Pisa is an Italian town of 90855 inhabitants and the capital of
Tuscany. Together with its neighbors Calci, Cassina, San Giuliano
Terme, Vecchiano, and Vicopisano, it forms an urban system of about
195,000 inhabitants spread over 475 km². In addition, Pisa, which
had more than 5 million passengers in 2017, is home to Tuscany's
most important airport, Galileo Galilei Airport.
Legend has
it that Pisa was founded by several mythical Greeks who took refuge
from the Greek city of the same name, Pisa, which was destroyed in
the 6th century B.C. After the flight of its inhabitants, they set
sail and happened to reach the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea, where
they gave birth to a new settlement.
The Cathedral, built in
the Pisan Romanesque style between 1063 and 1118, and the Leaning
Tower, built in the 12th century, are today among the best-known
Italian buildings in the world, thanks to their characteristic
leaning.
The city of Pisa is home to three of the most
important universities in Italy and Europe: the University of Pisa,
the University of Normale Superiore, and the University of Sant'Anna
Superiore, as well as the largest headquarters of the National
Research Council (CNR) and numerous other research institutions.
The city center overlooks directly the Ligurian Sea and has
three coastal settlements (Marina di Pisa, Tyrrhenia, and
Calambrone).
In the past, the city of Pisa was an important
maritime republic.
Most of the monuments are located on the right (or northern) side of
the Arno river (called "Tramontana" by residents), including the famous
Piazza dei Miracoli.
In the southern part ("Mezzogiorno") there
is the Pisa Centrale railway station and, further south, the airport.
The Cathedral of Pisa is a medieval cathedral in Pisa. Located in the
center of Piazza dei Miracoli, the construction of this cathedral began
in 1063 thanks to the sack of Palermo at the hands of the Orlandi
family. The building was designed and completed by the architect
Buscheto. The cathedral blends various styles, including Classical,
Longobardo-Emilian, Byzantine, and especially Islamic, and shows the
international presence of the Pisan merchants of the time. in the first
half of the 12th century, the cathedral was enlarged under the direction
of the architect Rainaldo. the new cathedral was built in the same style
as the old one, with the addition of the Cathedral of the Pisan
Merchants, which is still in use today. The present appearance is the
result of a restoration campaign that was repeated in each period. The
cathedral also housed Benozzo Gozzoli's St. Thomas Aquinas among the
Doctors of the Church (now in the Louvre), which was vandalized during
the French occupation and stolen during the Napoleonic period.
Church
of San Francesco Designed by Giovanni di Simone and built after 1276,
the church was raised in 1343 when a new chapel was added. It has one
nave, with a very interesting bell tower and cloister. It contains works
by Jacopo da Empori, Taddeo Gaddi, and Santi di Tito. Ugolino della
Gherardesca and his children were buried in the Gherardesca Chapel.
Originally, until 1810, it housed "His Majesty" of Cimabue and St.
Francis with the Stigmata of Giotto, but Napoleon's encroachment and
gigantic size made it difficult to return it at the restoration of the
monarchy, and it was left in the Louvre where Napoleon placed it.
The
Church of San Frediano, a three-aisled basilica first mentioned in 1061,
houses a 12th century crucifix. Most of the frescoes were restored in
the 16th century and were done by Domenico Passignano, Aurelio Romi, and
Rutilio Manetti. It is now used as a university church.
Church of San
Paolo all'Orto The church is mentioned in 1086 as the Church of San
Paolo in burgo, but it is already called "all'Orto" in 1120. This church
housed the work Maria Santissima col su Divin Figlio by Taddeo di
Bartolo, which was rounded up by the director of the Napoleon Denon
Museum by order of the Directory during the French occupation. The work
was not returned to Pisa, which was the subject of Napoleon's looting
after the Congress of Vienna.
The church of San Silvestro was donated
to the Benedictine monks of Montecassino in 1118. During the French
occupation, several works of art were taken from Pisa that were subject
to infringement by Napoleon's troops. Among them was the statue of Jesus
and Mary with the Angels, which was taken from Turin.
The church of
San Nicola, whose existence can be traced back to 1097, was enlarged
between 1297 and 1313, probably to the designs of Giovanni Pisano, by
Augustinian monks (who took over the church in 1297). The octagonal bell
tower dates from the late 13th century. Of note are the wood carvings by
Giovanni and Nino Pisano and the Annunciation by Francesco di
Valdambrino. The bell tower of this church is also leaning.
The
church of Santa Maria della Spina (1230), the present form of which is
attributed to Lupo di Francesco (1325), is one of the masterpieces of
Italian Gothic that is recognized by all. Rich and precious as a
treasure chest, it stands along the river, a short walk from the
southern end of the Ponte Solferino. Because of its proximity to the
river, it underwent a unique demolition process in the 19th century. To
protect the church from flooding, the stones were numbered and
reassembled at a higher level.
The church of San Paolo a Lipa d'Arno,
built around 952, stands in a square in the tree-lined avenue of
Lungarno, southwest of the city; it was enlarged in the mid-12th century
in the Pisan Romanesque style, the style adopted for the cathedral. The
facade was completed in the 14th century by Giovanni Pisano. The
interior was frescoed by Buonamico Buffalmacco and Turino Vanni; it is a
12th century brick building with a Romanesque chapel of Sant'Agata with
an octagonal plan characterized by a pyramid-shaped roof.
Church of
San Michele degli Scalzi, a Romanesque church in the San Michele area.
The bell tower of this church is the most leaning in Pisa, surpassing
the famous tower.
Synagogue of Pisa
Jewish Cemetery
Church of
San Giovanni de' Fieri, Adventist church.
Chapel of the Martyrs of
Kindu
Cemetery outside Pisa
Former convent of the Bigi Friars
Cemetery of San Piero a Grado
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints, Mormon Church
Waldensian Evangelical Church
Kingdom Hall
of Jehovah's Witnesses
Islamic Cultural Center
Casino dei Nobili: elegant stately building with loggia, located in
Piazza Garibaldi, home to the Casino dei Nobili in the eighteenth
century, a place of leisure for the resurgent local nobility.
Palazzo
Agonigi da Scorno: located in Via Santa Maria, it represents a rare
example of restoration of one of the most beautiful tower houses in the
city.
Palazzo Agostini: in a dominant position on the Lungarno
Pacinotti, this elegant fourteenth-century Gothic palace is known as
Palazzo Rosso or Palazzo dell'Ussero. It has been home to the Caffè
dell'Ussero since 1775 and the Lumière cinema since 1899. Note its
particular slope due to the marshy soil of the city.
Archbishop's
Palace: a stone's throw from the Leaning Tower, this palace stands on
the remains of the Porta Episcopalis, one of the most important
entrances to the ancient early medieval city walls. Modified several
times, the current appearance is the result of sixteenth and eighteenth
century interventions. Of notable interest is the sixteenth-century
courtyard with the statue of Moses dominating in the centre.
Palazzo
Carranza: in via San Martino, with notable frescoes by Annibale Gatti.
Palazzo Medici or Appiano: formerly a possession of the Appiano family,
lords of Pisa in the period 1392-1398. In 1400 the Medici bought it, and
Lorenzo de' Medici also stayed there.
Ex-Palazzo del Podestà:
medieval building renovated several times over the centuries. It is
located near the ancient Monte di Pietà of Pisa, in Via Ulisse Dini.
Palazzo Poschi: example of a fourteenth-century loggia palace, built on
the remains of the early medieval city walls, at the crossroads between
Borgo Stretto and Via San Francesco. Recently restored, it shows the
evolution from the most rudimentary tower houses (an example is the
Torre della Taccola adjacent to the palace) to the elegant
fourteenth-century palaces that flourished throughout the city.
Palazzo Quarantotti: located in Via Tavoleria, one of the most
interesting medieval streets of the city, the palace has been
significantly altered in its form, but the turreted structures
incorporated inside it are still clearly visible.
