What is Pisa known for?

Bell tower of the Duomo begun 1173, leaning four degrees after subsidence on alluvial soil, stabilized by engineering work concluded in 2008. One of the four Italian maritime republics from the eleventh to the thirteenth century, with a fleet that took Sardinia, the Balearics and Mediterranean trade routes. Università di Pisa founded 1343, Scuola Normale since 1810 at Piazza dei Cavalieri, both still central to the working city beyond the tower.

Pisa is a comune in the province of Pisa, Tuscany region of Italy, about 10 kilometers from Pisa.

Tuscany · Pisa

Pisa

Maritime republic on the Arno, twelve kilometers from the Ligurian Sea, with the leaning bell tower at the center of a single UNESCO-listed walled compound.

10 km / 6 mi

Nearest hub (Pisa)

88,737

Population

May–Sep

Best time to visit

Recognised as

Why come

Pisa sits on the Arno twelve kilometers before the river empties into the Ligurian Sea. From the eleventh to the thirteenth century it was one of the four maritime republics, with a fleet that took Sardinia and the Balearics and an Arsenal that built galleys for the Crusades. Wealth from the Mediterranean trade paid for the Piazza dei Miracoli, the walled compound northwest of the centro that holds four buildings of the same Pisan Romanesque school: the Duomo begun 1064, the Battistero of 1152, the Camposanto Monumentale of 1278, and the Torre Pendente of 1173, which started leaning before the third story was finished. UNESCO inscribed the compound as one of the first Italian sites in 1987. The university, founded 1343, and the Scuola Normale at Piazza dei Cavalieri, the Vasari-designed square that was the Medici political center after the fall of the republic, keep the city working between the day-tripper waves. The river is the other Pisa: the Lungarni curve through the city in two parallel quays.

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Pisa | Beyond the Tower

It was a Tuesday in January, ten degrees, the kind of soft grey Tuscan winter rain that does not quite commit to being rain, and what we wanted, in a way that surprised both of us, was a bowl of Japanese noodle soup. The nearest place to get one was Pisa.

Read the full feature on anywhereitaly.com

Known for

Torre Pendente
Bell tower of the cathedral begun 1173, finished 1372, leaning four degrees south of vertical after centuries of subsidence on Pisan alluvial soil.
Duomo di Pisa
Pisan Romanesque cathedral begun 1064 by Buscheto, financed from the Mediterranean trade, with bronze doors by Bonanno Pisano and a pulpit by Giovanni Pisano.
Battistero di San Giovanni
Largest baptistery in Italy at 54.86 meters tall, begun 1152, Romanesque base and Gothic upper level, with a pulpit by Nicola Pisano.
Camposanto Monumentale
Walled cloister begun 1278 around soil brought back from Golgotha, 43 blind arches, with damaged Trecento frescoes including the Triumph of Death.
Piazza dei Cavalieri
Vasari-designed square at the political center of Medici Pisa, with Palazzo della Carovana, headquarters of the Scuola Normale since 1810.
Lungarni
Riverside quays curving through the city on both banks of the Arno, with palazzi from the twelfth century to the nineteenth and the Luminara festival in June.
Museo dell'Opera del Duomo
Cathedral works museum on the south side of Piazza dei Miracoli, holding sculpture by Nicola and Giovanni Pisano removed from the four monuments.

When to visit

Best months · May–Sep

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

May, June, September and October are the months when the Lungarni are at their best, the temperature stays in the twenties, and the lines at Piazza dei Miracoli compress by mid-afternoon. The Luminara di San Ranieri, on 16 June, lights the riverbank with eighty thousand candles and is the night the city sees most. July and August are hot and humid, with the day-tripper waves from cruise ships at Livorno filling the compound from morning. November through March is quiet on the Lungarni; some museums shorten hours but the four monuments of Piazza dei Miracoli stay open year-round. The Bandiera Blu coast at Marina di Pisa, ten kilometers west, runs from May to September.