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| Pisa, Tuscany, Italy |
Pisa lies approximately 80 kilometres west of Florence in the Tuscany region of Italy. It is one of the world’s famous locations being home to the historic Tower of Pisa, better known as the Leaning Tower of Pisa!!
Located at the mouth of the Arno River, Pisa was once a historic port long before it became a Roman colony of Portus Pisanus in 180 B.C. The port and its subsequent naval activity was the strength behind the successful development and long, active history of Pisa. This growth reached its apex in the 11th and 12th centuries, when Pisa was the main port on the upper Tyrrhenian Sea, and was at that time a strong maritime nation. Trading with Corsica, Sardinia, southern France and Spain, the city was a very important commercial centre and controlled a significant fleet of merchant and naval vessels. This naval activity brought the Pisans into conflict with the Saracen pirates who were active throughout the Mediterranean Sea, and during the taking of Palermo from the Saracens, Pisa succeeded in taking a large shipment of gold which enabled the city to commence the construction of the Duomo, of Santa Maria in 1064 A.D.
The Duomo is the main focus of the Piazza dei Miracoli (the Square of Miracles), also called the Piazza del Duomo, which is a wide walled area at the heart of Pisa. Now a declared UNESCO World Heritage Site (1987), it includes besides the Duomo, the Baptistery, the Tower of Pisa and the Camposanto, which forms together one of the world’s great religious edifices of medieval art, and is today a major tourist attraction.
The Duomo has been constructed with Byzantine influences which can be seen by the mosaics, and Muslim influences by the pointed arches. It is interesting to see the very impressive mosaics in the apse, the wonderfully carved pulpit, the gilded ceiling and the massive main front doors, which are made of bronze. The Baptistery is a round Romanesque building on which construction began in the mid 12th century, and which became the largest in Italy when it was completed in the 14th century. The Tower of Pisa began construction in 1173, and was built in three stages over nearly 200 years!! Today it is known the world over due to its incongruous lean, but still holds its 7 bells and performs its function as the cathedral belltower. The Camposanto is a huge walled cemetery, and was constructed in 1278 as an oblong shaped Gothic cloister.
The city has many other historic buildings to see if architecture is your thing, some of which, like the Palazzo Reale (the Royal Palace), houses a beautiful art gallery, and interestingly has a tower from where Galileo showed the Grand Duke of Tuscany the stars with his newly improved ‘telescope’. You must see the Piazza dei Calavieri, the Palazzo Agostini (15th century) and the 12th century city walls, the Church of San Sisto (11th century), a beautiful church and one of Pisa’s oldest!!
Being a university city it is a bustling place, coffee shops and eateries are easy to find. Walk around and have a great day!
Did you know?
Galileo Galilei was born in Pisa 1564, and famous for his work with physics, mathematics and astronomy, often called the ‘father of modern observational astronomy’.
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| Tours |  |
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The Cinque Terre Explored
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