Royal Palace: seat
of the Superintendency and built in 1583 by Bernardo Buontalenti for
Francesco I de' Medici. It has a profile made even more evident among
the palaces of the Lungarno Pacinotti, as well as for its considerable
size, by the Torre del Cantone (or della Verga D'Oro), an ancient
defensive tower, from the top of which Galileo Galilei showed the Grand
Duke Cosimo II the use of the new telescope he perfected. The palace's
current form is the result of a restoration and expansion intervention
in the Lorraine era. It currently houses the National Museum of Palazzo
Reale, a collection of modern art, mostly coming from the grand ducal
funds, with works by notable artists, such as Raphael, Rosso Fiorentino,
Guido Reni and Bronzino. Equally interesting is the collection of
armour, part of the set of the Bridge Game.
Palazzo Roncioni: located
in Lungarno Mediceo, the palace, as well as being the only one to have
maintained its port of call on the river, was the home of the ancient
Pisan family. Between the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries the palace
welcomed illustrious guests such as Vittorio Alfieri and Ugo Foscolo.
Palazzo Ruschi: it was the seat of the city's first civic museum, this
elegant sixteenth-century palace, born from the merger of medieval tower
houses, delimits the nineteenth-century Piazza d'Ancona, creating one of
the most evocative spaces in the city.
Palazzo della Sapienza: built
by Lorenzo de' Medici during the urban reorganization of the city in the
fifteenth century, it became the main headquarters of the Pisan Studio.
It now houses the Faculty of Law, on the corner of Via Curtatone e
Montanara and Piazza Dante.
Palazzo Tobler: in the center of Borgo
Largo (or Via Oberdan), this palace with loggia represents one of the
best examples of the power of medieval merchants in Pisa. Note the
beautiful Gothic façade in white marble from the Monti Pisani.
Palazzo Tobler sul Lungarno: located near the Solferino Bridge, in
Lungarno Pacinotti, the palace was rebuilt after heavy damage during the
Second World War. In medieval times it was the home of the Ricucchi
family, founders of the first city hospital near the church of Santa
Lucia dei Ricucchi, now disappeared, but above all remembered for being
the birthplace of Ricucco Ricucchi, who according to tradition was the
first to enter Jerusalem during the First Crusade.
Palazzo
Toscanelli: seat of the State Archives on Lungarno Mediceo, this
beautiful palace with a San Giuliano limestone façade has been the
subject of discussions since its sixteenth-century expansion. Restored
by Niccolò Tribolo, according to local tradition the expansion project
was the work of the great Michelangelo, but the lack of certain sources
has always cast doubt on his intervention. From here Lord Byron left for
Greece where he met his death.
Palazzo delle Vedove: part of the
Uffizi Pisani complex, the palace, located in Via Santa Maria, is
connected via a suspended walkway to the Torre del Cantone and therefore
to the Royal Palace. According to tradition, its name is due to the fact
that it hosted the widows of the Medici family in Pisa.
Palazzo
Gambacorti: seat of the municipal administration.
Palazzo Lanfranchi:
home of the Graphics Museum.
Palazzo Giuli Rosselmini Gualandi, circa
1356, home of the Cassa di Risparmio di Pisa Foundation, houses the
Palazzo Blu art center.
Royal Victoria Hotel: former Palazzo Aulla of
late Roman and early medieval origins from the 10th century. It is
located in Lungarno Pacinotti.
Palazzo della Carovana: main palace in
Piazza dei Cavalieri. The facade is totally painted by Giorgio Vasari.
It is home to the Scuola Normale Superiore.
Campano Tower
Torre De Cantone
Lanfreducci Tower
Lungarno
Pacinotti Tower
Tower of Sant'Agnese
Towers of via Cavalca
Visconti Tower
Tower house in via Ulisse Dini
Agostini House of Silk
Casa Gualandi
Casa Miniati
House of
Black
Pierucci House
Casa Rasponi dalle Teste
Tizzoni House
House of the Woman
Vanni House
Domus Galileana
Domus Mazziniana
Ponte di Mezzo: the bridge, ideally located in the center of the
city, connects Piazza Garibaldi, in the Tramontana part, to Piazza XX
Settembre, in the South, where Palazzo Gambacorti (seat of the town
hall) and the Logge di Banchi are located. It hosts the Gioco del Ponte
on the last Saturday of June each year.
Ponte della Vittoria: built
three times, the last time after the First World War, it connects Piazza
Guerrazzi in the South, with the entrance to Viale delle Piagge in
Tramontana. The name is probably still the one given under fascism to
the bridge located in the same place which immediately collapsed.
Ponte Solferino: rebuilt much more spartan after the war, it connects
Via Crispi, to the South, to the point where, in Tramontana, the
Pacinotti and Simonelli rivers meet.
Ponte della Fortezza: initially
called Spina, it joins the meeting between the Lungarni Mediceo and
Buozzi in Tramontana with the entrance to the Giardino Scotto (or
Bastione Sangallo) in the South.
Cittadella Bridge: one of the last
bridges, going towards the mouth of the Arno: it connects the Cittadella
to the North with Piazza San Paolo a Ripa d'Arno to the South.
Ponte
delle Bocchette: the most recent and largest, the first city bridge
arriving from the east.
Railway Bridge: the bridge of the Genoa-Rome
line is located just outside the city walls.
Aurelia Bridge, also
called Empire Bridge: it is the one thanks to which the Via Aurelia
crosses the river.
CEP Bridge: it is the last urban bridge going
towards the sea and takes its name from the adjacent neighbourhood.
A12 motorway bridge: it is the bridge through which the A12 motorway
crosses the Arno near the mouth.
Villa di Maio
Medici Villa of Coltano (Coltano locality)
Villa
del Gombo (San Rossore)
Colonia Regina Elena
Maltoni Mussolini Pink Colony
Colony of
the Italian Fasci Abroad
Colonia Vittorio Emanuele II
Colony of
the Princes of Piedmont
The walls: the city is still surrounded by the ancient city walls,
which have remained intact with the exception of some sections to the
south and west. Of notable interest along the route are the numerous
gates, the Piazza delle Gondola (arrival point of the Medici Aqueduct
and the Fosso del Mulino, coming from Asciano and Ripafratta
respectively), and the so-called "Bagni di Nerone", to which it once
belonged the ancient Roman aqueduct of Caldaccoli coming from San
Giuliano Terme, known in ancient times as Aquae Pisanae and then as
Bagni di Pisa. An inscription found on a fistula in the Borgo di
Corliano (CIL XI 1433) recalls that the aqueduct was built in 92 AD. by
L. Venuleius Montanus, patron of the Pisan Colony and consul of Attidium
(Roman city near Fabriano). Since May 2018 the walkway above the walls
(11 m high) has been opened, therefore the walls of Pisa can now be
walked on free of charge for residents of Pisa and at a cost of €3.00
per person for non-residents (in the section from Piazzetta Del Rosso to
Piazza dei Miracoli for a total of 3 km). Furthermore, a green park of
approximately 25,000 square meters has been created around the walls.
The bastions: the bastions of Pisa are fortified structures placed to
protect the most important communication routes of the city. With the
redevelopment project of the urban walls, they will largely be renovated
and used as cultural, hospitality and commercial centres. Along the
north-western bank of the river is the ancient republican arsenal,
dominated by the Guelph Tower, part of the Old Citadel system of which
the San Giorgio Bastion is also part. Near the fifteenth-century Porta a
Lucca is the Bastione del Parlascio, a Brunelleschi Renaissance
construction erected around the ancient gate of the same name. Returning
towards the river, on the north-eastern side, there is the Bastione del
Barbagianni, which mirrors the fifteenth-century Bastione Sangallo,
built by Giuliano da Sangallo near the Portone San Marco, now home to a
public city park with play spaces for children , a cinema arena and
elegant gazebo structures. The space is also used to celebrate weddings
or receptions. On the opposite side of the river, on the south-western
bank, is the Bastione Stampace, built on the remains of the
fourteenth-century Torre Stampace.
They are the real city center, a meeting place for Pisans and
university students. Every evening the historic stretch of the Lungarni
is colored with a thousand lights from the cafés or pubs that overlook
it. During the summer, Lungarno Pacinotti, Lungarno Galilei and Lungarno
Mediceo are closed to vehicular traffic in the evening, except for the
vehicles of residents and disabled people. This attracts many young
people every evening, often sitting on the 'spallette', the parapets of
the Arno, to test new ice cream flavors from the increasingly numerous
ice cream parlors present, or to consume drinks. During the day they
represent the main point of passage for both pedestrians and vehicles.
