Pisa (/ˈpiːzə/PEE-zə;Italian:[ˈpiːza]ⓘor[ˈpiːsa][3]) is a city andcomune (municipality) inTuscany,Central Italy, straddling theArno just before it empties into theLigurian Sea. It is the capital city of theProvince of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for theLeaning Tower of Pisa, the city contains more than twenty other historic churches, and several medieval and Renaissance palaces, mostly facing each other on the avenues along the Arno ("Lungarno"). Much of the city's architecture was financed from its history as one of the Italianmaritime republics.
Most believe the hypothesis that the origin of the name Pisa comes fromEtruscan and means 'mouth', as Pisa is at the mouth of the Arno river.[5]
Although throughout history there have been several uncertainties about the origin of the city of Pisa, excavations made in the 1980s and 1990s found numerous archaeological remains, including the fifth century BC tomb of an Etruscan prince, proving theEtruscan origin of the city, and its role as a maritime city, showing that it also maintained trade relations with other Mediterranean civilizations.[6]
Ancient Roman authors referred to Pisa as an old city.Virgil, in hisAeneid, states that Pisa was already a great center by the times described; and gives the epithet ofAlphēae to the city because it was said to have been founded by colonists fromPisa inElis, near which theAlpheius river flowed.[7] The Virgilian commentatorServius wrote that the Teuti founded the town 13 centuries before the start of the common era.
The maritime role of Pisa should have been already prominent if the ancient authorities ascribed to it the invention of thenaval ram. Pisa took advantage of being the only port along the western coast betweenGenoa (then a small village) andOstia. Pisa served as a base for Roman naval expeditions againstLigurians andGauls. In 180 BC, it became a Roman colony under Roman law, asPortus Pisanus. In 89 BC,Portus Pisanus became amunicipium. EmperorAugustus fortified the colony into an important port and changed the name toColonia Iulia obsequens.
Pisa supposedly was founded on the shore, but due to the alluvial sediments from the Arno and the Serchio, whose mouth lies about 11 km (7 mi) north of the Arno's, the shore moved west. Strabo states that the city was 4.0 km (2.5 mi) away from the coast. Currently, it is located 9.7 km (6 mi) from the coast. However, it was a maritime city, with ships sailing up the Arno.[8] In the 90s AD, abaths complex was built in the city.
During the last years of theWestern 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 helpedPope Gregory I by supplying numerous ships in his military expedition against theByzantines ofRavenna (what "military expedition by Pope Gregory against the Byzantine Empire"[citation needed]): Pisa was the sole Byzantine centre ofTuscia to fall peacefully inLombard 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 andCorsica,Sardinia, and the southern coasts of France and Spain.
AfterCharlemagne had defeated the Lombards under the command ofDesiderius in 774, Pisa went through a crisis, but soon recovered. Politically, it became part of the duchy ofLucca. In 860, Pisa was captured byvikings led byBjörn Ironside. In 930, Pisa became the county centre (status it maintained until the arrival ofOtto I) within the mark ofTuscia. Lucca was the capital but Pisa was the most important city, as in the middle of tenth centuryLiutprand of Cremona, bishop ofCremona, called PisaTusciae provinciae caput ("capital of the province ofTuscia"), and a century later, the marquis of Tuscia was commonly referred to as "marquis of Pisa". In 1003, Pisa was the protagonist of the firstcommunal war in Italy, against Lucca. From the naval point of view, since the ninth century, the emergence of theSaracen pirates prompted 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 ofNorth Africa. In 871, they took part in the defence ofSalerno from the Saracens. In 970, they gave also strong support toOtto I's expedition, defeating a Byzantine fleet in front ofCalabrese coasts.
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 historicalmaritime republics of Italy (Repubbliche Marinare).
At that time, the city was a very important commercial centre and controlled a significantMediterranean merchant fleet and navy. It expanded its powers in 1005 through the sack ofReggio Calabria in the south of Italy. Pisa, which was attacked in 1011,[9] was in continuous conflict with some 'Saracens' - a medieval term to refer to ArabMuslims - who had their bases in Corsica. In 1017,SardinianGiudicati were militarily supported by Pisa, in alliance with Genoa, 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 theTyrrhenian 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 conquerCarthage inNorth Africa. In 1051–1052, the admiral Jacopo Ciurini conqueredCorsica, provoking more resentment from the Genoese. In 1063, Admiral Giovanni Orlandi, coming to the aid of theNormanRoger I, tookPalermo 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 famousPiazza del Duomo.
