New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia: Pisa
Archdiocese in Tuscany, central Italy. The city is situated on the Arno, six miles from the sea, on a fertile plain, while the neighbouring mountains yield marble, alabaster, copper, and other mineral products; mineral waters abound in the province. The famous duomo, or cathedral, begun (1063) by Buschetto and consecrated by Gelasius II (1118), is a basilica in the shape of a Latin cross, with five naves, the columns of which are of oriental granite. The upper portion of the façade is formed by five rows of columns, one above the other; the bas-reliefs of the four bronze doors were executed by Domenico Partegiani and Augusto Serrano, after the designs of Giambologna and others. The cupola was painted by Orazio Riminaldi and Michele Cinganelli; the altars are all of Luna marble. Among the notable objects in this cathedral are the octagonal pulpit, the urn of St. Ranieri, and the lamp of Possenti da Pietrasanta, under which Galileo studied the isochronism of the pendulum. In front of the duomo is the baptistery, a round structure, with a cupola surmounted by a statue of St. John the Baptist; it was erected in 1152. Beside the duomo is the celebrated leaning campanile. The camposanto (begun in 1278, completed in 1464) is a real museum of painting and of medieval sculpture; its architect was Giovanni Pisano, by whom also are six statues placed over one of the entrances. The frescoes are by Giotto, Orcagna, Benozzo Gozzoli, Spinello Aretino, Simone Memmi, and Pietro Laurati. It contains the tomb of the Emperor Henry VII. Other churches are Santa Maria della Spina (1230; 1323); San Nicola, dating from about 1000; the church of the Knights of S. Stefano (1555), a work of Vasari; S. Francesco (thirteenth century); S. Caterina (1253), which belongs to the seminary and contains the mausoleums of Bishop Saltarelli and of Gherardo Compagni; S. Anna has two canvasses by Ghirlandajo; S. Michele (1018); S. Frediano (ninth century); S. Sepolcro (1150); S. Paolo (805?) called the old duomo; S. Pietro in Grado, which dates from the fifth century, and was restored in the ninth. The episcopal residence, of the twelfth century, has important archives. Other buildings of interest are the Loggia dei mercanti, by Bountalenti, and the university (1105-1343), with which were united several colleges, as the Puteano, Ferdinando, Vittoriano, and Ricci. Outside the city are the Certosa di Calci, the Bagni di Pisa, ancient baths which were restored by Countess Matilda, and the Villa Reale di S. Rossore.
Pisa is the ancient Pisæ, in antiquity held to be a colony of Pisæ in Elis. Later, it probably belonged to the Etruscans, though often troubled by the Ligurians. The people devoted themselves to commerce and to piracy. From 225 B.C., they were in amicable relations with the Romans, who used the port of Pisæ in the Punic War, and against the Ligurians, in 193. By the Julian law, if not earlier, the town obtained Roman citizenship. Little mention is made of it in the Gothic War. In 553 it submitted to Narses, of its own accord; after the Lombard invasion, it seems to have enjoyed a certain independence, and it was not until the eighth century that Pisa had a Lombard dux, while, in the ninth century, it alternated with Lucca as the seat of the Marquis of Tuscany. The war between Pisa and Lucca (1003) was the first war between two Italian cities. In 1005, the town was sacked by the Saracens, under the famous Musetto (Mugheid al Ameri), who, in turn, was vanquished by the Pisans and Genoese, in Sardinia. In 1029, the Pisans blockaded Carthage; and in 1050, Musetto having again come to Sardinia, they defeated him with the assistance of Genoa and of the Marquis of Lunigiana; but the division of the conquered island became a source of dissension between the allied cities, and the discord was increased when Urban II invested the Pisans with the suzerainty of Corsica, whose petty lords (1077) had declared their wish to be fiefs only of the Holy See. In 1126, Genoa opened hostilities by an assault on Porto Pisano, and only through the intervention of Innocent II (1133) was peace re-established. Meanwhile, the Pisans, who for centuries had had stations in Calabria and in Sicily, had extended their commerce to Africa and to Spain, and also to the Levant. The Pisans obtained great concessions in Palestine and in the principality of Antioch by lending their ships for the transportation of crusaders in 1099, and thereafter people of all nations were to be found in their city. In 1063 they had made an attempt against Palermo, and in 1114 led by the consul, Azzo Marignani, conquered the Balearic Islands. Pisa supported the emperors at an early date, and Henry IV, in 1084, confirmed its statutes and its maritime rights. With its fleet, it supported the expedition of Lothair II to Calabria, destroying in 1137 the maritime cities of Ravello, La Scala, la Fratta, and above all, Amalfi, which then lost its commercial standing.