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88-846: The town is located 20 km (12 miles) from Pisa and 50 km (31 miles) from Florence . It houses the headquarters of the Piaggio company, the Castellani winery and the Amedei premium artisan chocolate factory. Pontedera is in the Arno Valley at the confluence of the Era River and the Arno River . Its territory is also crossed by the Scolmatore dell'Arno canal, and by the Roglio,

176-415: A maritime nation began to grow and reached its apex in the 11th century, when it acquired traditional fame as one of the four main historical maritime republics of Italy ( Repubbliche Marinare ). At that time, the city was a very important commercial centre and controlled a significant Mediterranean merchant fleet and navy. It expanded its powers in 1005 through the sack of Reggio Calabria in

264-656: A stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Pisa Pisa ( / ˈ p iː z ə / PEE -zə ; Italian: [ˈpiːza] or [ˈpiːsa] ) is a city and comune (municipality) in Tuscany , central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea . It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa . Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower ,

352-399: A base for Roman naval expeditions against Ligurians and Gauls . In 180 BC, it became a Roman colony under Roman law, as Portus Pisanus . In 89 BC, Portus Pisanus became a municipium . Emperor Augustus fortified the colony into an important port and changed the name to Colonia Iulia obsequens . Pisa supposedly was founded on the shore, but due to the alluvial sediments from

440-507: A combined fleet of Pisan and Sicilian ships, led by the emperor's son Enzo , attacked a Genoese convoy carrying prelates from northern Italy and France, next to the isle of Giglio ( Battle of Giglio ), in front of Tuscany ; the Genoese lost 25 ships, while about a thousand sailors, two cardinals, and one bishop were taken prisoner. After this major victory, the council in Rome failed, but Pisa

528-540: A dominant position in the markets of southern France. The war began in 1165 on the Rhône , when an attack on a convoy, directed to some Pisan trade centres on the river, by the Genoese and their ally, the count of Toulouse , failed. Pisa, though, was allied to Provence. The war continued until 1175 without significant victories. Another point of attrition was Sicily , where both the cities had privileges granted by Henry VI . In 1192, Pisa managed to conquer Messina. This episode

616-502: A regional service with a regular interval timetable connecting Firenze Porta al Prato railway station with the rural area west of Florence and Empoli. This service takes 30 minutes operates 15 times each way per day, with a frequency of about one hour between each train. The full distance takes about 31 minutes. The Pisa Centrale–Pisa Airport services was unofficially closed in 2013 and officially closed under territorial circular FI 08/2014 of 6 October 2014 so that it could be replaced by

704-572: A tributary of the Era. There is also a small lake, in the frazione of La Rotta , known as Braccini lake. The football team in the town is called U.S. Città di Pontedera , and they currently play in Serie C . Another notable attraction is the church of Santissimo Crocifisso . Pontedera was the seat of several historical battles. In 1369, the Milanese army of Barnabò Visconti , led by John Hawkwood ,

792-550: Is an important hub placed on the Leopolda Railway between Pisa and Florence, due to the many services in the Valdera area, in the field of education and the piaggio factories, with a daily flow of 4,000 passengers. The station is served by trains about every 15 minutes in both directions, as well as various connections including Livorno , Viareggio , La Spezia , Lucca , Grosseto to other minor ones, that are part of

880-500: Is based on a driverless "horizontal funicular " that travels the distance in 5 minutes, with a 5-minute frequency, having an intermediate stop at parking station San Giusto/Aurelia. Consorzio Pisano Trasporti , also known as CPT , was a Società consortile a responsabilità limitata (Scarl) that operated since 2005 the local public transport in Pisa and in the province . Became subsidiary of Compagnia Toscana Trasporti Nord in 2012 and

968-415: Is characterized by cool to mild winters and hot summers. This transitional climate allows Pisa to have summers with moderate rainfall . Rainfall peaks in autumn. Snow is rare. The highest officially recorded temperature was 39.5 °C (103.1 °F) on 22 August 2011 and the lowest was −13.8 °C (7.2 °F) on 12 January 1985. In Pisa there was a festival and game fr:Gioco del Ponte (Game of

