Republic of Pisa Repubblica di Pisa (Italian) | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| c. 1000–1406 | |||||||||||
 Coat of arms | |||||||||||
| Motto: Urbis me dignum pisane noscite signum (Latin for 'Know that I am a worthy sign of the city') | |||||||||||
 Map of Pisa in the 11th century | |||||||||||
| Capital | Pisa | ||||||||||
| Common languages | |||||||||||
| Religion | Roman Catholicism | ||||||||||
| Government | Oligarchicrepublic | ||||||||||
| Head of the government | |||||||||||
• 1063–? | Giovanni Orlandi | ||||||||||
• 1081–1189 | Consul | ||||||||||
• 1202–1312 | Consiglio degli Anziani[a] | ||||||||||
• 1402–1406 | Gabriele Maria Visconti | ||||||||||
| Historical era | Middle Ages | ||||||||||
• Established | c. 1000 | ||||||||||
• Participation in theThird Crusade | 1189–1192 | ||||||||||
| 1284 | |||||||||||
• Annexed by theRepublic of Florence | 1406 | ||||||||||
| Currency | Grosso pisano,aquilino | ||||||||||
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TheRepublic of Pisa (Italian:Repubblica di Pisa) was an independent state existing from the 11th to the 15th century centered on theTuscan city ofPisa. It rose to become an economic powerhouse, a commercial center whosemerchants dominatedMediterranean andItalian trade for a century, before being surpassed and superseded by theRepublic of Genoa.
The republic's participation in theCrusades secured valuable commercial positions for Pisan traders, leading to increased wealth and power. Pisa was a historical rival toGenoa at sea and toFlorence andLucca on land.[1] It lost its independence to Florence in 1406.
The power of Pisa as a mighty maritime nation began to grow and reached its apex in the 11th century when it acquired traditional fame as one of the main historicalmaritime republics of Italy.
During theHigh Middle Ages the city grew into a very important commercial and naval center and controlled asignificant Mediterranean merchant fleet and navy. It expanded its influence through the sack of Reggio di Calabria in the south of Italy in 1005. Pisa was in continuous conflict with theSaracens for control of the Mediterranean. In alliance with Genoa,Sardinia was captured in 1016 with the defeat of the Saracen leaderMujāhid al-‘Āmirī (Latin:Mogehidus). This victory gave Pisa supremacy in theTyrrhenian Sea. When the Pisans subsequently ousted the Genoese from Sardinia, a new conflict and rivalry was born between the two maritime republics. Between 1030 and 1035 Pisa went on to successfully defeat several rival towns in theEmirate of Sicily and conquerCarthage in North Africa. In 1051–1052, Admiral Jacopo Ciurini conqueredCorsica, provoking more resentment from the Genoese. In 1063, the Pisans approached the NormanRoger I of Sicily, who wasconducting a campaign to conquer Sicily that would last over three decades, with the prospect of a joint attack againstPalermo. Roger declined due to other commitments. With no land support, the Pisan attack against Palermo failed.
In 1060, Pisa engaged in its first battle against Genoa and 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 Holy Roman EmperorHenry 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 at the time themarquis of Tuscany (the nominal feudal sovereign of Pisa) had already been excluded from power.Pisa sacked theZirid city ofMahdia in 1088. Four years later, Pisan and Genoese ships helpedAlfonso VI of Castile forceEl Cid out ofValencia. In 1092,Pope Urban II awarded Pisa supremacy over Corsica and Sardinia and at the same time elevated theDiocese of Pisa to the rank of metropolitanarchdiocese.
