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Comune di Pisa
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Toscana
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Pisa (PI)
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4
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185
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December 31 , 2005
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90,482
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462
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CET , UTC +1
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Marina di Pisa, Tirrenia, Calambrone, Barbaricina, Riglione, Oratoio, Putignano , San Piero a Grado, Coltano, Sant'Ermete, Ospedaletto
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050
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56100
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Pisani
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San Ranieri
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June 17
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Paolo Fontanelli (since May 25 , 2003 )
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wwwcomunepisait
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is a city in
Tuscany , central
Italy , on the right bank of the mouth of the river
Arno on the
Tyrrhenian Sea . It is the capital city of the
Province Of Pisa .
Pisa's origins are unknown. The city lies at the junction of two rivers,
Arno and Auser (now disappeared) in the
Tyrrhenian Sea forming a laguna area. The
Pelasgi , the
Greeks , the
Etruscans and the
Ligurians have variously been proposed as founders of the city. Archeological remains from the
5th Century BC confirm the existence of a city at the sea, trading with Greeks and
Gauls . The presence of an
Etruscan Necropolis was discovered during excavations in the ''
Arena Garibaldi '' in
1991 . Also
Ancient Roman authors referred to Pisa as an old city.
Servius wrote that the Teuti, or Pelopes, the king of the Pisei, founded the town thirteen centuries before the birth of Christ.
Strabo referred Pisa's origins to the mythical
Nestor , king of
Pylos , after the fall of
Troy .
Vergil in his
Aeneid states that Pisa was already a great and developed centre by the times described; foundation of the city in the 'Etruscan lands' credited to settlers from
Alpheus coast.
The maritime role of Pisa should have been already prominent if the ancient authorities ascribed to it the invention of the , then a small village, to
Ostia . Pisa served as a base for Roman naval expeditions against
Ligurians ,
Gauls and
Carthaginians . In
180 BC it became a Roman colony under Roman law, as ''Portus Pisanus''. In
89 BC , ''Portus Pisanus'' became a
Municipium . Emperor
Augustus fortified the colony into an important port and changed the name in ''Colonia Iulia obsequens''. From
313 it became the seat of a bishopric.
During the later years of the to fall peacefully in
Lombard hands, through assimilation with the neighbouring region where their trading interests were prevailing. Pisa began in this way its rise to the role of main port of the Upper Thyrrenian Sea and became the main trading centre between Tuscany and
Corsica ,
Sardinia and the southern coasts of
France and
Spain .
After the 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 a strong support to the
Otto I's expedition, who defeated a
Byzantine fleet in front of
Calabrese coasts.
The power of Pisa as a mighty maritime nation began to grow on and reached its apex in the
11th Century when it acquired traditional fame as one of the four main historical Marine Republics of Italy (''
Repubbliche Marinare '') of Italy.
At that time the city was a very important commercial centre and controlled a significant
Mediterranean merchant fleet and navy. It expanded its powers by the sack in
1005 of
Reggio Di Calabria in the south of Italy. Pisa was in continuous conflict with the
Saracen s, who had their bases in Sardinia and Corsica, for control of the
Mediterranean Sea . In
1017 Sardinia was captured, in alliance with
Genoa , by the defeat of the
Saracen king Mugahid. This victory gave Pisa the supremacy in the
Tyrrhenian Sea . When the Pisans subsequently ousted the Genoese from Sardinia, a new conflict and rivalry was born between these mighty Marine Republics. Between
1030 and
1035 Pisa went on to successfully 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 Orlando, coming at 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 ''
Campo Dei Miracoli ''.
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 recognized 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 , 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
Syria ,
Lebanon and
Palestine . In particular the Pisans founded colonies in
Antiochia ,
Acre ,
Jaffa ,
Tripolis ,
Tyre ,
Joppe ,
Laodicea 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 merchant and military ally of the
Byzantine Empire , overcoming
Venice itself.
In were brought in chains to Tuscany. Even though the
Almovarid s soon reconquered the island, the booty taken helped the Pisans in their magnificent program 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
Saracen s 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 the Genoese interests in cities like
Hyerés ,
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 . 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 to
Portovenere , a half of
Palermo ,
Messina ,
Salerno and
Naples , the whole
Gaeta ,
Mazzarri 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 like
Lucca ,
Massa ,
Volterra and
Florence , who saw their aim to expand towards the sea thwarted. 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 of Pisa could only lead to another war with Genoa.
Genoa had acquired a largely dominant position in the markets of the Southern
France . The war began presumably in
1165 on the
Rhone , 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 on the other hand was allied to the
Provence . The war continued until
1175 without significant victories. Another point of attrition was
Sicily , where both the cities had privileges granted by
Henry VI . In
1192 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 weaking the Pisa presence in Southern Italy.
To counter the Genoese predominance in the southern Thyrrenian Sea, Pisa strengthened its relationship with their a Pisan fleet reached Pola to defend its independence from Venice, but the
Serenissima managed soon to reconquer the rebel sea town.
