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This
itinerary discovers the part of the town that developed south of the Arno, the
medieval district of Chinzica, name of Longobard origins that refers to the
muddiness of the soil.
The
town layout presents a great number of regular lots separated by narrow alleys
perpendicular to the river and connected by the ancient Roman Aemilia Scauri
road. This peculiar layout reflects the main activity carried on in the district
inhabited by often foreigner merchants and dealers who owned stores and shops
close to the Arno, the shortest way to the maritime port and to the road
departing from Rome. This part of the town, as well as the rest, was protected
by the city walls which crossed the river through the bridge of the Spina (1261)
and arrived at the south-eastern corner of the inhabited area. In that area
there was St. Marc’s Gate, then incorporated in the New Fortress, built by the
Florentines maybe on the basis of a project by Brunelleschi. This first
fortification was followed, after the second Florentine conquest, by the
construction of the large bastion built by Giuliano da Sangallo (1512) in order
to resist to the attacks of the artillery. During the XVIII century the whole
area was transformed into a private garden by the Rosselmini-Scotto family.
You
leave the garden and enter the wide Via San Martino where there is the
monumental church of Saint Martin, founded in 1332 upon request of Count
Bonifacio della Gherardesca. The big building in bricks, with its sides and apse
decorated with pilasters and suspended arches enlivened by ceramics (the
originals are now in the National Museum of San Matteo) was restored during the
XVII century. Inside there are
fine XIV-century frescoes
by Giovanni di Nicola, Antonio Veneziano and Cecco di Pietro. To
the same period belongs the beautiful relief with Saint Martin and the poor by
Andrea Pisano, which was at first placed on the façade; while the crucifix by
the Pisan Enrico di Tedice dates back to the second half of the XIII century. In
the main altar the mortal remains of Saint Bona, the Pisan lay saint who is the
patron saint of stewardesses, are still preserved.
Walking
again along Via San Martino flanked by rich XVI-century palaces and by ancient
tower-houses, you will notice that in one of them there is a fragment of a Roman
sarcophagus that the Pisans identify with the one belonging to the young Kinzica
de’ Sismondi, the heroine that in 1004 saved the town from the Saracens attack.
A bit further on the characteristic Gambacorti Square opens up and through via
S. Bernardo you reach the busy Corso Italia, called in medieval times Carraia di
San Gilio, which today along with Borgo Stretto constitutes the main shopping
area and offers the visitor several glamorous shops. Half way along the Corso
there is the church of Saint Mary of the Carmelites with its parvis. It was
built from 1325-27 and annexed to the Carmelite convent. It was later enlarged
and transformed between the XVI and the XVII centuries. Its importance was
testified by the richness of the works of art it contained, such as the big
polypthyc by Masaccio (1426) which was dismantled and sent to different museums
(in Pisa only the “Saint Paul” was left and housed in the Museum of San
Matteo). Corso Italia, which became an important road after the railway station
was built in 1862, crosses a part of the town that during the Middle Ages housed
important religious institutions. You can still see the buildings of the
Dominican nunnery of Saint Dominic, where in 1382 the Blessed Chiara Gambacorti
founded the first practising community of the Dominican Order. Some beautiful
frescoes of the XV century by the school of Benozzo Gozzoli found in this church
are now housed in the Museum of San Matteo. The enclosed church was transformed
during the XVIII century and decorated with stuccos, golden decorations and
paintings. Once crossed the tree-lined Vittorio Emanuele II Square, outcome of
extensive restyling in the XIX century, when the walls as well as San Gilio’s
Gate were demolished, you see the XIV-century church of Saint Anthony, with the
annexed convent, rebuilt in the XVIII century and badly damaged during last war.