The Lungarni of Pisa are historically four, divided by the river and the
Ponte di Mezzo and are divided into Lungarno Gambacorti and Galilei to
the south, Lungarno Pacinotti and Mediceo to the north. The Fortress and
Citadel bridges represent the eastern and western borders of the walled
city. Inside, however, there are two other Lungarni, Simonelli to the
north and Sonnino to the south. Beyond the walls lies the Lungarno
Cosimo I to the north-west, while to the south-west the Vie da Padule
and San Giovanni al Gatano give rise to the long Viale d'Annunzio, which
connects the city to the seaside hamlet, Marina di Pisa to the
north-east.
The Lungarno north of the river between the Fortezza
bridge and the Vittoria bridge is called Lungarno Buozzi, and continues
along the Viale delle Piagge, a large urban park. Along the other bank
of the river are the Lungarno Fibonacci, which runs alongside the
Fortezza Nuova and the Lungarno Guadalongo, south of the Vittoria
bridge.
The Lungarni are also the home of the 'I Musei del
Lungarno' museum circuit which has 6 museums of national interest.
Lungarno Mediceo: there is the Palazzo Medici and the Romanesque
church of San Matteo, in whose former monastery the National Museum of
San Matteo is housed. Among the notable works are a group of paintings
from the 12th to the 18th century and a rich collection of sculptures
from the Pisano school.
Lungarno Gambacorti: seat of the Municipality
of Pisa, in the historic Palazzo Gambacorti, hosts elegant Renaissance
buildings and Romanesque jewels, such as the church of Santa Cristina,
the church of Santa Maria della Spina and Renaissance buildings, such as
the Palazzo Blu, renowned museum and exhibition center international.
Lungarno Pacinotti: dominated by imposing Renaissance buildings, this
Lungarno was born on the remains of the ancient early medieval city
walls. The Porta Aurea stood near the church of Santa Maria dei
Galletti, crossed by the most valiant Pisan leaders. The Palazzo alla
Giorno, seat of the Rectorate, the Palazzo Agostini, or Palazzo Rosso,
home of the Caffè dell'Ussero and the luxurious Royal Hotel Victoria,
according to some the oldest hotel in Italy, are an example of the
elegance of the city developed over the centuries. At the center of the
Lungarno is the Royal Palace, home to the National Museum of the same
name, which houses paintings by Raphael, Rosso Fiorentino and Guido
Reni.
Lungarno Galilei: it is the largest and is home to the Graphics
Museum, in the historic Palazzo Lanfranchi, which contains works of
enormous value, from Renoir to Viviani, from Fattori to Picasso. In the
center of the Lungarno is the church of the Holy Sepulchre, with an
octagonal shape and the Palace of the Knights of Malta. The Renaioli
airport is home to city events, especially during the summer period.
Lungarno Sonnino: dominated by the neo-Gothic complex of the former
Benedictine Monastery, ends with one of the most important churches in
Pisa, the church of San Paolo a Ripa d'Arno, known by Pisans as the
Duomo Vecchio.
Lungarno Simonelli: the Citadel tower is perhaps
the symbol of this Lungarno, overlooked by the church of San Vito and
Ranieri, patron saint of Pisa, and the Medici Arsenals, home to the
Museum of Ancient Ships, which houses the finds discovered during the
excavations of 1998 at the Pisa San Rossore station, the so-called
Ancient Ships of Pisa, and the Republican Arsenals.
The Piazza del Duomo, also known by the poetic expression square of
miracles, is the most important artistic and tourist center of Pisa.
Listed among the UNESCO World Heritage Sites since 1987, you can admire
some masterpieces of European Romanesque architecture, that is, the
monuments that form the center of the city's religious life: the
cathedral, the baptistery, the cemetery and the bell tower.
The
Cathedral: the heart of the complex is the Cathedral of Santa Maria
Assunta, the medieval cathedral. She is a Primatial, the Archbishop of
Pisa being a Primate. It is a five-aisled church with a three-aisled
transept. The building, like the bell tower, has sunk perceptibly into
the ground, and some defects in the construction are clearly visible,
such as the differences in level between Buscheto's nave and the
extension by Rainaldo (the bays towards the west and the façade). . The
Pisan Romanesque style was created starting from this church and then
exported to the rest of Tuscany, but also to Corsica and Sardinia, once
under the control of the Republic of Pisa.
The bell tower of Santa
Maria: known as "The Leaning Tower" or "The Tower of Pisa", and in Pisa
simply "the Tower" par excellence, is, in fact, the bell tower of the
Duomo. Below it the ground gave way slightly, causing it to tilt a few
degrees. The inclination continued for many years, until it stopped
after the restoration work concluded in the early 21st century. Due to
construction difficulties, and not only that, its construction lasted
over two centuries (in three different phases of work) starting from the
end of the 12th century.
The Baptistery: dedicated to St. John the
Baptist, stands in front of the west façade of the Cathedral. The
building was begun in the mid-12th century, the interior, surprisingly
simple and devoid of decoration, also has exceptional acoustics. It is
the largest baptistery in Italy: its circumference measures 107.25 m.
The Campo Santo: the monumental Camposanto is located at the northern
edge of the square. It is a cemetery structured in the form of a
cloister, with earthly tombs. The earth inside the courtyard is actually
a relic, being earth coming from Mount Golgotha in the Holy Land,
transported with several ships by the Pisans after the Fourth Crusade,
hence the name "campo" (plot of land) "holy" . From 1945 to today,
restoration work is still in progress, which among other things has led
to the recovery of the very precious sinopies.
Piazza dei Cavalieri where the Palazzo della Carovana stands,
designed by Giorgio Vasari, including the complex decoration of the
facade. It is home to the Scuola Normale Superiore.
In the same
square stands the church of the Knights of Santo Stefano, also by
Vasari. Originally it had a single nave; the second was added in the
17th century. Inside we find paintings by Giorgio Vasari, Jacopo
Ligozzi, Agnolo Bronzino, Alessandro Fei and Jacopo Chimenti known as
Empoli.
Statue of Cosimo I
Clock Palace
Church of San Rocco
Puteano College Palace
Palace of the Council of the Twelve
Rectory
Muda Tower
Carrara Square
Piazza delle Vettovaglie
Gondola Square
Dante
Square
Martyrs of Freedom Square
Piazza Chiara Gambacorti
Scotto Garden
Terzani Garden
Garden March 8
Garden of Saints
Cosma and Damiano
Falcone and Borsellino Garden
Park 2 August 1944
Citadel urban park
The Borgo Stretto and the medieval markets are an area where you can walk under the cover of medieval porticoes. Along the road, which together with Corso Italia, constitutes the "living room" of the city, stands the Romanesque-Gothic church of San Michele in Borgo, built starting from a nucleus attested as early as 990. The eighteenth-century Casino dei Nobili and the Roman baths , called Bagni di Nerone, delimit its length. The medieval markets, as well as under the porticoes of the aforementioned street, took place regularly in the small squares well protected by towers and narrow alleys, such as Piazza delle Vettovaglie and Sant'Omobono, which host the fruit market, Piazza Cairoli (known as La Berlina ), ancient Chavoli market and Gondolas, for goods coming from the Pisan Mountains. To the south we find Piazza Chiara Gambacorti (or as everyone knows it, Piazza della Pera), once famous for its flower and fish market.
In medieval times the neighborhoods south of the Arno were a place of important cultural and mercantile exchanges. The term Kinzica refers to the ancient southern district, today recognizable in the union of Sant'Antonio and San Martino. The meaning of the word is still being studied, but the last two syllables -zica bring to mind the Arabic term suk, meaning market. The narrow, parallel alleys that run from the river towards the hinterland suggest rapid escape routes to shelter the goods that arrived in the city by water, which were then selected and sorted in the small squares or inside the medieval buildings. Via San Martino, the ancient route of the Via Emilia Scauri, fully expresses the wealth of the foreign merchants who arrived in the city and settled there.
Scotto Garden
Botanical Garden
Coltano
San Rossore
Galilean park
Viale delle Piagge
By plane
Galileo Galilei Airport (IATA: PSA) is located
approximately 3 km south of the centre. Ryanair operates there with
numerous low cost flights from many European destinations and beyond.
