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C E N T R A L
I T A L Y B L O G
P IS A
From Wikipedia:
Pisa's origins are unknown. The city lies at the
junction of two rivers, Arno and Auser (now
disappeared) in the Tyrrhenian Sea forming a
lagoon area. Servius wrote that the Teuti, or
Pelopes, the king of the Pisei, founded the town
thirteen centuries before the birth of Christ.
Virgil in his Aeneid states that Pisa was
already a great and developed center by the
times described; the foundation of the city in
the 'Etruscan lands' is credited to settlers
from Alpheus coast.
Pisa took
advantage of being the only port along the
coast, from Genoa, then a small village, to
Ostia. Pisa served as a base for Roman naval
expeditions against Ligurians, Gauls and
Carthaginians. In 180 BC it became a Roman
colony under Roman law, as Portus Pisanus.
The power of Pisa as a mighty maritime nation
began to grow on and reached its apex in the
11th century when it acquired traditional fame
as one of the four main historical Marine
Republics of Italy (Repubbliche Marinare).
At that time the city was a very important
commercial centre and controlled a significant
Mediterranean merchant fleet and navy. It
expanded its powers by the sack in 1005 of
Reggio di Calabria in the south of Italy.
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. The Campo dei Miracoli is also the
site of the Duomo (the Cathedral), the Baptistry
and the Camposanto (the monumental cemetery).
Pisa was the birthplace of the founder of modern
physics, Galileo Galilei. It is still the seat
of an archbishopric; it has become a light
industrial centre and a railway hub. It suffered
repeated destruction during World War II.
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Pisa is a one
hour or so train ride from Florence and a
must-see stop on the tour of central Italy. It's
packed with tourists and vendors from North
Africa selling imitation Rolex watches. Don't
miss it.
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