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Pisa (population 90,000) is a city in Tuscany, Italy at the mouth of the river Arno on the Mediterranean.
By far the best known sight in Pisa is the famous leaning tower which is but one of many architecturally and artistically important structures in the city's Campo dei Miracoli or Field of Miracles to the north of the old town center. Campo dei Miracoli also hosts the beautiful Duomo (the Cathedral), the Baptister and The Camposanto (the monumental cemetry). Other interesting sights include Knights' Square, where the Palazzo della Carovana, with its awesome facade made by Giorgio Vasari may be seen, Borgo Stretto where it is possible to stroll under medieval arcades and Lungarno, the avenues along the river Arno. Remarkably, there are at least two other leaning towers in the city, one at the southern end of central Via Santa Maria, the other halfway through the Piagge riverside promenade.
Pisa hosts a well-known University, especially good at teaching Electronic Engineering.
Pisa's Duomo with the Leaning Tower at right.
Already existing during the Etruscan and Roman times, Pisa reached its apex in the Middle Ages when it was one of the 4 Marine Republics of Italy ( Repubbliche Marinare ), together with Genoa, AmalfiAmalfi a town and archiepiscopal see of Campania, Italy, in the Gulf of Salerno. It lies at the mouth of a deep ravine, at the foot of Monte Cerreto (1315 meters, 4314 feet), surrounded by dramatic cliffs and coastal scenery. Amalfi is first mentioned in and VeniceVenice ( Italian Venezia German Venedig , the city of canals, is the capital of the region of Veneto, population 271,073 (2001). The city stretches across numerous small islands in a marshy lagoon along the Adriatic Sea in northeast Italy. The saltwater l.
At that time the city was a very important commercial center and controlled a significant Mediterranean fleet. It conquered part of Sardinia and succesfully defeated several rival town in Sicily and in the south of Italy; its fleet also took part in the crusades. Pisa used the richness it had accumulated in those years to build the monuments that constitutes the Campo dei Miracoli.
The town had an indipendent republican government and was ruled by a city council. Pisa always sided with the pro-imperial GhibellinesThe Guelphs and Ghibellines were factions supporting, respectively, the Papacy and the Holy Roman Empire in Italy during the 12th century and 13th century. Broadly, Guelphs tended to come from wealthy mercantile families, while Ghibellines wealth came fro, actively supporting emperors such as Frederick BarbarossaFrederick I Hohenstaufen ( 1122 June 10 1190), also known as Frederick Barbarossa ("Frederick Redbeard") was elected king of Germany on March 4, 1152 and was crowned Holy Roman Emperor on June 18 1155. He was also Duke of Swabia (1147-1152, as Frederick I, Frederick IIFrederick II ( December 26, 1194 ( December 13, 1250), Holy Roman Emperor of the Hohenstaufen dynasty, was pretender to the title of King of the Romans from 1212, unopposed holder of that monarchy from 1215, and Holy Roman Emperor from 1220 until his deat and Henry VIIHenry VII (ca. 1275- 1313) of the House of Luxembourg, was Holy Roman Emperor from 1312 to 1313 and German King from 1308 1313. As Emperor he planned to restore the glory of the Holy Roman Empire. His son, John of Luxembourg, was elected as king of Bohemi. Those emperors acknowledged Pisa indipendence and were grateful for its loyalty such that the town was chosen to host the spoils of Henry King of Germans, the son of Frederick IIFrederick II ( December 26, 1194 ( December 13, 1250), Holy Roman Emperor of the Hohenstaufen dynasty, was pretender to the title of King of the Romans from 1212, unopposed holder of that monarchy from 1215, and Holy Roman Emperor from 1220 until his deat. The spoils still rest in the Pisa Cathedral.
The decline began in 1284 when it was defeated by Genoa in the naval Battle of Meloria . The defeat ended the marine power of Pisa and the town never fully recovered. It tried to rebuild its power in the course of the 14th century but was eventually conquered by Florence in 1406.
Galileo Galilei lived and was born here.| Politics | Business | Finance |
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