pisa-italy's VirtualTourist Home Page

Hello everybody,

I was born and live in Pisa, Italy.
This is my personal homepage.
I'm pleased to be your personal travel guide for your trip to Pisa.

If you have any question concerning restaurants, hotels, what to see, the main events or what to do in Pisa, feel free to email me.

It will be my pleasure to guide you through the marvellous town of Pisa.

The city began as a seaside settlement around 1000 B.C. and was expanded into a naval trading port by the Romans in the 2nd century B.C. By the 11th century, Pisa had grown into one of the peninsula's most powerful maritime republics, along with Venice, Amalfi, and Genoa. Its extensive trading in the Middle East helped import advanced Arabic ideas (decorative and scientific), and its wars with the Saracens led it to create an offshore empire of Corsica, Sardegna, and the Balearics. It lay waste to rival Amalfi in 1135 and, riding a high tide of wealth in the late Middle Ages, created its monumental buildings. In 1284, Pisa's battle fleet was destroyed by Genoa at Meloria (off the Livorno coast), a staggering defeat allowing the Genoese to take control of the Tyrrhenian Sea and forcing Pisa's long slide into twilight. Its Ghibelline nature gave Florence the excuse it needed to take control in 1406. Despite a few small rebellions, Florence stayed in charge until Italian unification in the 1860s.

What to see and what to do in Pisa:

The 14th-century Romanesque Leaning Tower is of course Pisa’s main attraction (it has 294 stairs) and really seems to overturn any moment. The tower reopened in November 2001, and tickets to climb the tower cost 15 Euros. A fortification project has made some progress in stopping the increase in inclination and even managed to pull the tower back a bit (40 centimetres). The Leaning Tower belongs to an ensemble of four impressive buildings all located on "Campo dei Miracoli" (square of miracles): the cathedral Santa Maria Assunta, the campanile (leaning tower that was actually a bell tower), the baptistry (looks like a huge "baci" chocolate, that is a delicious Italian candy) and the Camposanto cemetery.(Official site: www.opapisa.it)

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.

Should time permit stop at Palazzo dei Cavalieri, walk down Via Santa Maria towards the river banks of Arno, where the small Gothic chapel of "Santa Maria della Spina" is located and the National Museum of San Matteo (excellent collection of 12th-through 15th-century art).

We also suggest taking a taxi/bus or bicycle ride to the Church of "San Michele degli Scalzi" to see the other leaning tower of Pisa; completed in the 13th century this seldom-visited tower is worth a look even though it’s not as impressive as the famous one.

It's also fun just to walk around Pisa. The city is very compact with many narrow streets, small markets, hidden treasures and a great ambience.

Famous People: Galileo Galilei (scientist, 1564-1642), Antonio Pacinotti (physicist, 1841-1912), Ippolito Rosellini (Egyptologist, 1800-1843), Giovanni Pisano (sculptor, 1250-1314), Antonio Pisanello (artist, 1395-1455).

Eating out in Pisa is an easy thing. The city is dotted with "ristoranti", "trattorie" and "pizzerie". You will find various spots only a stone's throw away from the famous Leaning Tower. But for a more authentic ambience than the one offered by the trattorie near the Campo dei Miracoli orientate southwards towards the Arno river.

Events in Pisa:

The Luminara of Saint Ranieri (16th June)

Every year on the night of the 16th of June the enchantment of the Illuminations of Saint Ranieri is renewed on the streets running along the river Arno (the so-called Lungarni). In fact, following an ancient tradition the Pisans celebrate their patron saint, St. Ranieri, of the following day. There are about seventy-thousand wax candles which at every edition are meticulously set in smooth and white glasses and fixed then onto wooden white-painted frames, modelled in such a way as to exalt the outline of the palaces, of the bridges, of the churches and of the towers reflecting on the river.

Il Gioco del Ponte (Last Sunday of June – Next one will be played on June 26th 2005)

This historically evocative event, called Gioco del Ponte, consists of two distinct but both significant parts: the historical procession along the Arno river which is a huge military parade, and the battle, that takes place on the Ponte di Mezzo during which the two opposing teams give proof of their own physical strength in a strongly competitive atmosphere.

The Regatta of Saint Ranieri (17th June)

During the afternoon of June 17th, to celebrate the patron saint of Pisa, four boats representing the most ancient districts of the city (the city is divided into four sections ideally outlined by the river Arno and by the two main streets) compete in a Regatta along the Arno river, heritage of the past glory of Pisa as an ancient maritime republic.

The Regatta of the Marin Republics (May / June every 4 years)

1956 the cities of Amalfi, Genoa, Venice and Pisa have participated in the Regatta of the Ancient Maritime Republics.

The event, introduced for tourist reasons, evokes the past glory of the most important episodes of the story of the four Maritime Republics.

The first official edition took place in Pisa on the 1st July of that same year. Since then every year the challenge is hosted in turn off the coast of Amalfi and Genoa, along the river Arno in Pisa and in the lagoon of Venice.
In Pisa, along the river Arno, four boats representing the four Republics and marked by different colours, such as blue (Amalfi), white (Genoa), red (Pisa) and green (Venice), compete in the regatta, heritage of the ancient tradition: a two-thousand metre race upstream where they compete for the winner crossing the finishing line first, close to the Church of Saint Matthew.