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City: Pisa - Population. 87000 - Alt : 4 m a.s.l - Location:
Tuscany
 Description: Town with ancient origins, it was a Roman
settlement and marine republic during the Middle Ages. Now it is the
capital of the Province of Pisa, in Tuscany. It is
an industrial center and an important cultural art city. The city
lies on the alluvial plain of the Arno River, about 6 miles (10 km)
from the Ligurian Sea and 50 miles (80 km) west of Florence.
Visitors to Pisa tend to concentrate on Piazza dei Miracoli
(Square of miracles), the area around the
Cathedral which houses Europe’s greatest group of Romanesque
buildings. The group of buildings so scenically set in the Piazza
del Duomo of Pisa leave the visitor with an impression in part real
and in part surreal, like a fairy tale, due first and foremost, to
the striking contrast of the white marble with the green lawn and
blue sky.
 Sights and Attractions: The Duomo (1063), an imposing white
building in Romanesque style with a richly decorated façade with
sculptures and marble inlay. The magnificent marble pulpit by
Giovanni Pisano ( 1302 – 1311) is the most important work of art. It
has nine panels illustrating stories from the New Testament and is
largely composed of allegorical figures representing the virtues and
credos of the Catholic faith. Inside the Duomo is a magnificent
marble pulpit by Giovanni Pisano (1302–1311) and other valuable
works by Giambologna, Andrea del Sarto, Ghirlandaio, Sodoma, etc.
• The Baptistry (12th-14th
C), a majestic Romanesque building in white marble, with an
eight-sided pyramidal cupola and fine portals
• The “Leaning Tower”, next to
the Duomo, which is the symbol of Pisa. Built in the 13th C in a
cylindrical shape it has a spiral staircase with 294 steps to the
top of the tower (55 m), from which visitors can enjoy a beautiful
view over the whole town of Pisa • The
“Camposanto” (14th C), for centuries was the burial ground for
illustrious people and most prominent figures, it houses remarkable
funerary monuments, sarcophaguses, sculptures and frescoes. They
include works by Veneziano, Taddeo Gaddi, and Benozzo Gozzoli • Santa Caterina
(14th C) with a Gothic facade from 1330 and frescoed
interiors • Santa Maria della
Spina is a remarkable tiny church along the Arno River. The church
is Pisa's finest example of Gothic architecture
• Santa Cecilia
• San Francesco, rich
interiors • San Pierino with a richly decorated façade and interesting crypt
• San Frediano with frescoed
chapels • San Paolo a Ripa
d’Arno with a fine 13th C façade, valuable frescoes and the adjacent
Romanesque “Cappella di Sant’Agata” •
San Michele in Borgo with bas- reliefs, frescoes,
paintings and crypt • The
black and white richly decorated Palazzo dei Cavalieri designed by
Vasari in 1562 • Worthy of note are the “Logge dei banchi” a 17th C
colonnade, The “Palazzo dell’Orologio”, in which tower Count Ugolino
Della Gherardesca was imprisoned, recounted by Dante in his Inferno
• Elsewhere in Pisa you
can wander peaceful streets, admire the town's palazzi and
university buildings, shop in the market areas, and admire bridges
and churches • To these
treasures we can add the Certosa of Pisa, at Calci (10 km from Pisa)
and the Basilica of San Piero a Grado (5 Km from Pisa), obligatory
stop for lovers of Romanesque art •
Café Ussero (historical cafè and meeting point), founded on
1775.
 Museums: The “Museo Nazionale di San Matteo” has several
permanent collections of Pisan art through the ages, covering
painting from the 12th to the 15th centuries, medieval ceramics and
sculpture from the 14th and 15th centuries. Of note, is the “Madonna
and Child with Saints”, a polyptich by Simone Martini. Other
works by Gentile da Fabriano, Masaccio and Beato Angelico
• The Museum of the
University • The “Opera del Duomo” museum preserves a huge collection of artworks. Thanks
to more than 100 works of art – paintings, sculptures, illuminated
books and applied arts – the exhibition offers an impressive
overview of the artistic scene of 13th century Pisa and gives a
vivid idea of the economic and cultural richness of this powerful
city • Museo delle Sinopie:
showing the sinopias from the Camposanto, the monumental cemetery.