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1056-468: Is divided into two addresses: with four branches of study in the technology sector: and a high school address of study: Pontedera is home to the " Giovanni Alberto Agnelli " Piaggio Museum. Created in 2000 from part of the old Piaggio workshops, it now houses numerous models produced by Piaggio as well as a vast historical archive named after Antonella Bechi Piaggio, while the Valdera Campus of

1144-587: Is still the seat of an archbishopric . Besides its educational institutions, it has become a light industrial centre and a railway hub. It suffered repeated destruction during World War II . Since the early 1950s, the US Army has maintained Camp Darby just outside Pisa, which is used by many US military personnel as a base for vacations in the area. Pisa has a borderline humid subtropical climate ( Köppen climate classification : Cfa ) and Mediterranean climate ( Köppen climate classification : Csa ). The city

1232-469: Is the main railway station and is located along the Tyrrhenic railway line . It connects Pisa directly with several other important Italian cities such as Rome , Florence , Genoa , Turin , Naples , Livorno , and Grosseto . Pisa San Rossore links the city with Lucca (20 minutes north-east of Pisa) and Viareggio and is also reachable from Pisa Centrale . It is a minor railway station located near

1320-583: Is the neighborhood across the Era River; It's also called in Pisan dialect "Foriderponte" or "Forderponte" (outside of the bridge). It has seen an extensive expansion from the late 1950s with the construction of the " Gronchi " Village - Viale Italia. Today it is home to the weekly market, annual Fair , Era Theater, "Ettore Mannucci" stadium and the Cineplex, a multiplex cinema with a shopping center inside. In

1408-571: The Campo Santo (the monumental cemetery). The medieval complex includes the above-mentioned four sacred buildings, the hospital and few palaces. All the complex is kept by the Opera (fabrica ecclesiae) della Primaziale Pisana , an old non profit foundation that has operated since the building of the Cathedral in 1063 to maintain the sacred buildings. The area is framed by medieval walls kept by

1496-532: The Alpheius river flowed. The Virgilian commentator Servius wrote that the Teuti founded the town 13 centuries before the start of the common era. The maritime role of Pisa should have been already prominent if the ancient authorities ascribed to it the invention of the naval ram . Pisa took advantage of being the only port along the western coast between Genoa (then a small village) and Ostia . Pisa served as

1584-560: The Byzantine Emperor Alexius I Comnenus granted them special mooring and trading rights. In all these cities, the Pisans were granted privileges and immunity from taxation, but had to contribute to the defence in case of attack. In the 12th century, the Pisan quarter in the eastern part of Constantinople had grown to 1,000 people. For some years of that century, Pisa was the most prominent commercial and military ally of

1672-552: The Etruscan origin of the city, and its role as a maritime city, showing that it also maintained trade relations with other Mediterranean civilizations. Ancient Roman authors referred to Pisa as an old city. Virgil , in his Aeneid , states that Pisa was already a great center by the times described; and gives the epithet of Alphēae to the city because it was said to have been founded by colonists from Pisa in Elis , near which

1760-632: The Ferrovia Leopolda , "Leopolda railway") is a line built in the 1840s connecting the Tuscan cities of Florence , Pisa and Livorno , passing through Empoli and Pontedera . It is 101 km long and fully electrified at 3,000 V DC . Passenger traffic is managed by Trenitalia . Following its restoration of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany after the Congress of Vienna , it was led by

1848-714: The Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies in Pisa was carved out of the old Piaggio canteen. Pontedera is crossed from west to east by State Road 67 Tosco Romagnola, which connects it directly to Pisa and Florence ending in Ravenna . The city is also served by the FI-PI-LI Great Communication Road, which serves as a major arterial road connecting the provinces of Florence , Pisa and Livorno . The road starts in Florence and splits near Lavaiano into

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1936-495: The Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies . Most believe the hypothesis that the origin of the name Pisa comes from Etruscan and means 'mouth', as Pisa is at the mouth of the Arno river. Although throughout history there have been several uncertainties about the origin of the city of Pisa, excavations made in the 1980s and 1990s found numerous archaeological remains, including the fifth century BC tomb of an Etruscan prince, proving

2024-535: The Saracen pirates prompted the city to expand its fleet. In the following years, this fleet gave the town an opportunity for more expansion. In 828, Pisan ships assaulted the coast of North Africa . In 871, they took part in the defence of Salerno from the Saracens. In 970, they gave also strong support to Otto I's expedition, defeating a Byzantine fleet in front of Calabrese coasts. The power of Pisa as

