Contemporary art and technology

The wealth of culture in Pisa province does not revolve solely around the testaments to the past, but is also attested by its intense and thriving ties with recent Italian industrial history and its deep integration in contemporary artistic production.

This can be seen in Pontedera, which is worth a visit not only for its churches, palaces or the Ponte Napoleonico, a bridge built entirely with white marble from the Monti Pisani, designed by the architect Garella, destroyed during the Second World War and faithfully rebuilt immediately afterwards.

Pontedera has been associated with the name Piaggio since 1924, when the Genoese engineer Rinaldo Piaggio transferred part of his aeronautic construction industry there. After the Second World War it was converted into a motorcycle factory, taking part in the economic boom of the 1960s and transforming the face of the city.

Pontedera is the seat of the Piaggio Museum, which displays the numerous models produced by the company, as well as an extensive historical archive. An old hangar houses the Polo Sant’Anna Valdera, a centre of robotic and computer technology excellence.

Pontedera has recently become a centre of contemporary art thanks to the Otello Cirri Exhibition Centre, the Public Library, and the permanent sculptures that can be seen in the parks and squares of the city (see the artistic benches in the Piazza Garibaldi) or in the centre of roundabouts.

Of particular interest in this original open-air museum is the Wall by Enrico Baj, designed in 2003 and produced posthumously along the Viale Risorgimento, the Oleandra by Arturo Carmassi, in the roundabout between the Viale Europa and Via De Gasperi and also the Bull by Pietro Cascella, in the Piazza Curtatone, Origine Vespa by Mino Trafeli in the Piazza Unità d’Italia and the many works by Nado Canuti.

The Centrum Sete Sóis Sete Luas, a cultural centre deriving from the Festival bearing the same name, was also added in 2009. Created as a venue for intercultural dialogue, every month it plays host to artists from the other 10 countries of the Sete Sóis Sete Luas Cultural Network (Brazil, Capo Verde, Croatia, France, Greece, Israel, Italy, Morocco, Spain, and Portugal).

In the Valdarno area, not far from Pontedera, Santa Croce sull’Arno enjoys a healthy cultural activity: Villa Pacchiani houses the Centro di Attività Espressive, a centre of contemporary art and the home to museum and scientific documentation, with graphics, engravings, music, theatre and photography workshops.

Wine and contemporary art find themselves in an original combination in the area of Terricciola thanks to the project Terre ad Arte, a route open all year round with permanent exhibitions of works by artists in vineyards and cellars.

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