Pisa

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Pisa

a city in Tuscany, NW Italy, near the mouth of the River Arno: flourishing maritime republic (11th--12th centuries), contains a university (1343), a cathedral (1063), and the Leaning Tower (begun in 1174 and about 5 m (17 ft.) from perpendicular); tourism. Pop.: 89 694 (2001)
Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Pisa

 

a city in Tuscany, in central Italy, on the Arno River. Administrative center of Pisa Province; population, 103,600 (1971). Pisa has an international airport and is linked by a canal with the port of Livorno. The city produces railroad equipment, glass, and ceramics. There also are chemical, woollen, and garment industries. Pisa is a computer center. Galileo studied and worked at the city’s university, which was founded in 1343.

Different sources attribute the founding of Pisa to the Greeks, Ligurians, or Etruscans. In 180 B.C., Pisa became a Roman colony, and in the fourth century A.D., it became a bishopric. In the 11th century Pisa achieved government by a council; it became a commune by the middle of the 12th century. In the 14th century a seigniory was established.

Pisa gained prominence as an important trading center in the Middle Ages. In the 11th century it occupied Corsica and Sardinia. The city participated in the First Crusade (1096-99), as a result of which it received important privileges in the Orient. In 1284, Pisa’s fleet was routed at Meloria by the city’s chief rival, Genoa. This defeat led to the decline of Pisa’s sea trade and to its loss of Sardinia. In 1406 Florence seized Pisa. During the Great Western Schism the church council that elected Alexander V as pope was held in the city (1409). In 1860, together with the rest of Tuscany, Pisa became part of a united Italy.

Pisa’s Romanesque structures greatly influenced the development of medieval architecture in central Italy. The structures are marked by intricate openwork ornament (multitiered arcatures) and distinctive polychromatic (black and white marble) furnishings. Characteristically Romanesque is the ensemble of Cathedral Square, which includes the cathedral (1063-1160), the bell tower (known as the Leaning Tower, 1174-1372), and the baptistery (begun in 1153). Other notable landmarks are the Campo Santo (cemetery, begun in 1278, architect G. di Simone), the Palazzo dei Cavalieri (1576-80, architect G. Vasari), and the church of San Stefano dei Cavalieri (1565-69, architect Vasari). The San Matteo National Museum, housing Tuscan art from the 12th to 15th centuries, is located in Pisa.

REFERENCES

Masetti, A. R. Pisa: Storia urbana. Pisa, 1964.

Guerra, G. del. Pisa attraverso i secoli. Pisa, 1967.

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
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