The main ones are listed below:
Domestic flights — Alghero, Bari,
Cagliari, Palermo, Lamezia Terme, Trapani
Mediterranean area —
Alicante, Gerona, Ibiza, Seville, Porto, Valencia, Marrakech, Malta,
Zadar
United Kingdom and Ireland — Dublin, Birmingham, Edinburgh,
Glasgow-Prestwick, Liverpool, London-Stansted, East Midlands
Benelux
and France — Paris-Beauvais, Brussels-Charleroi, Eindhoven, Lille,
Maastricht/Aachen
Germany and Eastern Europe — Bournemouth,
Bratislava, Constanţa, Lübeck, Memmingen, Weeze, G, Hahn
Scandinavian
countries — Billund, Oslo-Torp, Stockholm-Skavsta, Malmö
Note:
Ryanair often changes its routes and some are only seasonal, so it is
advisable to check directly on the company website.
How to get
Please note that the Pisa Airport station has not been in operation for
some time; furthermore, since 2016 it is no longer possible to reach the
airport via the LAM Rossa of the Compagnia Pisana Trasporti. The route
of the LAM Rossa was in fact diverted towards the Cisanello Hospital, in
order to replace the old LAM Blu. To date, a new vehicle, the PisaMover,
connects Pisa Airport with the Central Station.
Since 2017, the
PisaMover company has been creating a people mover service with a
connection every 5/8 minutes from Pisa C.le to the airport and vice
versa: using a fully automated train without a human driver, which
covers the route in five minutes.
At the only intermediate stop of
"San Giusto-Aurelia", there are the two "Pisa Park" satellite car parks
in via S. Giusto n. 3 (Road connections to Pisa Park), 150 meters from
Galilei airport with 1,330 parking spaces.
It is possible to purchase
an integrated Trenitalia + people mover ticket (from the PisaMover
company) on all Trenitalia sales channels (website www.trenitalia.com,
Trenitalia App, Self Service in the station, LisPaga di Lottomatica,
SisalPay and Tabacchi sales points) .
By car
From Florence:
Florence-Pisa-Livorno main road (SGC FI-PI-LI, freeway) following the
signs for Pisa, or the A11 Firenze-Mare motorway, exit Pisa Nord,
continue for 6 km on the SS Aurelia in the direction south.
From
Genoa: A12 Genoa-Rosignano motorway, exit Pisa Nord or Pisa Centro.
From Bologna-Rome: A1 motorway to Florence, continue on the A11 motorway
and exit at Pisa Nord.
From Rome (alternative route): A12 motorway to
Civitavecchia, then continue on the Aurelia Nuova (SS1) (freeway)
northwards to Pisa.
On the train
The central train station is
located in the city center. From here it is possible to reach, even on
foot, a large number of hotels.
By bus
Troiolo Bus, Corso
Garibaldi, 185 - Siderno, ☎ +39 0964 381325, fax: +39 0964 381325,
info@troiolobus.com. The company allows direct connections from Pisa to
Africo, Ardore, Badolato, Bianco, Bovalino, Brancaleone, Catanzaro,
Catanzaro Lido, Caulonia, Davoli, Guardavalle, Isca sull'Ionio, Lamezia
Terme, Locri, Marina di Gioiosa Ionica, Monasterace, Montepaone,
Polistena, Riace, Roccella Jonica, Rosarno, Sant'Andrea Apostolo dello
Jonio, Santa Caterina, Siderno, Soverato, Squillace, Taurianova and Vibo
Valentia; not all connections are daily.
Pisa is a city of limited territorial extension. It is possible to
move around almost all its parts on foot.
Bicycles are widely
used, especially by students.
By public transport
Urban public
transport is based on surface road transport and is sufficiently well
organised. You can consult the Compagnia Pisana Trasporti (CPT) website
or use Google Maps for information on public buses to use to move within
the city. Among the main lines, n. 3 connects the airport to the city
center while the n. 4 connects the train station with the Cathedral.
By car
It is definitely not advisable to use the car to go to the
center due to the small number of parking spaces (almost all paid), the
many restricted traffic areas and the inflexibility of the Municipal
Police. The city, on the other hand, offers several car parks on its
edges connected to the tourist sites by buses.
Luminara of San Ranieri. June 17th. In Pisa the patron saint, San
Ranieri, is celebrated. On the evening of Christmas Eve, therefore on
the evening between June 16th and June 17th, the Luminara takes place:
the city, with its riversides, is illuminated by thousands of candles
displayed on the bridges, on the riversides and in the windows of the
buildings of the Lungarno and the main streets. Stages are set up in the
main squares and you can listen to music until late at night. At around
11pm fireworks are set off from the Citadel Tower and from boats on the
river. Thousands of people pour into the streets of the city, coming
from the province but also from many Tuscan and non-Tuscan cities.
Bridge Game. Last Saturday of June. The Bridge game is a splendid
historical event which combines, in addition to a superb parade in
medieval period costumes (Historical Parade), a competition of strength
and physical resistance in which 12 teams representing the city's
neighborhoods participate, who compete in six consecutive races in an
atmosphere of fervent rivalry on the Ponte di Mezzo.
The clash
consists of pushing a trolley placed on rails in the opposing side until
it touches the end of the race flag. The event takes place every year,
amidst the unreserved cheering of the population crowded on both banks
of the Arno river.
Historical Regatta. June 17th. A glimpse of the
suggestive curve of the Arno during the Historical Regatta between the
four city districts. The rowing Palio takes place on the occasion of the
feast of San Ranieri, Patron Saint of Pisa.
Regatta of the Maritime
Republics. Every four years the waters of the Arno host the Regatta of
the Maritime Republics, a rowing contest against the current between the
crews of Amalfi, Genoa, Pisa and Venice who battle at the end of a rich
historical procession.
In addition to historic shops mainly located in the streets of the
center (C.so Italia, Borgo Stretto, Via S.Maria, etc.), Pisa has several
shopping centers of moderate size and able to offer a vast choice of
genres, such as example the Pisanova shopping center (Via di Cisanello),
open every day including Sundays.
A complete picture of the
city's hypermarkets and supermarkets can be found on the TuttoCittà
website.
It is often possible to find interesting purchasing
opportunities also at the Logge di Banchi, a large covered portico near
the Town Hall (Corso Italia / Piazza XX Settembre) where various types
of objects are sold by street vendors (including antiques). Under these
loggias, on the second weekend of every month, "Pisa with open arms"
takes place, that is, the antiques and modern antiques market, stalls
where you can find everything from vintage books to comics, from
postcards to stamps .
The city of Pisa also offers other places
to go shopping and purchase both typical food products and designer
clothes at truly advantageous prices. Among these places suitable for
shopping we should mention: Piazza delle Vettovaglie located in the
historic center of the city where you can buy typical food products such
as Pisan pecorino cheese and local wines; Pisa, in Corso Italia, where
there are many clothing shops. Between one purchase and another you can
stop and taste some typical sweets of the city. The city of Pisa
periodically organizes, every second weekend of the month, the antiques
market which takes place in Via dei Mille, Piazza dei Cavalieri and Via
Santa Maria.
As a university city, Pisa has a very lively nightlife. The historic
center is full of meeting points such as pubs, restaurants, pizzerias,
taverns, cocktail bars.
The most interesting areas to stop for an
aperitif and spend the evening are the Lungarni and the historic center
in general which offers various clubs that often also offer live music.
When the good weather begins, it often happens that you come across
a large expanse of young people who flock along the banks of the Arno to
have a drink and spend the evening chatting.
In summer, however,
the nightlife begins in the historic center of Pisa, perhaps for an
aperitif or a bite to eat, and then moves towards the coast. In fact, on
the Pisan coast (Marina di Pisa and Tirrenia) and in Versilia (Vireggio,
Forte dei Marmi, etc.) most of the discos, clubs, pubs and trendy venues
also with outdoor spaces are concentrated.
1 Orzo Bruno, Via Case
Dipinte 6/8 (A bit tricky to find but worth it), ☎ +39 050 578802. Craft
brewery.
Pisa Caffè dell'Ussero, Lungarno Pacinotti, 27. A monument,
among others Carlo Goldoni, Gacomo Casanova, Vittorio Alfieri, Filippo
Mazzei, John Ruskin, Domenico Guerrazzi, Giuseppe Giusti, Renato Fucini,
Giosuè Carducci, Cesare Abba, passed here. Giuseppe Montanelli. In 1839
it was the seat of the first congress of Italian scientists.
