa or Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna (http://www.sssup.it/)
is a special-statute public university located in Pisa, Italy, emerging from Scuola Normale Superiore di
Pisa and operating in the field of applied sciences, (Superior Graduate Schools in Italy i.e. Scuola
Superiore Universitaria)

Located at: Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, P.zza Martiri della Libertà, 33 – 56127 – Pisa (Italia)

The University of Pisa or Università di Pisa (https://web.archive.org/web/20190206145631/https://www.uni

pi.it/), is one of the oldest universities in Italy. It was formally founded on September 3, 1343 by an edict of
Pope Clement VI, although there had been lectures on law in Pisa since the 11th century. The University
has Europe's oldest academic botanical garden i.e. Orto botanico di Pisa, founded 1544.

Located at: Università di Pisa – Lungarno Pacinotti, 43 – 56126 Pisa (Italia)

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 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

Notable people associated with Pisa

For people born in Pisa, see People from the Province of Pisa; among notable non-natives long resident in the city:

Giuliano Amato, politician, former Premier and Minister of Interior Affairs

Silvano Arieti, psychiatrist
Gaetano Bardini, tenor
Sergio Bertoni, footballer
Andrea Bocelli, tenor
Giosuè Carducci, poet and Nobel Prize winner
Massimo Carmassi, architect
Giorgio Chiellini, footballer
Carlo Azeglio Ciampi and Giovanni Gronchi, politicians, former Presidents of the Republic of Italy
Maria Luisa Cicci, poet
Alessio Corti, mathematician
Rustichello da Pisa, writer
Enrico Fermi and Carlo Rubbia, physicists and Nobel Prize winners
Leonardo Fibonacci, mathematician
Galileo Galilei, physicist
Giovanni Gentile, philosopher and politician
Orazio Gentileschi, painter
Count Ugolino della Gherardesca, noble (see also Dante Alighieri)
Camila Giorgi, tennis player
Giacomo Leopardi, poet and philosopher
Enrico Letta, politician, former Prime Minister of Italy
Marco Malvaldi, mystery novelist
Alberto Merciai, former footballer
Leo Ortolani, comic writer
Antonio Pacinotti, physicist, inventor of the dynamo
Andrea Pisano, sculptor
Afro Poli, baritone
Bruno Pontecorvo, physicist
Gillo Pontecorvo, filmmaker
Antonio Tabucchi, writer
Jason Acuña, Stunt performer
Transport

Travel links

Pisa is a one-hour drive from Florence (86 kilometres (53 mi)). One can also get a train directly to Florence from a Central
rail station in Pisa (Pisa Centrale). Local buses connect the city of Pisa with all the neighboring cities (come to Pontedera,
then take a bus for Volterra, San Miniato, etc.). Taxis come when requested from Pisa International Airport and Central
Station.

Pisamover

Pisa has an international airport known as Pisa International Airport located in San Giusto neighborhood in Pisa. The
airport has a people mover system, called Pisamover (http://pisa-mover.com/en/), opened in March 2017,[20] that connects
Airport and Pisa central railway station, that is 2 km (1.2 mi) away. It's based on a driverless "horizontal funicular" that
travels the distance in 5 minutes, with a 5-minute frequency, having an intermediate stop at parking station San Giusto &
Aurelia.

Buses

Urban lines CPT (Compagnia Pisana Trasporti):[21]

Red LAM: Cisanello Hospital - Central Station – Duomo – Parking Pietrasantina

Green LAM: San Giusto - Central Station - Pratale
Navetta E: Lungarno Pacinotti – Park Brennero – La Fontina
Navetta NightLAM: Cisanello–Lungarni (night line)
Navetta NightLAM: Pietrasantina–Lungarni (night line)
Navetta Torre: Park Pietrasantina – Largo Cocco Griffi (Duomo)
Navetta Cisanello Hospital: Park Bocchette – Cisanello (Hospital)
Bus n°2: San Giusto – Central Station – Porta a Lucca
Bus n°4: Central Station – I Passi
Bus n°5: Putignano – Central Station – C.E.P.
Bus n°6: Central Station – C.E.P. – Barbaricina
Bus n°8: Coltano – Vittorio Emanuele II square
Bus n°12: Viale Gramsci – Ospedaletto (Expò) – Bus Deapot CPT
Bus n°13: Cisanello Hospital – Piagge – Central Station – Pisanova
Bus n°14: Cisanello Hospital – Pisanova – Central Station – Piagge
Bus n°16: Viale Gramsci – Ospedaletto – Industrial Zone (some for Località Montacchiello)
Bus n°21: Airport – Central Station – C.E.P.–Duomo – I Passi (evening line)
Bus n°22: Central Station – Piagge–Pisanova–Cisanello–Pratale (evening line)