In 1060, Pisa engaged in its first battle withGenoa. 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 in 1081 EmperorHenry IV recognized their communal government.[10] 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.
The Pisan fleet captured theZirid city ofMahdia in 1087, securing a ransom from its ruler.[11] Four years later, Pisan and Genoese ships helpedAlfonso VI of Castilla to pushEl Cid out ofValencia. A Pisan fleet of 120 ships also took part in theFirst Crusade, and the Pisans were instrumental in the taking ofJerusalem in 1099.[12] On their way to theHoly Land, the ships did not miss the occasion to sack some Byzantine islands; the Pisan crusaders were led by their archbishopDaibert, the futurepatriarch of Jerusalem. Pisa and the otherRepubbliche Marinare took advantage of the crusade to establish trading posts and colonies in the Eastern coastal cities of theLevant. In particular, the Pisans founded colonies inAntiochia, Acre,Jaffa,Tripoli,Tyre,Latakia, and Accone. They also had other possessions inJerusalem andCaesarea, plus smaller colonies (with lesser autonomy) inCairo,Alexandria, and of courseConstantinople, where theByzantine EmperorAlexius 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, overcomingVenice itself.
In 1113, Pisa andPope Paschal II set up, together with the count ofBarcelona and other contingents fromProvence and Italy (Genoese excluded),a war to free the Balearic Islands from theMoors; the queen and the king ofMallorca were brought in chains to Tuscany. Though theAlmoravides soon reconquered the island, the booty taken helped the Pisans in their magnificent programme of buildings, especially thecathedral, and Pisa gained a role of pre-eminence in theWestern Mediterranean.
In the following years, the powerful Pisan fleet, led by archbishopPietro Moriconi, drove away the Saracens after ferocious battles. Though short-lived, this Pisan success in Spain increased the rivalry with Genoa. Pisa's trade withLanguedoc,Provence (Noli,Savona,Fréjus, andMontpellier) were an obstacle to Genoese interests in cities such asHyères,Fos,Antibes, andMarseille.
The war began in 1119 when the Genoese attacked several galleys on their way home 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 theCouncil of Pisa, asserting the claims of PopeInnocent II against those of PopeAnacletus II, who had been elected pope in 1130 withNorman 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 kingRoger 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 fromAversa. This victory brought Pisa to the peak of its power and to a standing equal to Venice. Two years later, its soldiers sackedSalerno.
New city walls, erected in 1156 by Consul Cocco Griffi
In the following years, Pisa was one of the staunchest supporters of theGhibelline party. This was much appreciated byFrederick 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 fromCivitavecchia toPortovenere, a half ofPalermo,Messina,Salerno andNaples, the whole ofGaeta,Mazara, andTrapani, and a street with houses for its merchants in every city of theKingdom of Sicily. Some of these grants were later confirmed byHenry VI,Otto IV, andFrederick II. They marked the apex of Pisa's power, but also spurred the resentment of other cities such asLucca,Massa,Volterra, andFlorence, thwarting their aim to expand towards the sea. The clash with Lucca also concerned the possession of the castle ofMontignoso and mainly the control of theVia 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 dominant position in the markets of southern France. The war began in 1165 on theRhône, when an attack on a convoy, directed to some Pisan trade centres on the river, by the Genoese and their ally, the count ofToulouse, failed. Pisa, though, was allied to Provence. The war continued until 1175 without significant victories. Another point of attrition wasSicily, where both the cities had privileges granted byHenry VI. In 1192, Pisa managed to conquer Messina. This episode was followed by a series of battles culminating in the Genoese conquest ofSyracuse in 1204. Later, the trading posts in Sicily were lost when the newPope Innocent III, though removing theexcommunication cast over Pisa by his predecessorCelestine III, allied himself with theGuelph League of Tuscany, led by Florence. Soon, he stipulated[clarification needed] 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 its traditional Spanish and French bases (Marseille,Narbonne,Barcelona, etc.) and tried to defy theVenetian rule of theAdriatic Sea. In 1180, the two cities agreed to a nonaggression treaty in the Tyrrhenian and the Adriatic, but the death of EmperorManuel Comnenus in Constantinople changed the situation. Soon, attacks on Venetian convoys were made. Pisa signed trade and political pacts withAncona,Pula,Zara,Split, andBrindisi; in 1195, a Pisan fleet reached Pola to defend its independence from Venice, but the Serenissima soon reconquered 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 theport of Brindisi inApulia. 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.