Babette,
Lungarno Mediceo 15, ☎ +39 050 9913302, +39 050 9913303.
Ritz, Borgo
Stretto.
2 Well of Miracles, Piazza delle Vettovaglie. Drinks and
shots.
3 Bar Mocambo, Via San Bernardo, 29. Drinks and spirits.
4
Enobirreria L'Etrusco, Piazza Martiri della Libertà, 18. Tuscan Craft
Beers.
5 Borderline Club, Via Giuseppe Vernaccini, 7. Live music in a
relaxed environment.
As a general rule, try not to eat near the Leaning Tower. Head
towards the central area (5-10 minute walk from Piazza dei Miracoli):
for example, you can find excellent cheap restaurants in the small busy
fruit and vegetable market, in Piazza delle Vettovaglie, and also in via
San Martino, near the south bank of the river .
Modest prices
Pizzeria Il Montino, Via del Monte 1 (Borgo Stretto alley). Historic and
characteristic place of the city.
Number 11, Via San Martino, 47-49.
Cheap, generous portions and they do a little bit of everything.
La
Ghiotteria, Vicolo delle Donzelle, 9, ☎ +39 050 21018.
La Lupa
Ghiotta, Viale Francesco Bonaini, 113, ☎ +39 050 21018.
Average
prices
Pasticceria "Salza", Borgo Stretto 46. The best and most
renowned pastry shop in Pisa, which also offers savory dishes and also
has a tea room. Prices above average.
Gelateria Oro, Via San Bernardo
35 (at Piazza Chiara Gambacorti also known as Piazza della Pera). 2/4€.
Mon-Sat 12:00-24:00, Sun 15:30-24:00. Closed from December to February.
Artisanal ice cream made with organic, local and fair trade raw
materials. You will find a wide range of flavours, a line dedicated to
those who have food intolerances or follow a vegan diet, and offers the
possibility of creating your own flavor with the specialty of "Gelato al
Volo".
Pizzeria Pisa Tre Forchette, Via Palestro 39 (in front of the
Verdi theatre). Tue-Sun 7pm-midnight. Le Tre Forchette is located in the
historic center of Pisa, within the walls of the Church of San Pierino.
The pizzas are a synthesis between Italian tradition and the creativity
of pizza chefs.
Vineria di Piazza, Piazza delle Vettovaglie. Good
wine and traditional cuisine at a good price.
Osteria dei Cavalieri,
Via San Frediano (Near Piazza dei Cavalieri). Toscan kitchen.
Il
Campano, Via Cavalca (Near Piazza delle Vettovaglie). Toscan kitchen.
La Reginella, Via di Gello. Pizzeria.
Osteria in Domo, Via Santa
Maria (Near Campo dei Miracoli).
Pizzeria Tavola Calda La Tana, Via
San Frediano.
La Lupa Ghiotta, Viale Francesco Bonaini, 113, ☎ +39
050 21018.
Natural artisanal ice cream shop De' Coltelli, Lungarno
Antonio Pacinotti, 23, ☎ +39 34 54811903.
NamasteIndia Restaurant,
Via S.Bernardo, 34, ☎ +39 333 7546356. 11.30am-01.00am.
Trattoria da
Cucciolo, Vicolo Rosselmini, 9.
Osteria Bernardo, Piazza San Paolo
all'Orto 1, ☎ +39 050 575216. €25/30. 19:00-24:00.
La Cantina di
Tipì, Via l'arancio 48 (Pedestrian street between Via Santa Maria and
Piazza Dante), ☎ +39 338 4709198,trattara@tiscali.it. 15/30€. Mon-Thu
12.30-15.30, Fri 19.45-22.30, Sat 12.30-15.30. The Tipì cellar is a wine
shop with kitchen. The dishes come from the peasant tradition of Tuscany
and Puglia. Good selection of wines and craft beers.
Squisitia
Restaurant, Via Filippo Mazzei, 2 (In Cisanello, inside the Hotel San
Ranieri), ☎ +39 050 971951, fax: +39 050 9719530. Restaurant inside the
4-star Hotel San Ranieri, also open to external customers. Modern
environment, efficient service, lunches and dinners with chef's
proposals and gluten-free menus available.
High prices
La Mescita, Via Cavalca (Near Piazza delle
Vettovaglie). Expensive, but good restaurant.
Modest prices
Walking Street Hostel, Corso Italia, 58 (300 meters
from the central station, 25 minutes walk from the airport), ☎ +39 39
3064 8737. From €14.
Pisa Tower Hostel, ☎ +39 331 7886859.
Average prices
Casale La Sterpaia San Rossore Pisa, Via della
Cascine, ☎ +39 050 532995, fax: +39 050 532995. Farmhouse in the San
Rossore National Park with 22 bedrooms equipped with flat-screen TV,
private bathroom and free Wi-Fi . Excellent location 7 km from Pisa and
20 minutes by car from the spa facilities of San Giuliano Terme.
Casa
San Tommaso Pisa, Via San Tommaso, 11, ☎ +39 050 830 782. Single €33;
Double room €40. All rooms are equipped with private bathroom, air
conditioning and heating, wi-fi, TV and fridge. Book your room with
private bathroom, air conditioning, wi-fi and fridge near Piazza dei
Miracoli and the Tower of Pisa, directly on the property's website.
Relais I Miracoli, Via Santa Maria 187 (In Piazza dei Miracoli in front
of the Leaning Tower), ☎ +39 050 560572, fax: +39 050 8310034,
info@relaisimiracoli.it. The only bed & breakfast in Pisa in Piazza dei
Miracoli right in front of the famous Leaning Tower. The bed & breakfast
is classified as a period residence and still retains the original
frescoes in the refined rooms. Breakfast, served in the ancient
cloister, offers fresh specialties from the "Cafè Pasticceria I
Miracoli". Services: Free Wi-Fi, 27" satellite LCD TV with international
channels, Free Minibar, Independent air conditioning.
Hotel San
Ranieri (Hotel in Pisa), Via Filippo Mazzei 2, ☎ +39 050 971951,
info@sanranierihotel.com. An original and comfortable 4-star design
hotel, in a strategic position near the new Cisanello Hospital, the CNR,
the Fi-Pi-Li and at the same time close to all the centers of interest
in Pisa. Silent and technological rooms, Wave Bar with summer service
outside, Squisitia Restaurant, Privée Wine Shop for meetings and private
events, green area with hanging gardens, pets allowed.
Il Poggio di
San Ruffino Hotel Pisa, Via del Molinaccio (A Casciana Terme Lari), ☎
+39 333 911 4917. Independent apartments surrounded by greenery just a
few minutes from Pisa with equipped kitchen and living room. Other
facilities include the swimming pool, bar and restaurant. Upon request,
breakfast is served in the restaurant.
San Ruffino Resort Lari Pisa,
Via di San Lorenzo, 1 (A Casciana Terme Lari), ☎ +39 333 911 4917.
Resort housed in an ancient 17th century castle in the Tuscan hills with
a view of the Pisan countryside. It offers independent apartments with
free Wi-Fi, flat-screen TV, private bathroom with Jacuzzi tub or jet
shower.
Agriturismo Podere Il Fornacino, Via del Commercio Nord 11 (A
Santa Luce), ☎ +39 346 7816850, podereilfornacino@yahoo.com. From €40.
Podere Fornacino is the ancient name of the land and the farmhouse where
the life of the farmers passed, who for generations from the first half
of the 19th century lived in this place, in the municipality of Santa
Luce, a small medieval village, a jewel of the Pisan hills. The farm,
renovated maintaining an absolutely harmonious link between the old and
the new, is hidden among the gentle folds of the cultivated hills and
the centuries-old olive groves, breathing and evolving with the passing
of the seasons and the uncontaminated nature that surrounds it. The
breathtaking landscapes and the breeze coming from the Livorno coast
hidden just behind the highest hills make a stay in the farmhouse an
unforgettable experience. Podere il Fornacino wants to make its guests
rediscover a lost dimension of life, allowing direct contact with the
land and its products and also with the wild animals of the hunting
reserve in which it is located and those raised with love on the farm,
thus offering a refined but at the same time traditional agricultural
reality.