2112-645: The Trenitalia regional service. It takes 10–15 minutes to travel to Pisa and 35–40 minutes to travel to Florence. In the early 20th century the Lucca -Pontedera- Saline di Volterra railway line was planned. In 1922 work began, ending six years later only on the Lucca-Pontedera section. Due to damage in World War II, the line was decommissioned and dismantled in 1958. Pontedera had an airport, which

2200-603: The Tyrrhenian Sea . When the Pisans subsequently ousted the Genoese from Sardinia, a new conflict and rivalry was born between these major marine republics. Between 1030 and 1035, Pisa went on to defeat several rival towns in Sicily and conquer Carthage in North Africa . In 1051–1052, the admiral Jacopo Ciurini conquered Corsica , provoking more resentment from the Genoese. In 1063, Admiral Giovanni Orlandi, coming to

2288-601: The Western Roman Empire , Pisa did not decline as much as the other cities of Italy, probably due to the complexity of its river system and its consequent ease of defence. In the seventh century, Pisa helped Pope Gregory I by supplying numerous ships in his military expedition against the Byzantines of Ravenna (what "military expedition by Pope Gregory against the Byzantine Empire" ): Pisa

2376-573: The bell tower of the cathedral , known as "the leaning Tower of Pisa", is the most famous image of the city, it is one of many works of art and architecture in the city's Piazza del Duomo , also known, since the 20th century, as Piazza dei Miracoli (Square of Miracles), to the north of the old town center. The Piazza del Duomo also houses the Duomo (the Cathedral), the Baptistry and

2464-722: The 15th century, access to the sea became more difficult, as the port was silting up and was cut off from the sea. When in 1494, Charles VIII of France invaded the Italian states to claim the Kingdom of Naples , Pisa reclaimed its independence as the Second Pisan Republic. The new freedom did not last long; 15 years of battles and sieges by the Florentine troops led by Antonio da Filicaja , Averardo Salviati and Niccolò Capponi were made, but they failed to conquer

2552-527: The 1980s and the 1990s, featuring several world-class players such as Diego Simeone , Christian Vieri and Dunga during this time. The club play at the Arena Garibaldi – Stadio Romeo Anconetani , opened in 1919 and with a capacity of 25,000. Shooting was one of the first sports to have their own association in Pisa. The Società del Tiro a Segno di Pisa was founded on July 9, 1862. In 1885, they acquired their own training field. The shooting range

2640-532: The 2007 municipal census it had 6779 inhabitants. The Villaggio Piaggio ( Piaggio Village ) neighborhood was built by Piaggio for its employees and inside it contains all the necessary infrastructures to be autonomous. Another one is the Antonio Gramsci communal village, which is developed north of the railway east of the Villaggio Piaggio. This Province of Pisa location article is

2728-471: The Anglo-Americans because of the presence of military aircraft manufacturing plants by Piaggio. The 3 main bombings occurred on 6 January 1944, when the station area was hit; on 18 January, when the open-air area of the "Orto dei Rosati" was targeted (and where people had taken refuge believing it to be safe); and on 21 January 1944, when factories and houses were hit. By the end of the conflict, half

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2816-462: The Arno and the Serchio, whose mouth lies about 11 km (7 mi) north of the Arno's, the shore moved west. Strabo states that the city was 4.0 km (2.5 mi) away from the coast. Currently, it is located 9.7 km (6 mi) from the coast. However, it was a maritime city, with ships sailing up the Arno. In the 90s AD, a baths complex was built in the city. During the last years of

2904-511: The Bridge) which was celebrated (in some form) in Pisa from perhaps the 1200s down to 1807. From the end of the 1400s the game took the form of a mock battle fought upon Pisa's central bridge ( Ponte di Mezzo ). The participants wore quilted armor and the only offensive weapon allowed was the targone , a shield-shaped, stout board with precisely specified dimensions. Hitting below the belt was not allowed. Two opposing teams started at opposite ends of