In 1209 inLerici, 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 emperorFrederick II confirmed his supremacy over theTyrrhenian coast fromCivitavecchia toPortovenere, the Genoese and Tuscan resentment against Pisa grew again. In the following years, Pisa clashed with Lucca inGarfagnana and was defeated by theFlorentines at Castel del Bosco. The strongGhibelline position of Pisa brought this town diametrically against the Pope, who was in a dispute with theHoly Roman Empire, and indeed the pope tried to deprive Pisa of its dominions in northernSardinia.
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 sonEnzo, attacked a Genoese convoy carrying prelates from northern Italy and France, next to the isle ofGiglio (Battle of Giglio), in front ofTuscany; 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 ofAleria and even lay siege to Genoa itself in 1243.
TheLigurian republic of Genoa, however, recovered fast from this blow and won backLerici, 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 acapitano 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 ofDella Gherardesca andVisconti. 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 12Anziani 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 is said to have begun on August 6, 1284, when the numerically superior fleet of Pisa, under the command ofAlbertino Morosini, was defeated by the brilliant tactics of the Genoese fleet, under the command ofBenedetto Zaccaria andOberto Doria, in the dramatic navalBattle of Meloria. This defeat ended the maritime power of Pisa and the town never fully recovered;[12] in 1290, the Genoese destroyed forever the Porto Pisano (Pisa's port), andcovered 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 withmalaria. The true end came in 1324, when Sardinia was entirely lost to theAragonese.
Always Ghibelline, Pisa tried to build up its power in the course of the 14th century, and even managed to defeatFlorence in theBattle of Montecatini (1315), under the command ofUguccione della Faggiuola. Eventually, however, after a long siege, Pisa was occupied by Florentines in 1405.[13] Florentines corrupted thecapitano 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 acouncil trying to set the question of theGreat 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 theKingdom of Naples,[13] Pisa reclaimed its independence as the Second Pisan Republic.
Bonus certificate of Pisa, issued July 19, 1875
The new freedom did not last long; 15 years of battles and sieges by the Florentine troops led byAntonio da Filicaja,Averardo Salviati andNiccolò Capponi were made, but they failed to conquer the city.Vitellozzo Vitelli with his brotherPaolo 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.Livorno took over the role of the main port of Tuscany. Pisa acquired a mainly cultural role spurred by the presence of theUniversity of Pisa, created in 1343, later reinforced by theScuola Normale Superiore di Pisa, founded in 1810 with a decree byNapoleon, and more recently bySant'Anna School of Advanced Studies (1987).
Pisa was the birthplace of the important early physicistGalileo Galilei. It is still the seat of anarchbishopric. Besides its educational institutions, it has become a light industrial centre and a railway hub. It suffered repeated destruction duringWorld War II.
Since the early 1950s, the US Army has maintainedCamp Darby just outside Pisa, which is used by many US military personnel as a base for vacations in the area.[14][15]
In Pisa there was a festival and gameGioco del Ponte [it;fr] (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 thetargone, 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.[20][21]
In 1677 the battle was witnessed by Dutch travelling artistCornelis de Bruijn. He wrote:
"While I stayed inLivorno, I went to Pisa to witness the bridge fight there. The fighters arrived fully armored, wearing helmets, each carrying their banner, which was planted at both ends of the bridge, which is quite wide and long. The battle is fought with certain wooden implements made for this purpose, which they wear over their arms and are attached to them, with which they pummel each other so intensely that I saw several of them carried away with bloody and crushed heads. Victory consists of capturing the bridge, in the same way as the fistfights inVenice between theit:Castellani and the Nicolotti."[22]
In 1927 the tradition was revived by college students as an elaborate costume parade. In 1935Vittorio 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.