Suburban lines CPT to/from Pisa:[21]

Line n°10: Pisa–Tirrenia–Livorno (deviation for La Vettola-San Piero a Grado)

Line n°50: Pisa–Collesalvetti–Fauglia–Crespina
Line n°51: Collesalvetti–Lorenzana–Orciano
Line n°70: Pisa–Gello–Pontasserchio
Line n°71: Pisa – Sant'Andrea in Palazzi – Pontasserchio – San Martino Ulmiano: Pisa
Line n°80: Pisa–Migliarino–Vecchiano–Filettole
Line n°81: Pisa–Pontasserchio–Vecchiano
Line n°110: Pisa–Asciano–Agnano
Line n°120: Pisa–Calci–Montemagno
 Line n°140: Pisa–Vicopisano–Pontedera
Line n°150: Pisa–Musigliano–Pettori
Line n°160: Pisa–Navacchio–Calci – Tre Colli
Line n°190: Pisa–Cascina–Pontedera
Line n°875: Pisa – Arena Metato

Trains

The city is served by two railway stations available for passengers: Pisa Centrale and Pisa San Rossore.

Pisa Centrale is the main railway station and is located along the Tyrrhenic railway line. It connects Pisa directly with
several other important Italian cities such as Rome, Florence, Genoa, Turin, Naples, Livorno, and Grosseto.

Pisa San Rossore links the city with Lucca (20 minutes from Pisa) and Viareggio and is also reachable from Pisa Centrale.
It is a minor railway station located near the Leaning Tower zone.

There was another station called Pisa Aeroporto situated next to the Airport with services to Pisa Centrale and Florence. It
has been closed on December 15, 2013 for the realization of a people mover.

Cars

Pisa has two exits on the A11 Florence-Pisa road and on the A12 Genoa-Livorno road, Pisa Nord and Pisa Centro-
aeroporto.

Pisa Centro leads visitors to the city centre.

Parking: Pratale (San Jacopo), Pietrasantina (Via Pietrasantina), Piazza Carrara, Lungarni.

Sports
Football is the main sport in Pisa; the local team, A.C. Pisa, currently[22] plays in the
Serie B (the second highest football division in Italy), and has had a top flight history
throughout the 1980s and the 1990s, featuring several world-class players such as
Diego Simeone, Christian Vieri and Dunga during this time. The club play at the
Arena Garibaldi – Stadio Romeo Anconetani, opened in 1919 and with a capacity of
25,000.

Shooting was one of the first sports to have their own association in Pisa. The A.C. Pisa 1909 play at the Arena
Società del Tiro a Segno di Pisa was founded on July 9, 1862. In 1885, they acquired Garibaldi – Stadio Romeo
their own training field. The shooting range was almost completely destroyed during Anconetani, as seen from the
World War II. Leaning Tower

In Pisa there was a festival and game fr:Gioco del Ponte (Game of the Bridge) which
was celebrated (in some form) in Pisa from perhaps the 1200s down to 1807. From the end of the 1400s the game took the
form of a mock battle fought upon Pisa's central bridge (Ponte di Mezzo). The participants wore quilted armor and the only
offensive weapon allowed was the targone, a shield-shaped, stout board with precisely specified dimensions. Hitting
below the belt was not allowed. Two opposing teams started at opposite ends of the bridge. The object of the two
opposing teams was to penetrate, drive back, and disperse the opponents' ranks and to thereby drive them backwards off
the bridge. The struggle was limited to forty-five minutes. Victory or defeat was immensely important to the team players
and their partisans, but sometimes the game was fought to a draw and both sides celebrated.[23] In 1927 the tradition was
revived by college students as an elaborate costume parade. In 1935 Vittorio Emanuele III with the royal family witnessed
the first revival of a modern version of the game, which has been pursued in the 20th and 21st centuries with some
interruptions and varying degrees of enthusiasm by Pisans and their civic institutions.