2992-582: The Byzantine Empire, overcoming Venice itself. In 1113, Pisa and Pope Paschal II set up, together with the count of Barcelona and other contingents from Provence and Italy (Genoese excluded), a war to free the Balearic Islands from the Moors ; the queen and the king of Majorca were brought in chains to Tuscany. Though the Almoravides soon reconquered the island, the booty taken helped

3080-494: The Genoese attacked several galleys on their way home to the motherland, and lasted until 1133. The two cities fought each other on land and at sea, but hostilities were limited to raids and pirate-like assaults. In June 1135, Bernard of Clairvaux took a leading part in the Council of Pisa , asserting the claims of Pope Innocent II against those of Pope Anacletus II , who had been elected pope in 1130 with Norman support, but

3168-697: The Genoese predominance in the southern Tyrrhenian Sea, Pisa strengthened its relationship with its traditional Spanish and French bases (Marseille, Narbonne , Barcelona , etc.) and tried to defy the Venetian rule of the Adriatic Sea . In 1180, the two cities agreed to a nonaggression treaty in the Tyrrhenian and the Adriatic, but the death of Emperor Manuel Comnenus in Constantinople changed

3256-613: The Leaning Tower zone. There was another station called Pisa Aeroporto situated next to the Airport with services to Pisa Centrale and Florence . It was closed on December 15, 2013, for the realization of a people mover . Pisa is connected to Autostrada A11 from Florence and to Autostrada A12 linking Genoa - Rosignano with exit Pisa Nord and Pisa Centro – Airport . Pisa%E2%80%93Florence railway The Pisa–Florence railway (formerly known in Italian as

3344-696: The Leopolda railway and the Maria Antonia railway leading to the Maria Antonia station near the current Florence main station . Later, with the construction of the Livorno–Rome railway and the opening of the new Livorno Centrale railway station in 1910, the San Marco station was greatly reduced in importance. The first genuinely commercially viable Italian railway remained unchanged outside

3432-466: The Lombards under the command of Desiderius in 774, Pisa went through a crisis, but soon recovered. Politically, it became part of the duchy of Lucca . In 860, Pisa was captured by vikings led by Björn Ironside . In 930, Pisa became the county centre (status it maintained until the arrival of Otto I ) within the mark of Tuscia . Lucca was the capital but Pisa was the most important city, as in

3520-487: The Mediterranean and the prominence of the merchant class urged a modification in the city's institutes. The system with consuls was abandoned, and in 1230, the new city rulers named a capitano del popolo ("people's chieftain") as civil and military leader. Despite these reforms, the conquered lands and the city itself were harassed by the rivalry between the two families of Della Gherardesca and Visconti . In 1237

3608-816: The Pisan crusaders were led by their archbishop Daibert , the future patriarch of Jerusalem . Pisa and the other Repubbliche Marinare took advantage of the crusade to establish trading posts and colonies in the Eastern coastal cities of the Levant . In particular, the Pisans founded colonies in Antiochia , Acre, Jaffa , Tripoli , Tyre , Latakia , and Accone. They also had other possessions in Jerusalem and Caesarea , plus smaller colonies (with lesser autonomy) in Cairo , Alexandria , and of course Constantinople , where

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3696-718: The Pisans in their magnificent programme of buildings, especially the cathedral , and Pisa gained a role of pre-eminence in the Western Mediterranean . In the following years, the powerful Pisan fleet, led by archbishop Pietro Moriconi , drove away the Saracens after ferocious battles. Though short-lived, this Pisan success in Spain increased the rivalry with Genoa. Pisa's trade with Languedoc , Provence ( Noli , Savona , Fréjus , and Montpellier ) were an obstacle to Genoese interests in cities such as Hyères , Fos , Antibes , and Marseille . The war began in 1119 when

3784-553: The Pisans violated it by blockading the port of Brindisi in Apulia . In the following naval battle, they were defeated by the Venetians. The war that followed ended in 1206 with a treaty in which Pisa gave up all its hopes to expand in the Adriatic, though it maintained the trading posts it had established in the area. From that point on, the two cities were united against the rising power of Genoa and sometimes collaborated to increase

3872-463: The Polo Valdera, and the "Felice Lotti" hospital. The residential area consists mainly of small villas. The newly developed western area can be divided into Sozzifanti to the north and Galimberti to the south. The former is the only area in all of Pontedera that does not have its own church. In the 2007 municipal census, the neighborhood had 4648 inhabitants. It is the area east of the town. It