Airone Pisa Park Hotel, Via Sant'Elena 4 (In San Giuliano
Terme, 15 minutes from the airport, 10 from the station, 8 from
Cisanello and 5 from Santa Chiara and the center of Pisa.), ☎ +39 050
822284, info@ehotelpisa.it. From €45. Airone Pisa Park Hotel was born
from the recent renovation of "Podere la Pertica". with family
management, it offers relaxation and privacy numerous services suitable
for all types of customers, such as the swimming pool, restaurant, bar,
parking, meeting room, free internet connection. The Hotel Airone Pisa
Park is the ideal place for your stay away from the noise of the city,
on the border of the municipality of San Giuliano Terme famous for its
spa. Large free parking.
Eden Park Resort Pisa, Via dell'Argine, 6b
(A Colignola, San Giuliano Terme), ☎ +39 050 870 252,
info@edenparkpisa.com. From €50. Eden Park is a brand new Resort
immersed in the Tuscan countryside, near the banks of the Arno river,
just 4 km from the Tower of Pisa; 30 comfortable apartments are
surrounded by kilometers of mountains, valleys and picturesque historic
villages.
High prices
Grand Hotel Continental, Via Belvedere,
26 (On the sea in Tirrenia, about half an hour from Pisa), ☎ +39 050
37031, info@grandhotelcontinental.it. From €50. 4 star hotel with
swimming pools and restaurants. The structure also has a private beach,
parking and equipped meeting rooms for holding conferences and
congresses.
Pisa is a safe city. However, like all busy tourist places, there can
be pickpockets, although to a lesser extent than in large cities. In the
Central Station, in Piazza dei Miracoli or on the LAM Rossa bus on the
stretch that connects the central station to Piazza dei Miracoli and
vice versa, pay particular attention: never keep your wallet in the
pocket behind your trousers, or in the back zipper of your backpack (yes
recommends, when you are in these areas, to keep it in front rather than
behind). In fact, on this route the bus is always crowded and there is
no shortage of pickpockets.
Duty pharmacies
For pharmacies on
duty, consult the official website here
Post offices and banks
1 Poste Italiane - Pisa Post Office 1,
Lungarno Gambacorti, 3, 56125, Pisa, ☎ +39 050 23510, fax: +39 050
25390. Tue, Wed, Fri 08:20-13:35.
2 Unicredit, Piazza Garibaldi, 1,
56126, Pisa, ☎ +39 050 8668005, ag00540-italia@unicredit.eu. Mon-Fri
08.20-13.20 and 14.30-16.00.
3 Monte dei Paschi di Siena, Lungarno
Antonio Pacinotti, 9, 56126, Pisa, ☎ +39 050 313341. Mon-Fri 08:20-13:20
and 14:15-15:45.
Internet
The Municipality has joined the
national FreeItaliaWifi network.
The city is located a few kilometers from the mouth
of the Arno river, in a flat area called the lower Valdarno, closed
to the north by the Pisan Mountains.
Pisa was the epicenter
of two seismic events, the earthquake of 10 January 1168 and another
earthquake that occurred in 1322: both seismic events had a
magnitude of about 4.6 on the Richter scale, reaching the V-VI
degree of the scale Mercalli.
The climate of the
city of Pisa is Mediterranean (Classification of climates of Köppen
Csa), and is influenced by two factors: the proximity of the sea,
which tends to mitigate both the rigors of winter and the summer
heat, and the continentality of the Valdarno.
Snowfall in
Pisa is a rather rare phenomenon: in fact the snow manages to stick
to the ground only in a few cases and the rainfall, usually at
night, has low intensity.
The snowfalls of the twentieth
century occurred in January (1905, 1919, 1929, 1940, 1947, 1954,
1959, 1963, 1968, 1985), February (1929, 1952, 1954, 1956, 1963,
1991), March (1958) and December (1967, 1973). In recent years, snow
phenomena have mainly occurred in December (2001, 2005, 2009, 2010),
except for the episode between 31 January and 1 February 2012. The
last snow phenomenon in order of time, which mainly involved the
neighboring municipalities, occurred in the night between 28
February and 1 March 2018; the average snowfall from 2001 to 2012 is
an annual accumulation of just 0.25 cm based on the measurements
made at the meteorological station of the Air Force.
In some
cases the cold has come to freeze the surface of the Arno (1905,
1929, 1985 and 2012).
The extreme temperatures recorded in
the historic center of Pisa are the absolute maximum of +39.5 ° C of
the Pisa Faculty of Agriculture weather station recorded on 19, 20
August 1943 and 22 August 2011 and the absolute minimum of −12.8 ° C
recorded at the same station on 11 January 1985. In the municipal
territory outside the urban area, the absolute maximum peak was
recorded at the Coltano hydrological station with +39.9 ° C on 5
August 2003, while the absolute minimum peak was is that of −13.8 °
C of the meteorological station of Pisa San Giusto of 12 January
1985.
The origins of the toponym Pisa
are completely uncertain. Without any historical foundation is the
story of the foundation of Pisa by Achaean warriors, as reported by
some ancient historians: for this reason the name was traced back to
the homonymous Greek city of Elis, in the Peloponnese, whose
inhabitants, led by Pelops , they would have founded the Tuscan Pisa
after the Trojan War. For this reason Pisa is nicknamed the city
alfea (from the river Alfeo in Elis).
The origins of the city
are very ancient with a settlement dating back to the Villanovan
age. In Roman times the city became a municipium after the social
war and a colony with the name of Colonia Opsequens Iulia Pisana.
With regard to the toponym, two hypotheses have been made that
enjoy greater consideration, albeit without overwhelming evidence:
the first refers to an entry which means "estuary" in reference to
the mouth of the Arno, and the other to a pre-Latin ), perhaps
distantly related to the Greek πῖσος pîsos, "irrigated place".
The symbols used by the city in the first years of its foundation are
unknown, certainly a symbol to which the city is historically closely
linked is the Madonna, whose image is shown on many ancient coins
(sometimes with baby Jesus) and to whom it is also dedicated Cathedral.
The eagle is another symbol of the city often shown on
correspondence and coins and testifies to Pisa's loyalty to the empire.
Today the eagle on a yellow background is the symbol of the province of
the same name. Again by virtue of loyalty to the Holy Roman Empire,
first in 1162 and then in 1166, Emperor Frederick Barbarossa granted the
imperial banner to the municipality; in fact, the deeds contain the
words dedite etiam imperator eis usum vexillum (from the Latin: the
emperor also gave the use of the banner). Little is known what flag it
is, but many believe it to be the Blutfahne and it is however certain
that in the following centuries the city used a red flag as an insignia,
also called Signum Rubicundum.
The red color is still present
today in the city's arms together with the typical patent cross, that
is, with the arms wider at the end, re-shredded, that is, with the ends
of the arms in the shape of a rhombus, and pomade with twelve globes;
this cross has a certain affinity with the Occitan one. However, it is
little known how and when the cross was adopted as the symbol of the
city. In 1288 there was the first evidence of the use of the cross as
the arms of the People, i.e. of the Pisan bourgeois; this sign and that
of the city, however, remained certainly distinct until the end of the
twelfth century. On some coins after 1318, a cross appears as a mint
mark and some of these crosses are foliated, a shape similar to the
current one. It is during the second republic (1494-1509) that the Pisan
cross effectively becomes the city's coat of arms. It must therefore be
said that many reproductions of historical objects used during
historical re-enactments of the Pisan coat of arms with the cross are a
historical fake as they refer to events prior to the adoption of the
reproduced arms; just as the reproduction of the flag with the cross on
the coat of arms of the Navy is to be considered historically incorrect
since it harks back to the period in which Pisa was a maritime republic
and therefore still adopted the red flag.
Other less used symbols
are the hare, as for example in the floor of the Cathedral of Siena, and
to symbolize the tenacity and strength of the Pisans the gramigna, which
however has never been a real symbol as it derives from the incorrect
interpretation of the arabesques designed to enrich the Signum
Rubicundum.
