22/08/2026
🔴The town of Pisa, located on the Arno River near the Tyrrhenian coast of Italy, became a flourishing commercial center and a powerful maritime republic in the 11th century. Having defeated the Saracens in a series of sea battles, it grew into a very important commercial and naval center, took control of the Mediterranean Sea and acquired colonies in Sardinia, Corsica, Elba, Southern Spain and North Africa (Fig. 1.1). In the 12th century, it was the naval base for the First Crusade in which a fleet of 120 Pisan ships participated; it established a number of settlements in the Holy Land, founding colonies in Antioch, Acre, Jaffa, Tripoli, Tyre and Larakia.
🔴It was in the period of maximum splendor of the Republic, in the 12th and 13th centuries, that the monuments in Piazza dei Miracoli (Miracles Square) were erected. The Square, with
the Cathedral, the Baptistery and the Leaning Tower (Fig. 1.2), is the awesome manifestation of the ideal unity that reigned at the time among religious, spiritual and political powers. In its monuments, civil history and history of art intertwine, giving them an extraordinary character as sign and symbol of the city (Franchi Vicerè, Viggiani et al., 2005; Franchi Vicerè, Veniale et al., 2005). Civic pride, identity and a sense of belonging are evident in an engraving on a stone on the façade of the Cathedral, recalling in epic tone that the treasures captured from the Saracens, after taking Palermo harbor in 1063, initially funded the construction
