Private Guide in Florence:
ANDREA Celletti
Member Since 2010
Country: Italy
City: Florence
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Pisa The town of Pisa is of Etruscan origin. In 179 B.C. it became a Roman colony and in 89 B.C. a Roman municipium. Pisa was an important naval base for the Romans. In the Middle Ages it was an important città marinara, i.e. a port, just like Venice, Genoa and Amalfi. Each of these towns had both a merchant fleet and a navy, which controlled all the seas around Italy . Pisa reached its greatest peak of splendour in the XI and XII centuries when it expanded its power over the islands of Corsica, Sicily and Sardinia. In addition, it controlled all the Tuscan coast from Portovenere to Civitavecchia. During the first Crusade (1096-1099) its military and commercial power expanded also eastwards and during the XII century some colonies were founded along the same routes followed by the Crusaders.

At this time also some small industries developed in Pisa, especially those involved in the processing of wool and leather. In 1162 Pisa became a free commune with its own statutes, and it was in this period that a new architectural style was born. From the XI to the XIV century the arts, and especially architecture, flourished. Some wonderful buildings were erected, such as the Cathedral, Baptistery e Tower with the contribution of great artists.

One of these was Nicola Pisano the greatest Italian Gothic sculptor, who started a school that influenced all the Italian sculpture of that period. In 1284 Pisa was defeated by Genoa in the Battle of Meloria and so a period of decline began, which terminated with the subjection of the town to Florence. Under the Florentine rule of Lorenzo il Magnifico, the town knew a new period of splendour and the urban landscape underwent important transformations. Wonderful buildings in the Renaissance style were erected and in 1472 the University was founded. In this university Galileo Galilei (1564 -1642) taught Physics, thus starting an importan scientific tradition that still continues in Pisa today. At the end of the XIX century the town extended outside the boundary of the old town-walls. Pisa suffered from great damages during World War II. The quarter south of the river Arno was completely destroyed.

So most of the urban shape of the town, as we see it today, is due to recent development. Lucca The first historical traces of Lucca can be dated back to the Palaeolithic period. Afterwards this area was inhabited by the Ligurians, the Etruscans and in the III century by the Romans. In 180 B.C. it became a Latin colony. This was a period of splendour for the town because of its strategic position: the most important roads of the time, such as the Cassia, the Aurelia and the Clodia, intersected just outside the town.

The geometrical layout of the town and the Roman Forum can be dated back to this period. During the barbaric domination Lucca was the capital of the Longobard reign until the IX century. It became a free Comune in 1162 and in the following centuries it knew a new period of riches and splendour thanks to its banking and manufacturing activities and its trades with the rest of Europe and the East. A lot of beautiful and luxury buildings and towers are still today a sign of the prosperity the town enjoyed in that period. In the first half of the XV century Lucca was ruled by Paolo Guinigi who improved its art and architecture: he had some important works made, such as Palazzo Guinigi and the wonderful sarcophagus of his wife, Ilaria del Carretto, which was made by Jacopo della Quercia. In the XV and XVI centuries the town fought to maintain its indipendence from the nearby powerful Firenze, so new and stronger town walls were erected.

The town changed its urban shape completely, as some old buildings and towers were replaced by new stately mansions with towers along the most important streets of the town. In 1799 Lucca underwent the Napoleon rule which lasted for 12 years. The town was ruled by Napoleon’s sister Elisa, wife of Felice Baciocchi. They lived in the Palazzo Pubblico in front of which a large square was opened: Piazza Napoleone. After the Congress of Vienna in 1814, Lucca began to be ruled by Parma. In this period the architect Lorenzo Nottolini planned the squares and the quarters of the town and created the picturesque promenade along the town walls. When in 1847 Lucca became part of the Grand Duchy of Toscana, a period of decay started for the town and ended only with the annexation to the Reign of Italy.