3960-595: The Swiss-born contractor Pierre Senn of Livorno , to build a railway between Florence and the Port of Livorno . After raising the necessary capital in 40 days, the two financiers established a technical committee of nine members headed by Count Luigi Serristori . On 5 July, two routes had been prepared to meet the business's needs, and were submitted for consideration by the English engineer Robert Stephenson , son of

4048-431: The Visconti family from Milan and eventually to Florence again. Livorno took over the role of the main port of Tuscany. Pisa acquired a mainly cultural role spurred by the presence of the University of Pisa , created in 1343, and later reinforced by the Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa (1810) and Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies (1987). Pisa was the birthplace of the important early physicist Galileo Galilei . It

4136-436: The aid of the Norman Roger I , took Palermo from the Saracen pirates. The gold treasure taken from the Saracens in Palermo allowed the Pisans to start the building of their cathedral and the other monuments which constitute the famous Piazza del Duomo . In 1060, Pisa engaged in its first battle with Genoa . The Pisan victory helped to consolidate its position in the Mediterranean. Pope Gregory VII recognised in 1077

4224-489: The apex of Pisa's power, but also spurred the resentment of other cities such as Lucca , Massa , Volterra , and Florence , thwarting their aim to expand towards the sea. The clash with Lucca also concerned the possession of the castle of Montignoso and mainly the control of the Via Francigena , the main trade route between Rome and France. Last, but not least, such a sudden and large increase of power by Pisa could only lead to another war with Genoa. Genoa had acquired

4312-429: The archbishop and the Emperor Frederick II intervened to reconcile the two rivals, but the strains continued. In 1254, the people rebelled and imposed 12 Anziani del Popolo ("People's Elders") as their political representatives in the commune. They also supplemented the legislative councils, formed of noblemen, with new People's Councils, composed by the main guilds and by the chiefs of the People's Companies. These had

4400-429: The benevolent and efficient house of Lorraine. In 1824, upon the death of Ferdinand III , the government of the Grand Duchy passed to his son Leopold II (Italian: "Leopoldo"). The young king was tolerant of liberal ideas, an advocate for important public works and well disposed towards the new technology and private initiative. He approved proposals, formulated in March 1838 by the Florentine banker Emanuele Fenzi and

4488-461: The bridge fight there. The fighters arrived fully armored, wearing helmets, each carrying their banner, which was planted at both ends of the bridge, which is quite wide and long. The battle is fought with certain wooden implements made for this purpose, which they wear over their arms and are attached to them, with which they pummel each other so intensely that I saw several of them carried away with bloody and crushed heads. Victory consists of capturing

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4576-468: The bridge, in the same way as the fistfights in Venice between the it:Castellani and the Nicolotti ." In 1927 the tradition was revived by college students as an elaborate costume parade. In 1935 Vittorio Emanuele III with the royal family witnessed the first revival of a modern version of the game, which has been pursued in the 20th and 21st centuries with some interruptions and varying degrees of enthusiasm by Pisans and their civic institutions. While

4664-520: The bridge. The object of the two opposing teams was to penetrate, drive back, and disperse the opponents' ranks and to thereby drive them backwards off the bridge. The struggle was limited to forty-five minutes. Victory or defeat was immensely important to the team players and their partisans, but sometimes the game was fought to a draw and both sides celebrated. In 1677 the battle was witnessed by Dutch travelling artist Cornelis de Bruijn . He wrote: "While I stayed in Livorno , I went to Pisa to witness

4752-412: The city contains more than twenty other historic churches, several medieval palaces, and bridges across the Arno. Much of the city's architecture was financed from its history as one of the Italian maritime republics . The city is also home to the University of Pisa , which has a history going back to the 12th century, the Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa , founded by Napoleon in 1810, and its offshoot,

4840-522: The city was devastated, 370 people had lost their lives and thousands had been injured. Gello , Il Romito , La Borra , La Rotta , Montecastello , Pardossi , Santa Lucia , Treggiaia The average annual temperature is 18.60 °C (65,48 °F ). In summer months, temperatures can reach as high as 40°C (104°F), while in winter months sunrise temperatures can be below freezing. Pontedera boasts great secondary schools in Tuscany, located in an urban area called "Villaggio Scolastico" ( school village ). which