Festivals and cultural events

 Capodanno pisano (folklore, March 25)
Gioco del Ponte (folklore)
Luminara di San Ranieri (folklore June 16)
Maritime republics regata (Folklore)
Premio Nazionale Letterario Pisa
Pisa Book Festival
Metarock (Rock music festival)
Internet Festival
San Ranieri regata (Folklore)
Turn Off Festival (House music festival)
Nessiáh (Jewish cultural Festival, November)

International relations

Twin towns and sister cities

Pisa is twinned with:[24]

Corumbá, Corumbá
Acre, Israel
Kolding, Denmark, since 2007[24]
Santiago de Compostela, since 2010[24]
Angers, France, since 1982[24]
Jericho, Palestine, since 2000[24]
Niles, Illinois, United States, since 1991[24]
Coral Gables, Florida, United States
Unna, Germany, since 1996[24][25]
Cagliari, Italy
Ocala, Florida, United States (Sister City 2004)[24][26]

References

Notes
1. "Statistiche demografiche ISTAT" (http://demo.istat.it/pop2015/index.html). demo.istat.it.
2. "Superficie di Comuni Province e Regioni italiane al 9 ottobre 2011" (https://www.istat.it/it/archivio/15622
4). Istat. Retrieved March 16, 2019.
3. "Popolazione Residente al 1° Gennaio 2018" (http://demo.istat.it/pop2018/index3.html). Istat. Retrieved
March 16, 2019.
4. "DiPI Online" (http://www.dipionline.it/dizionario/ricerca?lemma=Pisa). Dizionario di Pronuncia Italiana (in
Italian). Retrieved December 26, 2020.
5. Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna di Pisa (http://www.information-about-about.com/informationAbout/About/san
tanna%20energy) Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20160101110731/http://www.information-about-a
bout.com/informationAbout/About/santanna%20energy) January 1, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
Information statistics
6. William Heywood (2010). A History of Pisa: Eleventh and Twelfth Centuries. Cambridge University Press.
p. 1. ISBN 9781108010139.
7. Machiavelli, Niccolò (1981). The Prince and Selected Discourses (Bantam Classic ed.). New York:
Bantam Books. pp. 128–29. ISBN 0-553-21227-3.
 8. "A traveler's oasis in Italy" (https://web.archive.org/web/20130219055854/http://www.wiesbaden.army.mil/
hunion/Travel/CampDarby.htm). Wiesbaden.army.mil. Archived from the original (http://www.wiesbaden.ar
my.mil/hunion/Travel/CampDarby.htm) on February 19, 2013. Retrieved March 12, 2013.
9. "Darby Military Community, Camp Darby, Italy, Top Picks" (https://web.archive.org/web/20130202055352/
http://www.usag.livorno.army.mil/OutAbout.asp). Usag.livorno.army.mil. April 30, 1945. Archived from the
original (http://www.usag.livorno.army.mil/OutAbout.asp) on February 2, 2013. Retrieved March 12, 2013.
10. "PISA/S.GIUSTO" (http://clima.meteoam.it/AtlanteClim2/pdf/(158)Pisa%20S.Giusto.pdf) (PDF). Servizio
Meteorologico. Retrieved October 13, 2012.
11. "Tabella CLINO 1961–1990 Pisa" (http://clima.meteoam.it/viewClino.php?type=File&station=158&name_
station=Pisa). Servizio Meteorologico. Retrieved October 13, 2012.
12. "Navi Pisane - Le Antiche Navi Romane scoperte a Pisa" (https://web.archive.org/web/20180820011115/
http://www.navipisa.it/). www.navipisa.it. Archived from the original (http://www.navipisa.it/) on August 20,
2018. Retrieved May 6, 2015.
13. "Apre il Museo delle Navi Antiche di Pisa, ma non chiamatela Pompei del mare!" (http://www.torinomedic
a.org/torinomedica/apre-il-museo-delle-navi-antiche-di-pisa-ma-non-chiamatela-pompei-del-mare/) (in
Italian). June 19, 2019.
14. "Pisa, negli Arsenali medicei apre il museo delle navi antiche" (https://www.professionearchitetto.it/news/
notizie/26562/Pisa-negli-Arsenali-medicei-apre-il-museo-delle-navi-antiche) (in Italian). Retrieved May 7,
2021.
15. "Le navi romane di Pisa" (http://www.marenostrumrapallo.it/index.php?option=com_content&view=article
&id=662:pisani&catid=36:storia&Itemid=142&jjj=1620394803143) (in Italian). Archived (https://web.archiv
e.org/web/20210507141547/https://s7.addthis.com/js/200/addthis_widget.js) from the original on May 7,
