Associazione Città Italiane Patrimonio Mondiale UNESCO

Pisa was an important Roman port; in 193 BC Pisa and Rome were allies in the war against the Ligurii and later Pisa became a Roman colony and carried out important functions in regulating maritime traffic. The wars between Rome and the Ligurii saw the destruction of the city many times, but it was always rebuilt. At the time of the barbarian invasions, Pisa was plundered by the Goths, who introduced decadence. In the 7th century, Pope St. Gregory the Great commissioned numerous ships from Pisa for the war against the Byzantines. With the coronation of Charlemagne in the 9th century as Holy Roman Emperor, Pisa began to enjoy a certain amount of independence and economic development. In the year 1000, Pisa was at war with Lucca, which later lost. At the same time, the seafaring Republic of Pisa liberated Reggio Calabria, the Æolian islands, and later Corsica and Sardinia, which were happy to enter under Pisan dominion.
In 1088, the Pisan fleet conquered Tunis. Pisa's enormous prestige and unheard-of riches meant that she was always at war with Lucca and the seafaring Republics of Amalfi and Genoa. Between 1164 and 1175, they all sided up with Frederick Barbarossa. The Pisan fleet took part in the crusade urged by Popes Gregory VIII and, later, Clement III. During the feuding between Guelphs (pro-Pope) and Ghibellines (pro-emperor), the Ghibelline Pisa sided with Frederick II.
In 1284, the navies of Genoa and Pisa met and this point marks the start of Pisa's decline.
With the arrival in Italy of Charles VIII, Pisa rebelled against their Florentine overlords, but in 1509 they were forced to surrender once again. Under the Medici Dynasty, Pisa enjoyed a rebirth. Cosimo I rebuilt the university, regulated the flow of rivers and founded the Sacred Military Order of the Knights of St. Stephen, with its headquarters in Pisa. Ferdinand I ordered the building of aqueducts and opened a great canal connecting Pisa to the sea.
Before being annexed by the Kingdom of Italy, Pisa was ruled by the Lorraine family, a cadet branch of the Hapsburgs.
Pisa look out over a recess in the Arno river, and has kept her urban layout intact, with all the churches, squares, and mediaeval houses. Many are the places of interest, viz: Campo dei Miracoli, with the Cathedral, the Baptistery, the leaning tower and cemetery, the 16th-century centre of Medici civilisation - the Piazza dei Cavalieri – and the nearby university.
Industry is closely connected to several large glass- and steel-making factories, textile works, drugs companies, and the tiling and packaging industry. Other industries on the rise are business and tourism.
Also important are the natural beauties of the Arno valley, the largest alluvial plain in the whole of Tuscany or along the Tyrrhenian coast. To the north is Monte Pisano, which separates Pisa from Lucca.