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ALTERNATIVE
ITINERARIES
The
alternative itinerary departs from the quarter of San Francesco,
raised outside the first Cities walls. The trip starts at Porta
a Lucca, a gate leading to the Corso del Cinquecento, where
there are some remains from a Roman spa. |
Discovering the Cities |
| The surroundings of Pisa |
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Than take via Santa Caterina Caterina
to visit the church with the same name, which features an elegant
marble façade, concluded in the 14th century. Then walk
Via San Zeno where you find the marvellous Abbazia di San
Zeno, a fine example of Pisan-Romanesque architecture with
a limestone façade decorated with blind arcades. The
Chiesa di San Francesco, is Gothic , though the façade
was concluded in the 17th century. The Gothic brick bell tower
is well worth a visit and the convent from he 14th century is
marvellous and preserves the tomb of Conte Ugolino. A
short walk from the river and you reach the Museo Nazionale,
housed in the antique convent of the Benedectine nuns. The Medieval
ceramic collection is original and very vast, with art works
from the whole Mediterranean, but the Museo Nazionale also features
paintings, paying great attention to the Pisan-Romanesque style,
miniatures, marble and wooden sculptures, decorations from the
school of Della Robbia, masterpieces by Beato Angelico,
by Masaccio and by Ghirlandaio. In the area of
Borgo Stretto you breath a lively and suggestive air
of a popular hamlet where you also find the Chiesa di San
Michele in Borgo, founded in the 11th century and a mix
of Gothic and Romanesque architecture.
 But
if you want to discover the south parts of Pisa, you have to
cross the brid Ponte di Mezzo, from where you have a
marvellous view over the illuminated river, lined with elegant
palaces. Here you can take Lungarno Pacinotti with Palazzo
Gambacorti, the building that today houses the Pisan government.
The elegant façade features mullion windows, coats of
arms, and marble decorations. The Logge dei Banchi are
also very suggestive which face Piazza XX Settembre,
where wool and silk used to be commercialised. The walk continues
along the river and Lungarno Pacinotti and reaches the Church
di Santa Maria della Spina, a small jewel of the Gothic architecture
with spires and pinnacles on the white marble façade,
and the San Paolo a Ripa d’Arno, one of the oldest and
most beautiful Pisan churches, with a marvellous façade
decorated with arcs with dictates from the local Romanesque
style. Towards Piazza Vittorio Veneto, you find the Chiesa
di Sant’Antonio, raised in the 14th century but almost completely
rebuilt after the second world war, and the Domus Mazziniana
that holds relics and souvenirs from the life of the hero
of the Italian Risorgimento. From here you get to the Cittadella
Nuova, built by the Florentines in the 15th century, destroyed
by the Pisans and rebuilt by Giuliano da Sangallo. It is an
imposing fortress surrounded by walls and fortified by cylindrical
bastions with a garden inside which you can visit, Giardini
di Scotto. The tour ends with the San Martino, raised
in the 9th century but rebuilt during the Renaissance, and the
Church di San Sepolcro, an odd octangonal building with
an imposing cupola, built in the 12th century. |
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