What to see in Pisa

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Leaning Tower

On 9th August 1173, work began on the foundations of the bell tower for the Cathedral of S. Maria. It was to be some distance from the church, about 56 metres tall, weighing 14.453 metric tons. Initially, the director of works was probably the...
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Baptistery of St. John

The Baptistry was founded in 1152, but it took more than two centuries to complete. The first stage of construction, up to the top of the first row of arches, was directed by the architect Diotisalvi. At the beginning of the 13th century Guidetto...
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Cathedral of Pisa - Cathedral of Santa Maria

The earliest mention of the cathedral dates from 748, although there must have been an older bishop’s Church, given that a bishop is known in Pisa from 313 AD. Recent archaeological investigation revealed the remains of a large ecclesiastical...
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Monumental Camposanto

The Cemetery, forming a backdrop to the Cathedral place on its north side, was the last monument to be built, beginning in 1277 under Giovanni di Simone.

It was named Campo Santo because tradition had it that the ground here was mixed with...
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National Museum of San Matteo

The museum is housed in the rooms of the old Benedictine convent of S. Matteo in Soarta (11th century) very little of which remains after alterations and restoration after the last war, apart from the church and a few pieces of medieval...
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Museum of the Opera of the Cathedral

The Museum premises were first built to house the Canons, in the 9th century. The cloister was completed in the mid 1200s, although the cure was not. Over time, the building had several functions, until finally, after undergoing drastic...
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Piazza dei Cavalieri

Piazza dei Cavalieri is the result of a huge operation of re-adaptation on the square, ordered by Cosimo I in 1558 and entrusted to Giorgio Vasari. His aim was to give the buildings (constructed, in his words, “in confusione e disordine” “in...
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Caravan Palace

The medieval Palazzo degli Anziani was originally a tower that can be seen on the south on via Consoli del Mare. It was adapted and rebuilt by Giorgio Vasari at the command of Duke Cosimo I de’ Medici who had decided to found the seafaring...
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Church of Santa Maria della Spina

The Church, founded in 1230 was once named S. Maria del Ponte novo (St. Mary’s by the New Bridge) and was a votive oratory. It used to be situated at the foot of the bridge that connected via St. Antonio to via S. Maria. It was given the name it...
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Upper Normal School

The Scuola Normale Superiore was founded in 1810 by Napoleonic decree, as twin institution of the École Normale Supérieure in Paris, itself dating back to the French Revolution jurisdiction. The term “École Normale” (“Scuola Normale”) was coined...
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Mezzo Bridge

The bridge is 89 metres long has a single arch 12.5 metres high; it is constructed in reinforced concrete and faced with white Verona stone. Destroyed by Allied bombing during the last war, it was built in its present form, to a plan chosen by...
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Blue Palace

In the late middle ages, the building that today is Palazzo Blu belonged to one of the most important families in the history of Pisa, the Dell’Agnellos, who lived in two tower houses side by side. In 1356 they decided to join these to another of...
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Church of San Michele in Borgo

Archaeological evidence from this site indicates that it was already inhabited by the Etruscans and Romans. The earliest mention of the church and adjacent monastery goes back to 1016, when a pre-existing chapel was transformed and dedicated to...
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Jewish cemetery

Situated immediately outside the city walls, beside Piazza dei Miracoli, by the ancient Porta del Leone, the Jewish Cemetery has been the burial place of Israelites since 1674. Its monuments, in a variety of styles ranging from the classical...
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National Palace Museum

The present appearance of the Royal Palace, home to the dynasties that governed Pisa in modern times, is the result of rebuilding during the late 16th century, by will of Francesco I de’ Medici, who decided to abandon the “Palazzo Vecchio”...
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Botanical Garden

Created by order of Cosimo I de’ Medici on the iniziative of the great botanist, Luca Ghini, the Giardino dei Semplici (Garden of Simples) is the oldest botanical garden in the world and the first to be connected to a university. The Pisan...
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Church of San Michele degli Scalzi

There are records of a Church dedicated to S. Michele from the year 1025, but it was rebuilt with the adjacent monastery between 1152 and 1171 for the Pulsanese Benedictines (also called “barefoot”, giving the monastery its name (“scalzi” =...
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St. Nicholas Church

The church of S. Nicola is documented in 1097, described as depending from the Monastery of S. Michele at the Verruca. Scholarly tradition, perhaps not groundless, holds that it was founded by Marquis Ugo di Tuscia at the end of the 10th century,...
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Piazza Garibaldi - Statue of Garibaldi

The square stands at the northern end of Ponte di Mezzo and is flanked on three sides by historically important buildings that defined social and cultural life in Pisa until the Late Modern Age. Opposite the bridge, like a backdrop, on the corner...
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Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II

Elliptical square dominated by a bronze statue dedicated to King Vittorio Emanuele II, built by Cesare Zocchi. The construction of the square was immediately following that of the station, which took place in 1862. In the square you can also see...
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Sinopie Museum

