What is Vicopisano known for?

The Florentine architect spent six years rebuilding the fortress and connecting passage, his only completed military commission. More surviving medieval towers than any other Tuscan commune of comparable size, including the Torre delle Quattro Porte. Monte Pisano slopes produce DOP extra virgin oil, with the harvest celebrated each November at the Festa dell'Olio Nuovo.

Vicopisano is a comune in the province of Pisa, Tuscany region of Italy, about 21 kilometers from Pisa.

Tuscany · Pisa

Vicopisano

A medieval river port on the southern slope of Monte Pisano, rebuilt by Brunelleschi in 1434 after Florence took the town from Pisa.

21 km / 13 mi

Nearest hub (Pisa)

8,563

Population

Apr–Oct

Best time to visit

Recognised as

Why come

Vicopisano sits at the foot of Monte Pisano where the plain of the Arno meets the hills, twenty kilometers east of Pisa. The town was a Pisan river port on the old course of the Arno until the river shifted south in the sixteenth century, leaving the walls inland. After Florence captured Vicopisano in 1407, the Republic sent Filippo Brunelleschi to rebuild its defenses. He raised the Rocca and the Torre del Brunelleschi between 1434 and 1440, connecting them with a covered passage and reinforcing the existing Torre delle Quattro Porte. Eight medieval towers still stand in the centro storico, more than in any other comune of comparable size in Tuscany. The Pieve di Santa Maria, eleventh-century Romanesque, holds a wooden Deposition carved around 1200, the second oldest in Italy. The hills above the town carry the olive groves that earned Vicopisano its Città dell'Olio listing.

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Gallery

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Known for

Rocca del Brunelleschi
Florentine fortress built by Filippo Brunelleschi between 1434 and 1440 after the conquest of Pisan territory, fully restored and open to visitors.
Torre delle Quattro Porte
Twelfth-century watchtower with four arched gates, the architectural symbol of the medieval town.
Pieve di Santa Maria
Eleventh-century Romanesque parish church holding a wooden Deposition group carved around 1200.
Palazzo Pretorio
Medieval seat of the Florentine podestà, with coats of arms of the rectors set into the façade.
Centro storico
Walled town with eight surviving medieval towers, connected by stepped lanes climbing the slope of Monte Pisano.

When to visit

Best months · Apr–Oct

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

April through June is dry and green, with the Monte Pisano olive groves at their best. September and October are the second window, cool mornings and the start of the harvest. The Festa Medievale runs the first weekend of September, three days of jousts and costumed processions inside the Brunelleschi walls. July and August are hot in the plain, and the town empties between two and six in the afternoon. November brings the new oil and the Festa dell'Olio Nuovo. Winter is quiet, the trattorie shorten hours, and the Rocca on a clear cold morning gives the best view over the Arno valley toward Pisa.