Pisaimage:stemma-pisa.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Pisa's coat of arms : ''This article is about Pisa in Italy. For other places of the same name, see Pisa (disambiguation).'' '''Pisa''' (population 90,000) is a city in Tuscany, northern Italy at the mouth of the river Arno on the Mediterranean. == Landmarks == Image:leaning-tower-of-pisa.jpg|thumb|Leaning Tower of Pisa By far the best known sight in Pisa is the famous leaning tower of Pisa|leaning tower which is but one of many architecturally and artistically important structures in the city's ''Campo dei Miracoli'' or ''Field of Miracles'' to the north of the old town center. ''Campo dei Miracoli'' also hosts the beautiful Duomo (the Cathedral), the Baptistry and The Camposanto (the monumental cemetry). Other interesting sights include ''Knights' Square'' (''Piazza dei Cavalieri''), where the ''Palazzo della Carovana'', with its awesome facade made by Giorgio Vasari may be seen, ''Borgo Stretto'' where it is possible to stroll under medieval arcades and ''Lungarno'', the avenues along the river Arno. Remarkably, there are at least two other leaning towers in the city, one at the southern end of central ''Via Santa Maria'', the other halfway through the ''Piagge'' riverside promenade. Pisa hosts the University of Pisa, especially renowed in the fields of Physics, Mathematics, Engineering and Computer Science. Construction of a new leaning tower of glass and steel 57 meters tall, containing offices and apartments should start in summer 2004 and take 4 years. It was designed by Dante Oscar Benini and raised criticism. == History == Image:PisaViewFromTower20020323.JPG|left|thumb|View of the city of Pisa from the Leaning Tower Already existing during the Etruscan Civilization|Etruscan and Roman Empire|Roman times, Pisa reached its apex in the Middle Ages when it was one of the 4 Marine Republics of Italy (''Repubbliche Marinare''), together with Genoa, Amalfi and Venice. At that time the city was a very important commercial center and controlled a significant Mediterranean fleet. It conquered part of Sardinia and successfully defeated several rival town in Sicily and in the south of Italy; its fleet also took part in the crusades. Pisa used the richness it had accumulated in those years to build the monuments that constitutes the ''Campo dei Miracoli''. The town had an independent republican government and was ruled by a city council. Pisa always sided with the pro-imperial Guelphs and Ghibellines|Ghibellines, actively supporting emperors such as Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor|Frederick Barbarossa, Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor|Frederick II and Henry VII, Holy Roman Emperor|Henry VII. Those emperors acknowledged Pisa independence and were grateful for its loyalty such that the town was chosen to host the spoils of Henry King of Germans, the son of Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor|Frederick II. The spoils still rest in the Pisa Cathedral. The decline began in 1284 when it was defeated by Genoa in the naval Battle of Meloria. The defeat ended the marine power of Pisa and the town never fully recovered. It tried to rebuild its power in the course of the 14th century but was eventually conquered by Florence in 1406. Galileo Galilei lived and was born here. == Notable people born in Pisa == *Philippe Buonarroti|Filippo Buonarroti (1761-1837), revolutionist *Ulisse Dini (1845-1918), mathematician *Leonardo of Pisa|Fibonacci Leonardo (c. 1175-1250), mathematician *Galileo Galilei (1564-1642), astronomer, philosopher, and physicist *Giovanni Pisano (c. 1250-1314), sculptor and architect *Nicola Pisano (c. 1220-1278), sculptor *Antonio Pacinotti (1841-1912), physicist *Rustichello da Pisa (XIIIth century), writer and storyteller *Titta Ruffo (1877-1953), opera singer *Bruno Pontecorvo (1913-1993), physicist, in September 1950 migrated to Dubna. == External links == {{pic}} *[http://www.comune.pisa.it/doc/webcam.htm Pisa Webcams] * [http://digilander.libero.it/fotogian/pisa.html Photographs of Pisa] * [http://www.sssup.it/sssup/index.jsp?lang=en Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna - School of Advanced Studies St.Anna, Pisa] Category:Towns in Tuscany bg:Пиза ca:Pisa da:Pisa de:Pisa es:Pisa fr:Pise he:פיזה it:Pisa ja:ピサ nl:Pisa no:Pisa pl:Piza ro:Pisa fi:Pisa sv:Pisa First page | Prev | Next | Last page |

This article on Pisa is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Pisa".

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