4928-402: The city. Vitellozzo Vitelli with his brother Paolo were the only ones who actually managed to break the strong defences of Pisa and make a breach in the Stampace bastion in the southern west part of the walls, but he did not enter the city. For that, they were suspected of treachery and Paolo was put to death. However, the resources of Pisa were getting low, and at the end, the city was sold to

5016-400: The command of Uguccione della Faggiuola . Eventually, however, after a long siege, Pisa was occupied by Florentines in 1405. Florentines corrupted the capitano del popolo ("people's chieftain"), Giovanni Gambacorta, who at night opened the city gate of San Marco. Pisa was never conquered by an army. In 1409, Pisa was the seat of a council trying to set the question of the Great Schism . In

5104-430: The end came when the Arno started to change course, preventing the galleys from reaching the city's port up the river. The nearby area also likely became infested with malaria . The true end came in 1324, when Sardinia was entirely lost to the Aragonese . Always Ghibelline, Pisa tried to build up its power in the course of the 14th century, and even managed to defeat Florence in the Battle of Montecatini (1315), under

5192-415: The first stretch between Livorno and Pisa (12.3 km) occurred a few days later on 13 March and the next day it was opened to the public. The line was a great success, both for goods and passengers, and led to the acceleration of construction. Pontedera was reached on 19 October 1845 (19.4 km), Empoli on 21 June 1847 (km 26.8) and the following year on 10 June 1848, the entire 97 km long line

5280-490: The ground. In due course Stephenson proposed a route which corresponded with the current line along the Arno valley; he presented the final draft on the 30 April 1839. This proposal was finally adopted by Grand Duke Leopold II on 25 February 1840. The 7 June 1841 the first meeting of the company was held with the election of the board of directors, which voted to adopt the name of Società Anonima per la Strada Ferrata Leopolda (Italian: Leopolda Railway Company ) in honour of

5368-443: The jurisdiction over the Pisan countryside, the Pisans were granted freedom of trade in the whole empire, the coast from Civitavecchia to Portovenere , a half of Palermo , Messina , Salerno and Naples , the whole of Gaeta , Mazara , and Trapani , and a street with houses for its merchants in every city of the Kingdom of Sicily . Some of these grants were later confirmed by Henry VI , Otto IV , and Frederick II . They marked

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5456-480: The king, hence the name Leopolda Railway . Work started on a single track from Livorno to the port of Livorno. On 27 January 1844, the first trips were made between Pisa to Livorno with two test trains. The first consisting of the locomotive and a first-class train took about twenty invited guests from Pisa to Livorno in just a quarter of an hour. The second had three cars and with over two hundred guests and arrived in Livorno in 17 minutes. The official inauguration of

5544-411: The local carters of Montelupo Fiorentino who saw it as threatening their work, which consisted of the transport of goods to and from Florence on barged on the Arno river. In the spring of 1850 the doubling of the line was completed and in 1858 the Livorno port station was opened. The Leopolda station in Florence was short-lived, at least for passenger service: on 24 April 1860 a link was opened between

5632-403: The maritime power of Pisa and the town never fully recovered; in 1290, the Genoese destroyed forever the Porto Pisano (Pisa's port), and covered the land with salt . The region around Pisa did not permit the city to recover from the loss of thousands of sailors from the Meloria, while Liguria guaranteed enough sailors to Genoa. Goods, however, continued to be traded, albeit in reduced quantity, but

5720-402: The middle of tenth century Liutprand of Cremona , bishop of Cremona , called Pisa Tusciae provinciae caput ("capital of the province of Tuscia"), and a century later, the marquis of Tuscia was commonly referred to as "marquis of Pisa". In 1003, Pisa was the protagonist of the first communal war in Italy, against Lucca. From the naval point of view, since the ninth century, the emergence of

5808-402: The municipal administration. Other sights include: San Pietro in Vinculis . Known as San Pierino , it is an 11th-century church with a crypt and a cosmatesque mosaic on the floor of the main nave. Football is the main sport in Pisa; the local team, A.C. Pisa , currently plays in the Serie B (the second highest football division in Italy), and has had a top flight history throughout