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
Puglia . But 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 mantained 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.
In
1209 and
1217 there were in
Lerici two councils for a final resolution of the rivalry with Genoa. A twenty-year peace treaty was signed. But when in
1220 the emperor
Frederick II confirmed his supremacy over the
Thyrrenian coast from
Civitavecchia to
Portovenere , the Genoese and Tuscanian resentment against Pisa grew again. In the following years Pisa clashed with
Lucca in
Garfagnana and was defeated by the
Florentine at
Castel Del Bosco . The strong
Ghibelline position of Pisa brought this town diametricallty 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 . 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. In spite of 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 did not cease. In
1254 the people rebelled and imposed twelve ''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.
The decline began on guaranteed enough sailors to Genoa. Goods continued to be traded, albeit in reduced quantity, but the end came when the
Arno started to change course, preventing the galleys to reach the city's port up the river. It seems also that nearby area became infested with
Malaria .
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 ). Eventually, however, divided by internal struggles and weakened by the loss of its mercantile strength, Pisa was conquered by
Florence in
1406 . In
1409 Pisa was the seat of a
Council trying to set the question of the
Great Schism . Furthermore in the
15th Century , access to the sea became more and 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
Naples , Pisa grabbed the opportunity to reclaim its independence as the Second Pisan Republic. But the new freedom did not last long. After fifteen years of battles and sieges, Pisa was reconquered by Florence in
1509 . Its role of major port of
Tuscany went to
Livorno . Pisa acquired a mainly, though secondary, cultural role spurred by the presence of a renowned
University created in
1343 . Its decline is clearly shown by its population, which has remained almost constant since the Middle Ages.
Pisa was the birthplace of the founder of modern
Physics ,
Galileo Galilei . It is still the seat of an archbishopric; it has become a light industrial centre and a railway hub. It suffered repeated destruction during
World War II .
By far the best known sight in Pisa is the famous
Leaning Tower which is but one of many architecturally and artistically important structures in the city's '' or "Field of Miracles", to the north of the old town center. The ''Campo dei Miracoli'' is also the site of the beautiful
Duomo (the Cathedral), the
Baptistry and the Camposanto (the monumental cemetery).
Other interesting sights include:
- Knights' Square (''Piazza dei Cavalieri''), where the , with its awesome façade designed by Giorgio Vasari may be seen.
- In the same place is the church of , also by Vasari. It had originally a single nave; two more were added in the 17th Century . It houses a Bust by Donatello a paintings by Vasari, Jacopo Ligozzi , Alessandro Fei and Jacopo Da Empoli .
- The church of , designed by Giovanni Di Simone , built after 1276 . In 1343 new chapels were added and the church was elevated. It has a single navev 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.
- The church of , noted for the first time in 1061 . It has a Basilica interior with three aisles, with a crucifix from the 12th Century . The paintings are mostly from the 16th Century restoration, with works by Domenico Passignano , Aurelio Lomi and Rutilio Manetti .
- The church of San Nicola , whose existence is known as early as 1097 . It was enlarged between 1297 and 1313 by the Augustinian s, 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 .
- The small church of , attributed to Giovanni Pisano ( 1230 ), is another excellent Gothic building.
- The or '''dei Cavalieri''', built by Vasari.
- The church of , founded around 952. It was enlarged in the mid- 12th Century along lines similar to those of the Cathedral. For the pale grey marble decoration ancient Roman marbles were used. The façade was completed in the 14th century by Giovanni Pisano. It houses frescoes by Buffalmacco and Turino Vanni (14th century). It is annexed to the Romanesque '''Chapel of St. Agatha''', an octagonal-plan, brick construction of the 12th century, with an unusual pyramidal cusp or peak.
- The , a neighborhood where one can stroll beneath medieval arcades and the ''Lungarno'', the avenues along the river Arno. It includes the Gothic-Romanesque church of '''San Michele in Borgo''' ( 990 ). Remarkably, 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.
- The , once a possession of the Appiano family, who ruled Pisa in 1392 - 1398 . In 1400 the Medici acquired it, and Lorenzo De' Medici sojourned here.
- The ("Royal Palace"), once of 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.
- , a Gothic building of the 14th century, is now the Town Hall . The interior shows frescoes boasting Pisa's sea victories.
Pisa boasts several museums:
Pisa hosts the
University Of Pisa , especially renowed in the fields of
Physics ,
Mathematics ,
Engineering and
Computer Science , the
Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna and the
Scuola Normale Superiore , the Italian
Academic Elite institution, mostly for
Research and the education of
Graduate Student s.
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.
is on the left, the Duomo is in the center and the Baptistery is on the right.]]
Pisa is home to the
Galileo Galilei Airport ,.
- Yves Renouard, ''Les Villes d'Italie de la fin du Xe siècle au début du XIVe siècle'' (1969)