The premises of the museum are in the ancient Spedale Nuovo, built in mid 13th century, by will of Pope Alexander IV to be a “pellegrinaio” (refuge for pilgrims) to record the reconciliation between Pisa and the Holy See. We owe the Spedale to...
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Graphic Museum

The building that has housed the Museo della Grafica since 2007, contains interesting painted wall decorations from the middle ages and showcases the construction work and tastes through the centuries of the Lanfranchi family, the longest lasting...
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Medicean Arsenal

It was Cosimo I de' Medici’s idea to build a shipyard in Pisa for the vessels of the powerful Tuscan fleet. It was part of a wider scheme to restore Pisa to its ancient splendour, after its fall into disrepair following surrender to Florence in...
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Church of San Zeno

The earliest evidence of the Church of San Zeno dates from 1029. In the middle ages it is described as standing in an area known as “alle grotte”, because of ancient ruins used as quarries for building materials. There are also several pieces of...
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Church of Sao Paulo in Ripa d'Arno

Recorded as already existing in 1032, the Church with adjoining monastery passed to the monks of Vallombrosa in around 1090-1092. Several stages in its construction are recorded, one of which, dating from mid 12th century, included the...
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Church of Santo Stefano dei Cavalieri

Construction began on April 17, 1565 in order to build a church for the Order of Knights of St Stephan, founded by the Grand Duke Cosimo de' Medici to fight Saracen piracy in the Mediterranean. The project with designs and oversight by Giorgio...
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Piazza Cairoli (or the Berlino)

The square was laid out towards the mid 1500s, under the reign of Cosimo I de Medici, an idea of the superintendant Luca Martini. Work was carried out by Giovan Battista Cervelliera, already engaged in work on Pisa Cathedral.

The old...
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Piazza Dante

The open space called Piazza Dante, between il palazzo della Sapienza to the south and the church of S. Frediano to the north-east, is the result of alterations to this area in the early 20th century. This airy square was created by demolishing...
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Worshipful Agostini Palace of Silk

Transformed into a palazzo by joining several medieval buildings together, among which, documents mention at least four lofts, four workshops and a tower, this palazzo was built between the late 14th century and early 15th centuries, but was only...
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Palace of the Clock (or Gherardesca)

The Palazzo dell'Orologio faces piazza dei Cavalieri. Archaeologists have discovered that this area was already inhabited by the Etruscans. The palazzo was created in the 17th century by linking two medieval buildings, when the square was...
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Royal Palace

Built between 1583 and 1587 by will of the Grand Duke Francis I de’ Medici, to a plan by the Florentine architect Bernardo Buontalenti, the palace is situated in a prestigious area of Pisa, where the residence of the Marquis of Tuscia stood in...
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Tuttomondo - Keith Haring Wall

In 1989, when he painted his mural Tuttomondo on the wall of the Servi di Maria convent beside the Church of S. Antonio, Keith Haring left the final trace of his art to Pisa. This artist, born in Reading in 1958, who died in New York in 1990,...
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Republican Arsenals

The earliest reference to a shipyard in Pisa is in the early 1200s when the city shipyard was built to the west immediately outside the walls. This shipyard was intended for both shipbuilding and repairs to serving galleys. In about mid-century,...
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Palazzo Lanfranchi

This palazzo takes its name from the Lanfranchi family who re-structured it and lived in it from 1539.

The building is the result of amalgamating seven towers dating from the early 13th to the second half of the 14th centuries. The first...
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Palazzo Toscanelli - State Archive

Built in the first half of the 16th century by Bartolomeo Lanfranchi, this palazzo is situated directly opposite Palazzo Lanfranchi, built by his son Alessandro on the other side of the river. In 1505 Bartolomeo purchased a five-storey domus on...
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Palace of the Council of the Twelve

Located in Piazza dei Cavalieri, the building has changed names over time depending on the judiciary which has hosted: by "Building of the Archive of the Chancellery" in the Middle Ages to the "Priori Palace" after the conquest by Florence...
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Church of the Holy Sepulcher

The Church, built from locally quarried stone and lit by slit windows, is octagonal in shape with a pyramidal cone-shaped roof resting on a central raised drum.

In 1138 this Church is mentioned as part of a construction belonging to the...
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Church and Cloister of St. Francis

The earliest mention of a church dedicated to St. Francis is in 1233. The Pisan community of Lesser Friars expanded rapidly, aided by support from the city and private donations. The Church became an important meeting place for the public, the...
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Church of San Frediano

The Church of S. Frediano and adjacent hospital are first mentioned in 1061under the double name of Saints Martino and Frediano. The church and hospital sheltered the needy and pilgrims and stood along a thoroughfare in the city that connected...
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Church of San Pietro in Vinculis (San Pierino)

Where the Romanesque church of S. Pietro in Vinculis now stands there was once the church of S. Pietro ai Sette Pini (by Seven Pine Trees), mentioned for the first time in 763 AD. No evident remains have been found of it. The Romanesque Church of...