These are red ocher under-drawings for frescoes, made with reddish,
greenish or brownish earth color with water.
 The University: Pisa is still renowned for its University,
especially 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, mostly
for research and the education of graduate students.
Events: Every year on the night of 16th of June the enchantment
of the Luminara di San Ranieri is renewed on the streets
running along the "Lungarni" (banks of the Arno River), the
architectural details of the palaces, windows, cornices, balconies,
the rails lining the river and all the bridges glow in the reflected
light of over 70,000 lumini (small glass lamps burning oil or wax)
while thousands of lighted candles float on the waters of the Arno.
Machine (lighted sham architectural constructions) and a firework
spectacle at the Cittadella Vecchia finish the show. The annual
luminara dates back to 1688 and marks the anniversary of the
placement of S. Ranieri's remains inside of the Duomo -
On the following Sunday the Regatta di San Ranieri. Crew in vessels
representing the four historical quarters of the city S. Maria, S.
Francesco, S. Antonio, and S. Martino - will row a 1500 meter
upstream course to a boat moored in mid-river. Once there, four "montatori",
one "climber" from each crew, will scramble up a pole to seize the
banner or palio flying from the top. The specific features of the
today's Regatta began to be defined in 1737, but similar events have
been held in Pisa since the 13th century.
Last Sunday of June: Gioco del Ponte (Game of the bridge) a contest
in which teams of the town's four quarters try to push a
rail-mounted seven-ton trolley off the main bridge and into the
other team's territory. It's all very ritualized (and usually
bloodless) now, but this is another of Pisa's ancient traditions,
and, more than any other, it arouses the spirits of the locals.
Typical products: Pecorino sheep cheese, Tuscan salami (buristo,
ammazzafegato) white truffles, alabaster, pottery,
leather goods, furniture.Wines: Bianco Pisano di San Torpè
DOC, Montescudaio DOC
Surrounding smaller towns and hamlets: Coltano, Marina di
Pisa, Tirrenia, Calambrone, Riglione, Oratoio, Putignano, San Piero
a Grado, Sant'Ermete, Ospedaletto.
Neighboring towns: Cascina, Collesalvetti, Livorno,
Pomarance, San Giuliano Terme
Nearest airport: Pisa International Airport Galileo Galilei
is 2 km to the city center and has domestic and international
flights. Rome, Milan, Cagliari, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Bruxelles,
London Gatwick and Stansted, Madrid, Frankfurt Hahn, Munich and
Paris Charles De Gaulle are some of the Italian and the European
airports with direct flights to Pisa. The terminal is directly
connected to Pisa Railway Central Station and thence to the Italian
railway network. Direct train lines connect the Airport to Florence,
Pontedera, Empoli, Lucca, Pistoia and Montecatini. At the Florence
Santa Maria Novella train station you can check in for all flights
departing from Pisa Airport.
Nearest train stations: Pisa Centrale is the main train station
and is located along the sea cost railway line.
Public transportation: Local bus service in Pisa is managed by Compagnia
Pisana Trasporti (CPT).
Intercity buses depart from the main bus station in
Piazza Sant'Antonio.
There are regular buses around town, including from the train
station to the Campo dei Miracoli. Local bus tickets are available
at the bus stops, news agents and tobacco shops.
Driving distances from Pisa in Km: Bari 800 - Bologne 180 - Arezzo 1507 –
Chianti 80 -
Florence 81 - Genoa 170 - Grosseto 150 - Leghorn 20
- Milan 285 -
Rome 330 - San Gimignano 75 - Siena 142 - Venice 340 |
