Knights' Square (Pisa)
Encyclopedia
Pisa
Pisa is a city in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the right bank of the mouth of the River Arno on the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, and the second main square of the city. This square was the political centre in medieval Pisa. After the middle of 16th century the square become the headquarters of the Order of the Knights of St. Stephen.
Now it is a centre of education, being the main house of the Scuola Normale di Pisa, a higher learning institution part of the University.
Middle Ages
It is located at the same place as the forumForum (Roman)
A forum was a public square in a Roman municipium, or any civitas, reserved primarily for the vending of goods; i.e., a marketplace, along with the buildings used for shops and the stoas used for open stalls...
of the antique Portus Pisanus, the harbor of Pisa in Roman age.
The square, known as Square of the seven streets (Piazza delle sette vie) was the political heart of the city, where the Pisans used to discuss their problems or celebrate their victories. Since 1140 the square become the center of Pisa Comune
Comune
In Italy, the comune is the basic administrative division, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.-Importance and function:...
, with buildings and churches belonging to the different magistracies, including the city administrator.
After the victory of the People of Pisa (Popolo Pisano) in 1254, the Palace of the People and the Elders (Palazzo del Popolo e degli Anziani). was built on the square by joining some pre-existent buildings The Captain of the People (Capitano del Popolo) was housed in the near Clock Palace (since 1357), which incorporated some previous existing towers. The southern part of the square was rebuilt with offices, law courts and the residence of the Podestà
Podestà
Podestà is the name given to certain high officials in many Italian cities, since the later Middle Ages, mainly as Chief magistrate of a city state , but also as a local administrator, the representative of the Emperor.The term derives from the Latin word potestas, meaning power...
. There was also the church of Saint Sebastian alle Fabbriche Maggiori, destroyed by Vasari. The church, that was standing there at least since 1074, took the name by the offices of the blacksmiths (fabbri in Italian), located in the area.
Renaissance
On this square the emissary of FlorenceFlorence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
proclaimed the end of the independence of Pisa in 1406. After the conquest of Pisa, the buildings remained the same, but changed public offices, a Florentine Commissioner and the Priors instead of the Elders, and a chief of custody instead of the Captain of the People.
Later, in 1558, the square was rebuilt in Renaissance style by Giorgio Vasari
Giorgio Vasari
Giorgio Vasari was an Italian painter, writer, historian, and architect, who is famous today for his biographies of Italian artists, considered the ideological foundation of art-historical writing.-Biography:...
, the famous architect of the Grand Duke Cosimo I de' Medici of Florence. He designed the Church of the Knights of the Holy and Military Order of St. Stephen (1565–1569), but it was mainly built by other architects. It replaced the church of Saint Sebastian, This is the only church in Pisa in Renaissance style. It contains the Turkish banners captured by the Knights of St. Stephen during the naval battle of Lepanto
Battle of Lepanto (1571)
The Battle of Lepanto took place on 7 October 1571 when a fleet of the Holy League, a coalition of Catholic maritime states, decisively defeated the main fleet of the Ottoman Empire in five hours of fighting on the northern edge of the Gulf of Patras, off western Greece...
on 7 October 1571.
The main building on the square is Palazzo della Carovana
Palazzo della Carovana
Palazzo della Carovana is a palace in Knights' Square, Pisa, Italy, presently housing the Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa....
, the palace of the Knights of St. Stephen, and formerly the Palace of the Elders. It was modernised in Renaissance style by Giorgio Vasari. The awesome façade is decorated with sgraffiti
Sgraffito
Sgraffito is a technique either of wall decor, produced by applying layers of plaster tinted in contrasting colors to a moistened surface, or in ceramics, by applying to an unfired ceramic body two successive layers of contrasting slip, and then in either case scratching so as to produce an...
, equally by Vasari, and contains six niches with busts of grand dukes of Tuscany
Tuscany
Tuscany is a region in Italy. It has an area of about 23,000 square kilometres and a population of about 3.75 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence ....
.
In front of the palace stands the large statue
Statue of Cosimo I
The statue of Cosimo I de' Medici stands in the middle of Knights' Square of Pisa, just in front of Palazzo della Carovana.It was commissioned by Grand Duke Ferdinando I in 1596 to the Franco-Flemish sculptor Pietro Francavilla, who executed it in the elegant Late Mannerist tradition. The statue...
of Cosimo I de Medici by Pietro Francavilla
Pietro Francavilla
Pierre Franqueville, generally called Pietro Francavilla , was a Franco-Flemish sculptor trained in Florence, who provided sculpture for Italian and French patrons in the elegant Late Mannerist tradition established by Giambologna....
, who also designed the Palace of the Priors in 1603.
In the other corner of the square stands the Palazzo dell'Orologio.
20th century
Nowadays the Palazzo della Carovana houses the main building of the Scuola Normale Superiore di PisaScuola Normale Superiore di Pisa
The Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa, also known in Italian as Scuola Normale , is a public higher learning institution in Italy. It was founded in 1810, by Napoleonic decree, as a branch of the École Normale Supérieure of Paris...
, and many buildings in the square belong to that University : libraries, departments, courtrooms.
There is also the house of the Confraternita della Misericordia, a catholic ambulance service.
Buildings in the square
- Chiesa di Santo Stefano dei Cavalieri
- