Destinations Menu
RSS
Sightseeing in Pisa
Sightseeing in Pisa
Pisa's Historical Center
A good place to begin a tour of Pisa's Historical Center is midway along the Arno River, at the Ponte di Mezzo, which marks the southern boundary of Pisa’s main historical district. Here, the arcaded Borgo Stretto stretches in front of you, its range of increasingly classy shops representing the city’s commercial heart. Nearby, on the right, is the 14th-century façade of the Chiesa di San Michele (Church of St. Michele). Built in 990 AD and successively amplified, it documents magnificently the passage from the Romanesque to Gothic styles. Inside, you’ll find a 13th-century marble crucifix, sculpted for the portal of the Camposanto by Nino Pisano and moved here in the 18th century.
From the Chiesa di San Michele, a left along Via Dini leads to Piazza dei Cavalieri, significant as the medieval heart of the city. Before Vasari adapted it to the current Renaissance look, it was known as the Piazza delle Sette Vie (the Square of the Seven Roads). He remodeled it to honor the Knights of Santo Stefano, an order founded by Cosimo I in 1561 to defend Pisa’s coast from scavenging pirates. You can visit the Chiesa di San Stefano dei Cavalieri (050-580814, Mon- Sat , summer, 10 am-7 pm, winter, 11 am-4:30 pm, €1.50), with works by Vasari and Bronzino and spoils from the knights’ victorious sea battles, as well as their former headquarters, the sgraffiti-decorated Palazzo della Carovana (1562-64). The latter went on to became the seat of the prestigious Scuola Normale Superiore, while the tower to the right of it (the Torre della Muda) is believed to have been the medieval prison where Count Ugolino della Gherardesca succumbed to hunger in 1289.
Explore the Destination
Amenities and Resources
Overview
Hotels(18)
Restaurants(7)
Attractions(17)
Activities(23)
Map 
Weather Forecast
- Reported on:
Sun, 12/22/2024 - 01:15
- Reported on:
Trending Themes:
Guides to Popular Ski Resorts
-
Ischgl is a small mountain village turned hip ski resort, with massive appeal among the party-hearty young crowds. It is... Read More
-
Andorra la Vella is its own little world, and not just because it’s a 290-square-mile independent principality (a fifth the... Read More
-
Bariloche (officially San Carlos de Bariloche) is the place to be seen. It is to Argentina what Aspen is to the... Read More
-
Aspen is America's most famous ski resort. And that's an understatement. For, as a ski complex, Aspen is unsurpassed. Its... Read More
-
Zermatt is a small but glamorous mountain resort town, with a population of approximately 5,700. It is one of Switzerland's... Read More
-
St. Moritz is a glitzy, alpine resort town in the celebrated Engadin Valley of Switzerland, with huge notoriety as the... Read More
-
Lake Tahoe is the premier lake resort of America, and the largest alpine lake in all of North America. It is an absolutely... Read More
-
St. Anton, Sankt Anton am Arlberg in German, is Austria's premier ski-bum resort! It's actually a small village cum... Read More
-
Kitzbühel, a small, Tyrolian resort town in the Kitzbüheler Alps, comes with international renown and huge snob appeal, and... Read More