You walk along via Crispi to the river bank and, along the Lungarno Sonnino, you
pass the former Benedictine nunnery, with its characteristic new gothic façade
in bricks and decorated with terracotta frames, beyond it there is the
tree-lined square that frames the charming church of Saint Paul “a Ripa
d’Arno”. The building was built at the beginning of the XII century, and
then enlarged and transformed; the architectural analogies with the cathedral
are evident, both in the façade with polychrome decorations, blind arches in
the lower part and three orders of arcades in the upper part and on the sides
with pilasters and arches. The inner part which was badly damaged during last
war, is in the shape of a basilica with three naves, apse and transept and the
figures of Saint Bartholomew Apostle and Saint Francis on the left pillar which
were attributed to the Florentine Buonamico Buffalmacco (first half of the XIV
century), are the only remains of the ancient rich frescoed decorations. Inside
there is also a precious painting by Turino Vanni representing “Madonna and
Child with Saints” (1396) and a big Roman sarcophagus used as a tomb for the
jurist Burgundio from Pisa (died in 1193). Behind the apse, there is an almost
hidden Saint Agatha chapel with an octagonal plan, spire roof and elegant
three-mullioned windows. It was built during the XII century inside the cloister
of the monastery and attributed to Diotisalvi for the strong analogies with the
church of San Sepolcro.
Beyond
the medieval Porta a Mare (Gate to the Sea), you reach the other bank of the
Arno river where the remains of the Fortress or the Old Citadel are, along with
a tall tower called Guelph Tower rebuilt in 1956. The fortress was built by the
Florentines in the area of Tersana, close to the fortified XIII-century Arsenal
in order to defend the town from enemies coming from the sea. Walking along
Lungarno Simonelli you pass by the big medicean Arsenal sheds: the enormous
shipyards, where the Order of the Knights of Saint Stephen used to arm his fleet.
These were founded by Cosimo I (1562) also to defend the sea trade in the
Mediterranean against Turkish raids. A bit further, you can see the small bell
tower of the ancient church of Saint Vito. Its belfry overtops a façade lacking
in medieval elements. Saint Vito’s church is first mentioned in 1051 and then
transformed into a Pisan annex of the Monastery of Saint Gorgonio (situated on
the Island of Gorgona), where the patron saint St. Ranieri died in 1160. From
Ponte Solferino you have a beautiful view of the Lungarni and crossing the river
again you find the splendid church of Saint Mary of the Thorn on your left,
which preserved a thorn of Jesus Christ’s crown. The church is one of the best
appreciated examples of Italian Gothic style. It was built in the XIII century
as Oratory of Saint Mary, on the pebbly shore of the Arno in proximity to the
later destroyed Pontenovo. It was originally composed of an open loggia that was
enlarged during the XIV century and enriched by a very rich sculptural
decoration including statues, gables, pinnacles, niches and spires. The best
Pisan artists of the XIV century took part in the works: Giovanni Pisano, who
carved the Madonna and Child with Angels in the niches on the façade, Lupo di
Francesco, Giovanni di Balduccio, Andrea and Nino Pisano. The building was
completely dismantled and rebuilt on a higher level in 1871, during the remaking
of the Lungarni. Inside there are the statues of Madonna and Child and of the
Saints Peter and Saint John the Baptist by Andrea and Nino Pisano; the latter is
also the author of the fine “Madonna del Latte”, now on display in the
National Museum of San Matteo.
Along
the Lungarno Gambacorti you see other tower-houses and the Romanesque church of
Saint Christine (33), dating back to the late Longobard period and rebuilt in
the X century, when the deeply below ground apse was made, and again in the XIX
century. The legend says that it is in this church that Saint Catherine from
Siena received her stigmata. Further on there are Palazzo Mosca, a typical
example of a mercantile and financial upper class dwelling built in 1302 and the
later palace Gambacorti built in the XIV-century on demand of Pietro Gambacorti,
during his rule over the city (1370-1392). He died in front of the door of his
Palace killed by the opposite faction. The Palace, which in the XV century was
the seat of the Consuls of the Sea and Customs and today is the Townhall,
underwent radical transformations but it maintained its original Gothic façade
on the river side while the rest dates back to the XVII century. On the right
there is XX Settembre Square with the XVII-century Logge dei Banchi, that took
the place of the square where during the Middle Ages there were the stalls and
shops of the merchants.