While thebell 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'sPiazza del Duomo, also known, since the 20th century, asPiazza dei Miracoli (Square of Miracles), to the north of the old town center. ThePiazza del Duomo also houses theDuomo (the Cathedral), theBaptistry and theCampo Santo (the monumental cemetery). The medieval complex includes the above-mentioned four sacred buildings, the old hospital (nowMuseo delle Sinopie) and few palaces. All the complex is kept by theOpera (fabrica ecclesiae) della Primaziale Pisana, an old non profit foundation that has operated since the building of the Cathedral in 1063 to maintain the sacred buildings. The area is framed by medieval walls kept by the municipal administration.
Other sights include:
Knights' Square (Piazza dei Cavalieri), where thePalazzo della Carovana, with its façade designed byGiorgio Vasari may be seen. Sited on the square.
Santo Stefano dei Cavalieri, church sited on Piazza dei Cavalieri, and also designed byVasari. It had originally a single nave; two more were added in the 17th century. It houses abust byDonatello, and paintings by Vasari,Jacopo Ligozzi,Alessandro Fei, andPontormo. 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 fromAli Pacha's flagship at the 1571Battle 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 today one of the best preserved earlyRomanesque buildings in town.
St. Francis. The church of San Francesco may have been designed byGiovanni 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 byJacopo da Empoli,Taddeo Gaddi andSanti di Tito. In the Gherardesca Chapel are buriedUgolino della Gherardesca and his sons.
San Nicola. This medieval church built by 1097, was enlarged between 1297 and 1313 by theAugustinians, perhaps by the design ofGiovanni Pisano. The octagonal belfry is from the second half of the 13th century. The paintings include theMadonna with Child byFrancesco Traini (14th century) andSt. Nicholas Saving Pisa from the Plague (15th century). Noteworthy are also the wood sculptures by Giovanni andNino Pisano, and theAnnunciation byFrancesco 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 enlarged in the mid-12th century along lines similar to those of the cathedral. It is annexed to theRomanesque Chapel of St. Agatha, with an unusual pyramidal cusp or peak.
San Pietro in Vinculis. Known asSan Pierino, it is an 11th-century church with a crypt and acosmatesque mosaic on the floor of the main nave.
Borgo Stretto. This medieval borgo or neighborhood contains strolling arcades. It includes the Gothic-Romanesque church ofSan Michele in Borgo (990).
There are at least two other leaning towers in the city; one at the southern end of centralVia Santa Maria (close to the San Nicola church), the other halfway through thePiagge riverside promenade, belltower to San Michele church.
Medici Palace. The palace was once a possession of the Appiano family, who ruled Pisa in 1392–1398. In 1400 the Medici acquired it, andLorenzo de' Medici sojourned here.
TheLungarno, the avenues along the river Arno, host many relevant buildings:
Palazzo Reale. The ("Royal Palace"), once belonged to theCaetani patrician family. HereGalileo Galilei showed toGrand Duke of Tuscany the planets he had discovered with his telescope. The edifice was erected in 1559 byBaccio Bandinelli forCosimo I de Medici, and was later enlarged including other palaces. The palace is now a museum.
Palazzo Gambacorti: 14th-century Gothic palace, and now houses the offices of the municipality. The interior shows frescoes boasting Pisa's sea victories.
Palazzo Agostini. 15th-century Gothic palace that incorporates city walls predating 1155. It housesCaffè dell'Ussero, a coffeeshop founded in 1775, and during the 19th-century a meeting spot for patriots and intelligentsia.
MuralTuttomondo. A modern mural, the last public work byKeith Haring, on the rear wall of the convent of the Church ofSant'Antonio, painted in June 1989.
Museo dell'Opera del Duomo: exhibiting among others the original sculptures ofNicola Pisano andGiovanni Pisano, the IslamicPisa Griffin, and the treasures of the cathedral.
Museo delle Sinopie: showing thesinopias from the Campo Santo, the monumental cemetery. These are theunderdrawings for frescoes, made with reddish, greenish or brownish earth colour with water.
Museo Nazionale di Palazzo Reale: exhibiting the belongings of the families that lived in the palace: paintings, statues, armors, etc.
Museo Nazionale degli Strumenti per il Calcolo: exhibiting a collection of instruments used in science, between a pneumatic machine ofVan Musschenbroek and a compass which probably belonged toGalileo Galilei.
