PISA

The city of the "Leaning Tower" is among the most important historical centers of Italy, rich in monuments and works of art, but also qualified cultural center thanks to the University and the Scuola Normale Superiore and active industrial and commercial center.Of Etruscan origin, Pisa was a loyal ally of Rome during the Punic Wars when its port was strengthened to serve as a strategic base for military operations in the Mediterranean. Its important role at the side of the Romans is also demonstrated by a recent and formidable archaeological discovery, made by workers on a construction site in the railway station of St. Flushing. Ten Roman ships were brought to light in perfect condition thanks to the thick layer of mud that covered them, and returned intact on-board instruments and the precious cargo ships, over 300 jars with their contents. During the Middle Ages, Pisa became one of the powerful Maritime City with Amalfi, Venice and Genoa. It was a period of great commercial prosperity that began inexorably to the decline in the thirteenth century: the dramatic battle of Meloria in 1284 marked the defeat of Pisa at the hands of the Genoese fleet of Doria, while in 1284 it was the turn of the capitulation to the Florentines that imposed a peace treaty particularly hard. There followed two centuries of continuous and tough battles and only Pisa in 1509 finally collapsed in front of Florence: the period of Medici rule, however, returned to Pisa prosperity that came therefore to be part of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, until the time of the annexation to the Kingdom 'Italy.

PISA

BORGO BUCCIANO, San Miniato