Walking
along the Lungarno Galilei on the right you see, on a lower level, the church of
Saint Sepolcro maybe planned by Diotisalvi; originally it was annexed to an
important hospital, run by the Hospitaller Knights of Saint John of Jerusalem (today’s
Knights of Malta), where pilgrims could find hospitality helped by friars and
nuns, amongst which was also Saint Ubaldesca from Calcinaia (1134-1205). The
church was built with an octagonal plan as a recollection of the Dome of the
Rock of Jerusalem. It has a slender cusped cupola made of bricks and three
finely decorated portals. Going back to Lungarno Galilei you pass by palazzo
Lanfranchi, which hides behind its XVII-century façade the structures of some
tower-houses. Crossing the Ponte alla Fortezza, in the Middle Ages called Ponte
di Spina, you walk along the Romanesque wall of the church of Saint Matthew in
Soarta. The building was erected between the X and the XII century and rebuilt
at the beginning of the XVII century, when also the façade in white marble was
built. Inside a beautiful Baroque decoration enriches the vault and amongst the
many paintings there is a splendid XIII-century Crucifix on wood.
The
natural conclusion of this tour is at the National Museum of San Matteo, where
important works of art coming from abolished churches and religious institutions
of the town and the surroundings are still preserved. In particular the museum,
housed since 1949 in a former Benedictine convent, has on display a unique
collection of painted crosses of the XIII century, which are extremely important
in order to understand the development of Italian painting as well as several
paintings on wood. Amongst these paintings is the fine polyptych made by Simone
Martini for the Church of Saint Catherine in 1321. Similarly very rich are the
collections of sculptures that display works by: Nicola and Giovanni Pisano,
Tino di Camaino, Lupo di Francesco, Andrea and Nino and Tommaso Pisano,
Francesco di Valdambrino. In the rooms dedicated to the XV century there are
some paintings by major Italian artists: the fine Gentile from Fabriano,
Donatello, Masaccio, Beato Angelico, Domenico Ghirlandaio and Benozzo Gozzoli.
Extremely important from a scientific point of view is the collection of
medieval ceramics, composed of rare and precious majolica ware of Islamic and
Pisan production used as polychrome decorations in the main Pisan churches and
dating between the XI and the XIV centuries.
All
those who would like to get to know another important monument of the Pisan
Middle Ages can continue their visit following the right bank of the river, till
they reach the shady Viale delle Piagge. Half way there is the church of Saint
Michael of the Barefooted, which looks unstable
on the marshy ground with its characteristic leaning bell tower. In origin the
building, that dates back to the XII century, was annexed to the monastery of
the Barefooted Pulsanese Monks, coming from Puglia. Despite the unfinished façade
with the lintel carved by Byzantine artists at the beginning of the XII century,
the church has a particular charm that continues inside, in spite of the inner
part being badly damaged during the Second World War and where a XIII-century
painted Crucifix is still preserved.
We
love the idea of finishing the tour with the visit of the majestic Basilica of
Saint Piero a Grado, which is maybe one of the most ancient pieces of evidence
of Christianity in the area, a few kilometres south west of the city centre on
the way to the sea. The church was built close to an ancient docking place at
the river mouth and proves that the town was always stretched out towards the
sea. According to tradition, in fact, the church was built on demand of Saint
Peter, who arrived here during his journey to Rome in 44 a. C., even though the
present structure of this beautiful church dates back to the XI century and
rests on the remains of an ancient early Christian church. Beyond the typical
plan of a Basilica the church has three apses on the eastern side and one on the
western side, faced in bricks and decorated by pilasters and suspended arches
containing Islamic XI-century ceramics. Inside, under the XIV-century ciborium
that reminds of the place where Saint Peter preached, there are some remains of
the ancient basilica and of a Roman building. The walls of the central nave
preserve important frescoes by the Lucchese Deodato Orlandi, commissioned by the
Pisan Dei Caetani family on occasion of the Jubilee of 1300, representing
stories of the Saints Peter and Paul and portraits of the Popes.
Written by Lucia Casarosa
Translation by Maria Vanzini
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