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The Guelph Tower of the
old Citadel
Opening
hours>
The
tall Guelph tower rises in one of the most scenic areas of Pisa, the Cittadella
Vecchia (Old Citadel). Its unique profile has attracted for centuries people
visiting the town or simply walking along the Arno.
This
part of Pisa, characterised by ancient remains usually ignored, is actually the
witness of centuries of history. In fact, at the beginning of the 13th century, after the many and important
victories of its fleet over all the Mediterranean Sea, the Republic of Pisa
reunited in this place all its busy shipyard activities. The
choice fell on the western-most part of the city, near the monastery of San Vito
(an important religious institution now completely lost apart from the church of
San Vito
remodelled
many times over the centuries), where
harbour structures already existed from the previous
century. |
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This
area is called Tersana or Tersania, from ‘terzarolo’ the smallest of the
three Latin sails of the galleys. The various buildings were carried out over a
long period of time. However, in 1264, the new shipyard of the Republic
comprehended, as well as docks and wharfs, a small church dedicated to the
Saints Barbara and Reparata, solemnly blessed by the archbishop Federico
Visconti. Of the ancient 13th-century structures, today remain the brick arches
in the defensive walls facing the Arno and the 14th-century walled in arches on
the warehouses. These warehouses were
arranged around a diamond-shaped area to make use of the no longer existing
Auser River, flowing through this area before reaching the Arno, as launching
canal and as berth for the ships. |
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The
shipyard gained further importance between the 13th and 14th centuries, when the
last bridge of Pisa was built (Ponte a Mare), with the gate Porta a Mare (still
visible on the left bank) connected to the pre-existing gate Porta Daghazia, on
the right bank. Starting from this period, four towers were built, in different
times, on the corners of the Tersana. In
a chronicle of the 1430s this area is described as follows: “...a walled place
with a large fortified wall in the manner of a castle, with four faces, the face
towards Levant was the wall of the town, and the wall towards the south skimming
the river Arno was set at the Porta della Leghazia di Ponte, where under cover
were ordered LXXX porticoes to keep the galleys; this place is in vernacular
called arsanŕ.”
In
1394, the new governor of Pisa, Iacopo d’Appiano, fearing a return of the
faction supporting the rival Gambacorta family, began the transformation of the
shipyard into a defensive citadel with towers, and inside he installed a
permanent garrison.
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During the first Florentine domination (1406), the new
governors of Pisa definitively transformed the structures of the Republican
shipyard and created what will be later called the Cittadella Vecchia, to
distinguish it from the Cittadella Nuova (New Citadel), the present Giardino
Scotto, built from 1440 at the other end of the town. During the 15th century,
the tall Guelph tower was also built, so called in contrast with the
pre-existing Ghibelline tower, built in 1290 in the southwestern corner of the
Tersana, and today lost. During the government of the Grand Duke Cosimo I,
second-half of the 16th century, this large area was used as a stud farm for the
Grand Duchy army horses, and the shipyard activities were moved to the former
botanical garden (Giardino dei Semplici), where still exist the large sheds of
the Medicean shipyards. From the 18th century, and during all the 19th century,
the structures of the Citadel were used as deposits, stalls and military
barracks. Finally, in 1944, the whole area was heavily bombed and the Guelph
tower was completely destroyed. It was rebuilt in 1956 in its original shape.
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Recent
restorations, carried out by the municipality, have allowed the opening of the
tower to the public, offering to the citizens and the tourists an enchanting
view over Pisa, surrounded by the gentle hills and the deep green of the San
Rossore-Migliarino park. Inside the tower there is an exhibition of coats of
arms from various buildings of the city, some of which belonged to the families
of Florentine Captains and Commissaries that governed the city. Among these
there is a well-preserved armorial bearing of Luttozzo Di Lutozzo Masi,
commissary general from 1644 to 1646.
Written
by Lucia Casarosa
Translation
by Sara Burchielli
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