5896-518: The new Pisa Mover system built by the Leitner company. Previously it was served by regional trains every thirty minutes, except for a break in the morning to allow maintenance on the line, and by some pairs of services, always regional, running from Florence Santa Maria Novella, which were also closed or now terminate at Pisa Centrale. In addition to regional trains, the line is also served by Frecciargento trains operated with ETR 485 sets and Frecciabianca trains operated with ETR 460 sets, running on

5984-407: The new "Laws and customs of the sea" instituted by the Pisans, and emperor Henry IV granted them the right to name their own consuls, advised by a council of elders. This was simply a confirmation of the present situation, because in those years, the marquis had already been excluded from power. In 1092, Pope Urban II awarded Pisa the supremacy over Corsica and Sardinia, and at the same time raising

6072-427: The north by the Arno river , on the east by the Era river , and on the south by the railway. The main pedestrian street is Corso Matteotti, home to stores, bars, bakeries and businesses. Other main streets are Via Gotti, Via Lotti, Via Roma and Via I° Maggio. In the 2007 municipal census, the neighborhood had 7943 inhabitants. It is the area south of the railway. It is home to the headquarters of Piaggio, its museum,

6160-416: The northern section, ending in Pisa connecting with the A12 Motorway , and the southern section, ending in Livorno. Urban public bus transportation is operated by Autolinee Toscane ( CTT Nord before the merger of activities in 2021) with two paid urban routes (previously three) and two free shuttle services. There are suburban lines connecting it with a variety of Tuscan cities. Pontedera train station

6248-405: The pioneer of railways George Stephenson , who was then in charge of developing the project. Stephenson was persuaded to take part in the project by Orazio Hall, brother of Fenzi's wife, and Augustine Kotzian, former president of the Livorno Chamber of Commerce , who went to London to meet him in August 1838. Stephenson appointed his assistants William Hopper and William Bray to study the route on

6336-522: The port, assaulted the castles in the surrounding areas, and drove back an army sent by Roger from Aversa . This victory brought Pisa to the peak of its power and to a standing equal to Venice. Two years later, its soldiers sacked Salerno . In the following years, Pisa was one of the staunchest supporters of the Ghibelline party. This was much appreciated by Frederick I . He issued in 1162 and 1165 two important documents, with these grants: Apart from

6424-525: The power to ratify the laws of the Major General Council and the Senate. The decline is said to have begun on August 6, 1284, when the numerically superior fleet of Pisa, under the command of Albertino Morosini , was defeated by the brilliant tactics of the Genoese fleet, under the command of Benedetto Zaccaria and Oberto Doria , in the dramatic naval Battle of Meloria . This defeat ended

6512-465: The situation. Soon, attacks on Venetian convoys were made. Pisa signed trade and political pacts with Ancona , Pula , Zara , Split , and Brindisi ; in 1195, a Pisan fleet reached Pola to defend its independence from Venice, but the Serenissima soon reconquered the rebel sea town. One year later, the two cities signed a peace treaty, which resulted in favourable conditions for Pisa, but in 1199,

6600-552: The south of Italy. Pisa was in continuous conflict with some ' Saracens ' - a medieval term to refer to Arab Muslims - who had their bases in Corsica, for control of the Mediterranean. In 1017, Sardinian Giudicati were militarily supported by Pisa, in alliance with Genoa, to defeat the Saracen King Mugahid, who had settled a logistic base in the north of Sardinia the year before. This victory gave Pisa supremacy in

6688-614: The town to the rank of archbishopric. Pisa sacked the Tunisian city of Mahdia in 1088. Four years later, Pisan and Genoese ships helped Alfonso VI of Castilla to push El Cid out of Valencia . A Pisan fleet of 120 ships also took part in the First Crusade , and the Pisans were instrumental in the taking of Jerusalem in 1099. On their way to the Holy Land , the ships did not miss the occasion to sack some Byzantine islands;

6776-601: The trading benefits in Constantinople. In 1209 in Lerici , two councils for a final resolution of the rivalry with Genoa were held. A 20-year peace treaty was signed, but when in 1220, the emperor Frederick II confirmed his supremacy over the Tyrrhenian coast from Civitavecchia to Portovenere , the Genoese and Tuscan resentment against Pisa grew again. In the following years, Pisa clashed with Lucca in Garfagnana and