The Pisan area is one of the 4 districts into which the province of
Pisa is divided, together with Valdera, lower Valdarno and Val di
Cecina. Compared to the other three, the Pisan area has a relatively
small extension (approximately 475 km²), its surface being larger only
than that of the lower Valdarno, but its population stands at around
190,000 inhabitants, equal to just under the half that of the entire
province, which exceeds 400,000 inhabitants.
The Pisan area is
made up of the municipalities of Pisa, Cascina, San Giuliano Terme,
Vicopisano, Vecchiano and Calci, i.e. a territory with homogeneous
characteristics in terms of geographical location, cultural traditions
and economic relations.
The so-called "Strategic Plan for the
Pisa area" was officially born in 2007 on the initiative of the mayors
and representatives of the municipalities and aims at synergy between
them both on an administrative and infrastructural level. The strategic
plan of the Pisa area is in line with the strategic plan of the vast
coastal area which includes the provinces of Pisa, Livorno and Lucca.
After years of demographic decline, the population of Pisa has begun
to grow thanks mainly to the considerable presence of resident
immigrants who have a higher birth rate than the Italian community.
According to the latest data, Pisa is a city higher than the national
average as regards the ratio between Italians and foreign residents: out
of 10 residents, 1 is foreign. Immigrant citizens belonging to the
European Community are almost 3% of the overall population, half of whom
come from Romania, a country that joined the Union in January 2007
together with Bulgaria. The second largest community is that of the
Poles, followed by Bulgarians, Spanish, Germans and French. Non-EU
citizens, in continuous growth both in terms of birth rate and new
arrivals, even exceed 11% of the city population where the largest
groups are mainly made up of people from Eastern countries such as
Ukraine, Belarus and Moldavia, emigrants from the African countries of
the Mediterranean basin and from populations originating from the
Philippines, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Senegal.
The native Pisan
population, however, continues to decline, both due to the low
concentration of births and the "flight" to neighboring municipalities
where life seems better. A disconcerting fact about the Pisan community
is the average age: it is the oldest and continues to age: more than a
quarter of the population is over 70 years old. Other numerous
communities include those belonging to Latin America, China, Albania,
the United States, Turkey, Greece and those of the Roma ethnic group.
The universities and military institutions bring many citizens from
the South to Pisa: today there are many Italians from Sardinia,
Calabria, Sicily, Puglia, Basilicata and Campania. Among the university
population, however, there are presences from Iran, Spain, Ireland,
France, China, Russia and the United States.
According to ISTAT
data as of 31 December 2020, foreigners resident in Pisa are 12,906,
equal to 14% of the population, higher than the Tuscan average (11.19%)
and the national one. The largest foreign groups based on their
percentage of the total foreign population are:
Philippines 1 551
(12%)
Albania 1 461 (11.3%)
Romania 1 228 (9.5%)
Bangladesh 955
(7.4%)
Ukraine 617 (4.8%)
Senegal 598 (4.6%)
The Pisan vernacular is one of the languages that contributed to the
birth of Tuscan, the language spoken by Dante Alighieri and which later
became the national idiom. The Pisan area is grouped with the Livorno
area and surrounding areas. It is distinguished from inland Tuscan by
the total elision of the pronunciation of the intervocalic 'c' which is
instead aspirated in the other regional vernaculars. Pisan also gave
birth to the Corsican language, which is grouped among the Tuscan
dialects.
Among all the Pisan vernaculists we remember the great
poet and playwright Domenico Sartori, author among other things of the
historic theatrical texts "Macerie" and "La 'asa rifatto", which were
staged on several occasions since the post-war period. Sartori's poem
"La grolia di Pisa" is also significant. Other significant authors were
Renato Fucini, Arturo Birga and Archimede Bellatalla.
The Pisan
vernacular has recently been revived by the band Gatti Mézzi and other
young companies. The most important Pisan vernacular acting company was
the Crocchio Goliardi Spensierati, founded in 1921, which then gave life
to the highly celebrated Brigata de' Doctori, in which the best
interpreters of the vernacular acted and still perform.
There are
numerous Pisan vernacular competitions, including "La Cèa d'Oro" (the
longest running, for sonnets and prose), "Il Celatino d'Oro" (poems on
the Gioco del Ponte and on Pisa), the "Ferrini" Prize and many others.
17 January ("Day of S. Antonio Abate"): on this date the so-called
"battagliaccia" or "battagliaccia" was celebrated, a preparatory event
for the Gioco del Ponte in which the youngest took part.
February 3:
Saint Biagio is celebrated. In the church of the same name in via San
Biagio (Cisanello) the traditional blessing of the throat and
distribution of "piccette" small sandwiches takes place in memory of the
ancient tradition of giving bread to the poor on this day
March 25th:
the Pisan New Year is celebrated.
The weekend following May 16th (the
day dedicated to Saint Ubaldo) the traditional Festival of Saint Ubaldo
is held on Viale delle Piagge with stalls selling gastronomic, floral
and other products.
29 May: commemoration of the Battle of Curtatone
and Montanara; is held in Sapienza, in memory of the Tuscan students
(Pisa and Siena) who fell in this battle of 1848. Since 1929, on the
same date, the Pisa Pavia Regatta has been held, a rowing competition
between university crews with crews made up of only students, in memory
of the same battle.
May 29: religious celebrations in honor of the
Pisan Santa Bona, patron saint of hostesses since 1962.
June 17:
feast of the city's patron saint, San Ranieri. On the eve, or the
evening of June 16th, the facades of the buildings overlooking the Arno
river are illuminated by lights and candles, in the vernacular called
lampanini. The festival, called Luminara di San Ranieri, culminates with
a fireworks display and then continues throughout the night. On the
afternoon of June 17th the Palio of San Ranieri is held, in which the
four districts of the historic center compete in a regatta on the Arno:
Sant'Antonio, San Martino, San Francesco and Santa Maria.
The Gioco
del Ponte traditionally takes place on the last Sunday of June but since
2009 it has taken place on the previous Saturday, starting in the late
afternoon. The challenge consists in pushing a trolley along a specially
mounted track on the Ponte di Mezzo. In the game the magistracies that
make up the two parts of the city clash: Tramontana and Mezzogiorno. The
Game is preceded by a historical parade in late sixteenth-century
Spanish-style costumes, a parade that includes over seven hundred
participants.
July 6: Marriage of Pisa with the Sea was a ceremony
that symbolized the city's dominion over the sea, a common tradition of
maritime cities. It is symbolically proposed with a boat trip along the
Arno to the mouth where a ring is thrown into the open sea.
6 August:
Die di Santo Sisto, on this day, where San Sisto II pope and his
deacons, martyrs are commemorated, the ancient Maritime Republic had
great victories, and was therefore considered a favorable day for
battles until the defeat of the Battle of Meloria, which occurred on 6
August 1284. Today he is remembered in the church of San Sisto in
Cortevecchia, with a memorial to the Pisans who fell in battle.
The
Regatta of the Maritime Republics takes place every four years in Pisa.
The city challenges Genoa, Venice and Amalfi in a rowing race. Cavalier
Mirro Chiaverini, a citizen of Pisa, was the creator of the event.
In the center of the city there are the headquarters of the
municipality in Piazza XX Settembre, that of the province of Pisa in
Piazza Vittorio Emanuele and that of the Prefecture at the Medici Palace
in Piazza Mazzini. The Casa della Donna association is located in via
Galli-Tassi 8.
Barracks and military facilities
Pisa has
always had great military traditions. In addition to the Carabinieri,
Fire Brigade, Police and Financial Police barracks, the city hosts the
46th Air Brigade at the airport's military airport ("Dall'Oro" Military
Airport) and the Parachuting Training Center of the "Folgore" Parachute
Brigade ", at the "Gamerra" barracks.
There are also the "Bechi
Luserna" barracks, the "Vito Artale" barracks (where the 6th Maneuver
Regiment is based) and the BAI (Incursori Training Base) training center
of the 9th Parachute Assault Regiment "Col Moschin".
On the
outskirts of the city, in San Piero a Grado, there is the CISAM
(Interforce Studies Center for Military Applications), once used for
nuclear experiments and now a training base for the Special Intervention
Group (GIS). On the coast, in Marina di Pisa, there is a local maritime
office of the Coast Guard. Pisa is also home to the American military
base of Camp Darby, one of the largest in Europe, in the town of
Tirrenia. Both in the city and in the municipal area, the State Forestry
Corps is also present at the San Rossore estate.
