Pisa

Pisa is an ideal base for both visits throughout the province and quick access to the major cities of Tuscany, thanks to its convenient location, with good road and railway connections, and the “Galileo Galilei” International Airport: Florence can be reached in just an hour by car or train, Siena in two hours and Lucca and Livorno in less than half an hour.

The Leaning Tower of Pisa is famous throughout the world, as is the inimitable setting of the Piazza dei Miracoli monument complex: Cathedral, Baptistry, Camposanto, Museo dell'Opera del Duomo and Museo delle Sinopie. Most tourists arrive for a short visit and forget to visit the numerous appealing attractions the rest of the city has to offer: Piazza dei Cavalieri, with the Chiesa di Santo Stefano and the premises of the Scuola Normale Superiore, the Botanical Garden and the Lungarni museum system, which comprises the San Matteo National Museum, the Palazzo Reale National Museum, the Museo della Grafica (graphic art museum), at Palazzo Lanfranchi and the Palazzo Blu exhibition centre.

The historical centre is awash with Renaissance buildings, medieval tower-houses, Romanesque and Gothic churches, alleyways and squares recalling the Maritime Republic of Pisa that competed with Amalfi, Genoa and Venice in the Medieval Age for control of the trade traffic in the Mediterranean. The city dates back to the Roman era and Roman ships have been recovered not far from Piazza dei Miracoli and will be exhibited at the Arsenali Medicei (Medici shipyards) when restoration is completed.

In addition to being the birth place of Galileo Galilei, who taught at the city university before moving to Padova and then Florence, the mathematician Leonardo Fibonacci and the physicist Antonio Pacinotti, to name but a few, were also born here.

Thanks to the prestigious university (founded in 1343), the Scuola Normale Superiore, the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna and the National Research Council (CNR), Pisa has always been held as an illustrious university and research centre.

There is no shortage of fun or entertainment options: take a stroll down Corso Italia and under the arches of Borgo Stretto or pop over to Piazza delle Vettovaglie market just a few steps from the Ponte di Mezzo bridge for an enjoyable shopping spree.

Video: Welcome to Pisa

Why not take a boat ride along the river Arno during the holiday season to take in the beauty of the Lungarni from a slightly different angle, or to reach the nearby San Rossore Park. This protected area of Mediterranean scrub and vegetation is open all year to guided visits on bicycle, on foot, by carriage and on horseback. The park also encloses the venue for the annual horse race, the hippodrome.

The Giugno Pisano with the Luminara, the Regatta and the Gioco del Ponte are just some of the traditional historical events that Pisa celebrates as part of its calendar of displays and festivals. The Regatta of the Ancient Maritime Republics is held every four years.

Concert lovers will particularly enjoy the Anima Mundi religious music festival (September-October) in the Cathedral and the Camposanto, the Concerts under the Tower recital and the Metarock Festival (June-July). The Pisa Unicaterradivino food and wine review, bringing together wine producers from all over the province, takes place on the first weekend in December and is not to be missed.

Pisa is a fully serviced city. In addition to the University, the importance of the hospitals cannot be overlooked, with Santa Chiara Hospital and the new state of the art hospital Ospedale di Cisanello performing a priceless public service.

Pisa has recently found itself drawn once more to its marine vocation with the development of shipyards along the Canale dei Navicelli that connects the city to the sea. The seaside resorts of Marina di Pisa (next tourist port), Tirrenia and Calambrone, awarded the Blue Flag, are also found here. Golf lovers, families or anyone in search of a holiday far from the madding crowds will find these seaside resorts, between the pine forest and the sea, made to measure. The Romanesque basilica San Piero a Grado is halfway between the city and the sea and is worth visiting.

Tourism site of the Municipality of Pisa
Website of the Tourist Consortium of Pisa
Tourist map
Map with restricted traffic area (ZTL)
Events in Pisa
Where to sleep

Photogallery