The territory subjected to the Republic of Pisa has had important variations over the centuries. During the period of great political and economic expansion, the republic had its own consoles with commercial farms and warehouses in many seaside cities:Gaeta,Naples,Salerno,Messina,Palermo,Trapani,Mazara del Vallo and inTunis.[2]
Pisan troops were among the first toconquer Jerusalem in 1099, and were led by their archbishop,Dagobert, the futureLatin Patriarch of Jerusalem. With significant presences in theLevant, in theByzantine Empire and in the Crusader states ofPalestine, particularly inConstantinople (where the Byzantine EmperorAlexius I Comnenus granted them special mooring and trading rights),Antioch,Latakia,Tyre,Acre,Jaffa,Tripoli,Alexandria andCairo. In all these cities the Pisans were granted privileges and immunity from taxation, but had to contribute to their defense in case of attack. In the 12th century, the Pisan quarter in the eastern part of Constantinople had grown to 1,000 people. The well-known "Società dei Vermigli" was established inTyre and was reported in the defense of the city against the attack bySaladin in 1187.[2]
For some years of that century, Pisa was the most prominent merchant and military ally of theByzantine Empire, surpassing theRepublic of Venice itself.
Its influence also extended to the major islands of theTyrrhenian Sea:
After thedefeat of Meloria in 1284, the territory of the Republic gradually became more continental, limiting itself to the coast and to the immediate hinterland that fromMigliarino toPiombino, with the islands ofElba,Gorgona,Pianosa,Giglio andGiannutri and the exclaves ofCastiglione della Pescaia andPorto Ercole.[4]
The important Pisan port, key to the entire state economy, was defended by some towers on the sea and on the land side by a fortified system of fortresses on the hills behind, havingLari as the seat of the captaincy of the upper hills,Crespina,Fauglia, Castellina,Rosignano and finallyLivorno with the plan ofPorto Pisano, essential outlet to dominate the western Mediterranean, while the area that intersected the Arno with the Valdera was defended by the castles of Appiano, Petriolo, Montecuccoli and finally, by order of foundation, that ofPonte di Sacco (1392).[4]
Inland, in perennial struggle with theRepublic of Lucca, theRepublic of Florence andVolterra, its borders were very fluctuating having as contested castles those ofButi,Palaia,Peccioli,Montopoli (until 1349),Lajatico,Chianni ( until 1325),Santa Maria a Monte,Pontedera and inVecchiano. The main strongholds were the Verruca fortress, nearCalci, which served as the cornerstone of the mountain defensive system on the Lucca border that ran from the ancientlago di Bientina to theSerchio with the castles ofCaprona,Vicopisano,Asciano andAgnano. On the Florentine road to block the access to Pisa there was the castle ofCascina, the scene of importantBattle of Cascina.Castelnuovo di Val di Cecina was long disputed by Volterra.[4]
The Maremma territory south of the port ofVada was administered in the name of the republic by the Pisan counts ofDella Gherardesca family with the castles located in numerous cities such as ofGuardistallo,Bibbona,Riparbella andSuvereto.[4]
The rivalry between Pisa andRepublic of Genoa intensified in the13th century and resulted in the navalBattle of Meloria (1284), with the casus belli of the rally of Giudice di Cinarca in Pisa,[5] fought right in front of the Pisan port. It which marked the beginning of the decline of the power of the city, with the renunciation of any claim onCorsica and with the sale of part ofSardinia to Genoa in 1299.[6]
Furthermore, from 1323, theAragonese conquest of Sardinia began, which deprived the city of the dominion over the giudicati ofCagliari andGallura.[6]
Given the difficult economic and political situation of the now decadent Republic, on February 13, 1399, the lord of PisaGherardo Appiani sold the city and the countryside for the sum of 200,000gold florins toGian Galeazzo Visconti of the Pisan branch of theVisconti family to become lord ofPiombino and obtain the appointment as Lord of Pisa.[7]
However, the control of the Republic by the Visconti did not last long, in fact Pisa maintained its independence and dominion over that part of the Tuscan coast and beyond until 1406, when it was occupied by the mercenariesAngelo Tartaglia andMuzio Attendolo Sforza who ordered the annexation to theRepublic of Florence.[8]
With Florence's domination began an unstoppable decline of the city which, in the past centuries had spread its Romanesque architectural style, even in Sardinian churches. Suffocated of the commercial and merchant traffic that had characterized its efficiency for centuries, some of the most important Pisan families—such as theAlliata, theDella Gherardesca, theCaetani and the Upezzinghi—emigrated to other Italian city-states to escape the Florentine domination, in particular to theKingdom of Sicily.[9][10]
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