There are several public and private healthcare facilities in the
city:
Pisan hospital-university company based at the Santa Chiara
hospital, once the main hospital, is now undergoing a slow move to
Cisanello.
The Cisanello Hospital, destined to become the only public
hospital in the city, is the most important hospital company in the area
which boasts numerous excellences also at an international level.
IRCCS Stella Maris Foundation
Private nursing home of S.Rossore
"San Cataldo" Hospital (housed within the Pisa research area of the CNR)
In the city there are several voluntary organizations for welfare
purposes, including:
The Venerable archconfraternity of Mercy of Pisa
is a brotherhood and an ancient association of charity and assistance,
born in 1330 as heir to the ancient traditions of the Company of
Sant'Orsola. It currently also manages a cemetery attached to the
suburban one.
The Public Assistance Società Riunite in Pisa was
established on 30 September 1886 by the members of the Military
Brotherhood of Pisa, following the example of what was done by the
Florentine members a few years earlier, with the aim of providing
assistance in the event of fires, floods, epidemics and accidents in
Pisa and surrounding areas. It became independent in 1889 and today
joins the National Association of Public Assistance.
The citizen
committee of the CRI was born on 25 August 1888. Engaged in times of war
and peace, it has contributed since its inception to the healthcare
assistance of veterans, orphans and disabled people, founding clinics,
sanatoriums, youth colonies and rehabilitation centres. and special
schools.
The Civil Protection Alluvial Rescue Association SWRTT -
Swift Water Rescue Team Toscana, which deals with training and rescue in
the river/flood environment. Born in 2011, it participates in the Mobile
Column of the Tuscany Region with the specialist module "rescue in
aquatic environment", intervening in emergency scenarios with qualified
OAA (Alluvial Environment Operator) personnel.
The Archdiocese of Pisa is one of the 540 metropolitan archdioceses that are present in the world: it includes the dioceses of Livorno, Massa-Carrara, Pontremoli, Pescia, Volterra as well as a large part of the territory of the province of Pisa with a total of approximately 310 000 inhabitants. The headquarters is located inside the Archbishop's Palace.
Pisan gastronomy does not differ much from that of other Tuscan
cities. The proximity to the sea and the countryside means that typical
local recipes use meat as much as freshwater and sea fish. Among the
most typical first courses we find the San Michele white bean soup;
bavette sul pesce, a particular type of bavette served with fish in
medium pieces; trenette alla renaiola, a dish once prepared by
navigators of the Arno which consists of long pasta seasoned with
anchovies and turnip greens; bean-based dishes such as bean soup or
bordatino, a poor cuisine dish based on bean puree with black cabbage
and yellow flour; pasta or rice with clams; the frog soup and the Pisan
soup based on stale bread, black cabbage and various vegetables.
The second courses of the Pisan gastronomic culture include many
meat-based dishes such as the Pisan mucco steak, a Pisan version of
tripe and many dishes based on game and in particular pheasant. Among
the typical second courses there are also many fish-based dishes such as
Pisan-style stockfish and cuttlefish with chard. The fish most used in
recipes are: mullet from the mouth of the Arno cooked on the grill, cèe
alla Pisana (i.e. glass eels, eel fry, the capture, sale and consumption
of which are prohibited by law), spider fish boiled and grilled cod with
chickpeas in oil.
Cecina, a very low savory cake made from
chickpea flour, is also widespread. Cecina was once called "the gold of
the Pisans" by the Genoese, and according to legend its invention dates
back to the era of the Maritime Republics.
A typical Pisan
dessert is the Torta co' bischeri, handcrafted throughout the city and
province. Recipe originally from Vecchiano, Nodica and Pontasserchio,
where it is made in May, August and April on the occasion of the
respective village festivals, the cake with bischeri is so widespread
and appreciated that it is considered the most typical dessert of Pisan
gastronomy. Another dessert typical of the Pisan tradition is the Easter
squash, a poor dessert that is eaten accompanied by vinsanto during the
Easter period.
The Pisa National Literary Prize, formerly the National Poetry Prize,
has been the city's historic literature prize since 1956 which, in
addition to the three sections: fiction, poetry and non-fiction, also
includes some special prizes, awarded to eminent figures of culture and
science and the show. Furthermore, during the ceremony the Medal of the
President of the Republic is also awarded. Historically, the award
ceremony takes place during the autumn months, in the Balearic room of
Palazzo Gambacorti.
The Concerti della Normale are a classical music
festival born in 1967 thanks to the synergistic work of the then
director Gilberto Bernardini and maestro Piero Farulli. The concerts
mainly take place at the Verdi Theater and in the Cavalieri church. Each
concert season opens on 18 October, corresponding to the anniversary of
the foundation of the School.
BRIGHT NIGHT - European Night of
Researchers is held on the last Friday of September (except in 2020 when
it took place, due to COVID-19, in November). Thanks to this event,
which takes place simultaneously in the major university cities of
Europe, including Pisa, Florence and Siena, research takes to the city
squares with meetings, demonstrations and events. This event, created on
the initiative of the European Commission, every year offers citizens
the opportunity to encounter science and research through the direct
protagonists. The University of Pisa organizes the event in Pisa,
Livorno, Calci, Viareggio and surrounding areas.
Metarock is a rock
music festival which, since 1985, has hosted some of the greatest
singers of Italian and foreign rock every year in July.
PisaMarathon
has been the Pisa marathon since 1998 and is the second marathon in
Tuscany in terms of number of participants and among the most important
in central-northern Italy. The route from Pontedera; it passes through
the municipalities of Calci, Vicopisano, San Giuliano Terme, Cascina and
ends in Piazza del Duomo.
On the occasion of the Feast of
Sant'Ubaldo, which is traditionally celebrated along the Viale delle
Piagge in the week around 16 May (the anniversary of Saint Ubaldo
himself), the "Sant'Ubaldo Literary Prize" has been held for some years,
in which participants authors of various genres.
The Pisa Folk
Festival is mostly held between May and June. It is a popular music
festival born on the initiative of the university student association
Sinistra Per... and managed by it since its inception in 2002. Starting
from the 10th edition (2012), the festival took over the management of
the Pisa Folk Association, which promotes the diffusion of popular music
throughout the city, maintaining a special partnership with Sinistra
Per... and developing new synergies with the world of associations,
institutions and exhibitors.
The Pisa Book Festival, born in 2003, is
a national book fair that brings together independent Italian publishing
houses. It has always taken place in autumn at the city congress
building and with the passing of the editions it has acquired importance
to the point of becoming one of the most important of its kind in Italy.
Anima Mundi is a sacred music festival born in 2011 from an idea by
maestro Giuseppe Sinopoli and among the most important of its kind in
Italy. It takes place every year in the months of September and October
inside the Cathedral and the monumental cemetery.
The Internet
Festival (IF) is a cultural event dedicated to the Internet and all new
technologies that has taken place annually since 2011 throughout the
city.
Run to the Tower is a 12 km race organized by the American
military community in which various civilian and military amateur
associations from all over Tuscany take part. The departure is at the
Camp Darby military base, while the arrival is in Piazza del Duomo.
The Calabrian culture festival, organized since 2004 by the Calabrian
cultural association of Pisa Esperia, takes place annually in
mid-September for a week. During the festival, both artisanal and food
goods are sold, coming from farmhouses or produced by Calabrian artisans
and there are also stands promoting Calabrian tourism. The festival
attracts dancers and singers who perform traditional songs and dances in
Piazza XII Settembre.
Turn Off is an electronic music festival that
brings together the attitude of international clubbing and industrial
spaces.
UPlay (until 2017 CUSPlay) is an event dedicated to Japanese
comics and animation. Born in 2011, sometimes annually (the first two
editions and the twelfth), sometimes every six months, it is organized
by UPlay Eventi with the support of the CUSplay Pisa Cultural
Association. The fair is significant for the cosplay-themed photography
contest (Phocus) in which hundreds of photographers and cosplayers
participate every year, in addition to the cosplay show (Xenon) and the
music contest (from the twelfth edition, UPlay Song Contest). It took
place until the eighth edition at the city's University Sports Center
and then moved to the Palazzo dei Congressi. The event becomes more
important year after year.