6864-549: The urban areas of Florence and Livorno until 2006, when a deviation of about 9.5 km between Montelupo Fiorentino and San Donnino was opened to avoid the tortuous (but very scenic when viewed from above) route near the narrow section of Arno valley (known as the Gonfolina). The deviation was authorised in 1995 after a decade of discussion. Trenitalia , in collaboration with the Tuscany region, activated from 1 February 2009

6952-607: Was almost completely destroyed during World War II. Pisa has an international airport known as Pisa International Airport or normally Galileo Galilei located in San Giusto neighbourhood in Pisa. It is served by twenty-one airlines connecting eleven domestic and sixty-one international destinations (seasonal included). The airport is connected to Pisa Centrale railway station by a people mover system 2 km (1.2 mi) long, called Pisamover inaugurated in March 2017. It

7040-430: Was created for military use as an airfield for airships and later repurposed for aircraft in built in 1913, on the eve of World War I . After World War II it lost importance because of the nearby Pisa airport . The same passed into use by Piaggio until it was completely dismantled. In its original place today stands the new Pontedera industrial zone (PIP III). Extending westward to the railway station, it's bounded on

7128-714: Was defeated by the Florentines at Castel del Bosco. The strong Ghibelline position of Pisa brought this town diametrically against the Pope, who was in a dispute with the Holy Roman Empire , and indeed the pope tried to deprive Pisa of its dominions in northern Sardinia . In 1238, Pope Gregory IX formed an alliance between Genoa and Venice against the empire, and consequently against Pisa, too. One year later, he excommunicated Frederick II and called for an anti-Empire council to be held in Rome in 1241. On May 3, 1241,

7216-681: Was defeated here by the Florentine troops. On 11 June 1554, there was a pyrrhic victory in the last effort by the Republic of Siena to retain its independence, when Piero Strozzi won against the Florentines. Two months later he was decisively defeated at the Battle of Marciano , an event which marked the end of the Senese independence. Pontedera was heavily bombed during World War II by

7304-512: Was excommunicated. This extreme measure was only removed in 1257. Anyway, the Tuscan city tried to take advantage of the favourable situation to conquer the Corsican city of Aleria and even lay siege to Genoa itself in 1243. The Ligurian republic of Genoa, however, recovered fast from this blow and won back Lerici , conquered by the Pisans some years earlier, in 1256. The great expansion in

7392-507: Was followed by a series of battles culminating in the Genoese conquest of Syracuse in 1204. Later, the trading posts in Sicily were lost when the new Pope Innocent III , though removing the excommunication cast over Pisa by his predecessor Celestine III , allied himself with the Guelph League of Tuscany, led by Florence. Soon, he stipulated a pact with Genoa, too, further weakening the Pisan presence in southern Italy. To counter

7480-400: Was not recognised outside Rome. Innocent II resolved the conflict with Genoa, establishing Pisan and Genoese spheres of influence. Pisa could then, unhindered by Genoa, participate in the conflict of Innocent II against king Roger II of Sicily . Amalfi , one of the maritime republics (though already declining under Norman rule), was conquered on August 6, 1136; the Pisans destroyed the ships in

7568-516: Was one the companies of the consortium ONE Scarl to accomplish the contract stipulated with the Regione Toscana for the public transport in the 2018-2019 period. The fleet consisted of 70 urban, 15 suburban and 260 intercity buses. Since 1 November 2021 the public local transport is managed by Autolinee Toscane . The city is served by two railway stations available for passengers: Pisa Centrale and Pisa San Rossore . Pisa Centrale

7656-421: Was opened to traffic from Livorno San Marco station to Leopolda station, just outside Florence's city walls at Porta al Prato. The locomotives, rails and infrastructure were all built by Stephenson's company, including the bridge over the Arno, which survived for almost 100 years. The construction of the railway brought great economic benefits but it also had social implications. It was resisted physically by

7744-545: Was the sole Byzantine centre of Tuscia to fall peacefully in Lombard hands, through assimilation with the neighbouring region where their trading interests were prevalent. Pisa began in this way its rise to the role of main port of the Upper Tyrrhenian Sea and became the main trading centre between Tuscany and Corsica , Sardinia , and the southern coasts of France and Spain. After Charlemagne had defeated

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