2021.
16. Nocito, Francesco (August 19, 2019). "Un grande museo per le navi di Pisa" (https://www.archeostorie.it/
museo-per-le-navi-di-pisa/). archeostorie.it (in Italian). Archived (https://archive.li/wip/9CHTN) from the
original on November 3, 2019.
17. Randazzo, Antonella (June 17, 2019). "Viaggio vall'internodel Museo delle Navi Antiche di Pisa" (https://
www.classicult.it/viaggio-allinterno-del-museo-delle-navi-antiche-di-pisa/) (in Italian). Archived (https://arc
hive.li/wip/eJiCJ) from the original on June 19, 2019.
18. Bonino, Marco. "Ricostruzione della barca C di Pisa S. Rossore" (https://www.immersinelblu.com/archeo/
Ricostruzione%20barca%20San%20Rossore.pdf) (pdf) (in Italian). Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/
20210507134015/https://www.immersinelblu.com/archeo/Ricostruzione%20barca%20San%20Rossore.p
df) (PDF) from the original on May 7, 2021.
19. "A Pisa è "Alkedo" la star nel Museo delle Navi Antiche" (https://www.ilcorriereapuano.it/2019/09/pisa-alk
edo-la-star-nel-museo-delle-navi-antiche/). September 9, 2019. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/202
10507134607/https://www.ilcorriereapuano.it/2019/09/pisa-alkedo-la-star-nel-museo-delle-navi-antiche/)
from the original on May 7, 2021.
20. "MM100 PisaMover" (https://web.archive.org/web/20180213021647/https://www.leitner-ropeways.com/en/
company/references/mm100-pisamover-3112/). LEITNER ropeways. Archived from the original (https://w
ww.leitner-ropeways.com/en/company/references/mm100-pisamover-3112/) on February 13, 2018.
Retrieved February 12, 2018.
21. "CPT PISA (gruppo CTT Nord)" (http://www.cpt.pisa.it/orari.htm). www.cpt.pisa.it.
22. as of 2019–20
23. Heywood, William (1905). Palio and Ponte: An Account of the Sports of Central Italy from the Age of
Dante to the XXth Century (https://books.google.com/books?id=hYAXAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA116). London:
Methuen & Co. pp. 116–126.
24. "Pisa – Official Sister Cities" (http://www.comune.pisa.it/english/doc/gemhome.htm). © Comune di Pisa,
Via degli Uffizi, 1 – 56100 Pisa centralino: +39 050 910111. Retrieved January 11, 2016.
25. "List of Twin Towns in the Ruhr District" (https://www.webcitation.org/5lctsW5KG?url=http://www.twins201
0.com/fileadmin/user_upload/pic/Dokumente/List_of_Twin_Towns_01.pdf?PHPSESSID=2edd34819db2
1e450d3bb625549ce4fd) (PDF). Archived from the original (http://www.twins2010.com/fileadmin/user_upl
oad/pic/Dokumente/List_of_Twin_Towns_01.pdf?PHPSESSID=2edd34819db21e450d3bb625549ce4fd)
(PDF) on November 28, 2009. Retrieved October 28, 2009.
26. "San Rossore Officially Sister City To Ocala" (https://web.archive.org/web/20160420175308/http://thoroug
hbredtimes.com/international-news/2004/April/20/San-Rossore-officially-sister-city-to-Ocala.aspx/).
Thoroughbred Times. Archived from the original (http://www.thoroughbredtimes.com/international-news/2
004/April/20/San-Rossore-officially-sister-city-to-Ocala.aspx) on April 20, 2016. Retrieved July 16, 2007.
""This event is just the beginning of a nice relationship between the city of Ocala and the city of Pisa and
San Rossore," Fontanelli said in Italian during the ceremony."

Bibliography
Renouard, Yves (1969). Les Villes d'Italie de la fin du Xe siècle au début du XIVe siècle (in French).
Official Abitants statistics (http://demo.istat.it/bilmens2010gen/index.html)
Pisa Metropolitan Area (http://www.comune.pisa.it/pisa2015/index_2.htm)

External links
Portal of Pisa (http://portale.pisaonline.it/)
Pisan history portal (http://www.stilepisano.it/)
Official site of the Pisa Tourist Board (http://www.pisaunicaterra.it/en/)
Official site of the Municipality of Pisa, including webcams (http://www.comune.pisa.it)
Moving Postcards of Pisa (http://www.ratsass.tv/pisa)
Pisa Guide (http://www.pisaweb.info)
A comprehensive guide of Pisa (https://www.italyscapes.com/location/tuscany/pisa/)

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