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.[23] The Museum opened in June 2019[24] and has been located inside to the 16th-century Medicean Arsenals in Lungarno Ranieri Simonelli, restored under the supervision of the TuscanySoprintendenza.[25] It hosts a remarkable collection of ceramics andamphoras dated back from the8th century BCE to the2nd century BC,[26] and also 32 ships dated back from the second century BCE and the seventh century BC.[27] Four of them are integrally preserved[28] and the best one is the so-calledBarca C, also namedAlkedo (written in theancient Greek characters).[29] The first boat was accidentally discovered in 1998 near thePisa San Rossore railway station and the archeological excavations were completed 20 years later.[30]
Football is the main sport in Pisa; the local team,Pisa SC, currently[31] plays in theSerie A (the highest football division in Italy), and has had a top flight history throughout the 1980s and the 1990s, featuring several world-class players such asDiego Simeone,Christian Vieri andDunga during this time. The club play at theArena Garibaldi, which opened in 1919 and has a capacity of 25,000.
Shooting was one of the first sports to have their own association in Pisa. TheSocietà del Tiro a Segno di Pisa was founded on July 9, 1862. In 1885, they acquired their own training field. The shooting range was almost completely destroyed during World War II.
Pisa has an international airport known asPisa International Airport or normallyGalileo Galilei located in San Giusto neighbourhood in Pisa. It is served by several airlines which connect it to various domestic and international destinations. Manylow-cost airlines operate there.
The airport is connected toPisa Centrale railway station by apeople mover system 2 km (1.2 mi) long, calledPisamover[32] inaugurated in March 2017.[33] It is based on a driverless "horizontalfunicular" that travels the distance in 5 minutes, with a 5-minute frequency, having an intermediate stop at parking station San Giusto/Aurelia.
Consorzio Pisano Trasporti, also known asCPT, was aSocietà consortile a responsabilità limitata (Scarl) that operated since 2005 the local public transport in Pisa and in theprovince. Became subsidiary ofCompagnia Toscana Trasporti Nord[34] in 2012 and was one the companies of the consortiumONE Scarl[35] to accomplish the contract stipulated with theRegione Toscana for the public transport in the 2018-2019 period. The fleet consisted of 70 urban, 15 suburban and 260 intercity buses.
Since 1 November 2021 the public local transport is managed byAutolinee Toscane.[36]
Pisa San Rossore links the city with Lucca (20 minutes north-east of Pisa) andViareggio and is also reachable fromPisa Centrale. It is a minor railway station located near the Leaning Tower zone.
There was another station calledPisa Aeroporto situated next to the Airport with services toPisa Centrale andFlorence. It was closed on December 15, 2013, for the realization of apeople mover.
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 byDante Oscar Benini and raised criticism.
TheScuola Normale Superiore di Pisa was founded in 1810, by Napoleonic decree, as a branch of theÉcole 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)
Located at: Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, P.zza Martiri della Libertà, 33 – 56127 – Pisa (Italia)
TheUniversity of Pisa orUniversità di Pisa, 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. The medical school of the university is sight atAzienda ospedaliero-universitaria pisana.
Located at: Università di Pisa – Lungarno Pacinotti, 43 – 56126 Pisa (Italia)
^Paribeni, Emanuela.La necropoli villanoviana di Pisa, Porta a Lucca/via Marche, in Cavalieri etruschi dalle valli al Po. Tra Reno e Panaro, la valle del Samoggia nell'VIII e VII secolo a.C. (in Italian). Edizioni Aspasia. pp. 258–263.
^William Heywood (2010).A History of Pisa: Eleventh and Twelfth Centuries. Cambridge University Press. p. 1.ISBN9781108010139.
^Fisher, Craig B. (1966). "The Pisan Clergy and an Awakening of Historical Interest in a Medieval Commune". In Bowsky, William M. (ed.).Studies in Medieval and Renaissance History. Vol. III. University of Nebraska Press. p. 143.
^Fisher, Craig B. (1966). "The Pisan Clergy and an Awakening of Historical Interest in a Medieval Commune". In Bowsky, William M. (ed.).Studies in Medieval and Renaissance History. Vol. III. University of Nebraska Press. p. 143.
^Fisher, Craig B. (1966). "The Pisan Clergy and an Awakening of Historical Interest in a Medieval Commune". In Bowsky, William M. (ed.).Studies in Medieval and Renaissance History. Vol. III. University of Nebraska Press. p. 143.
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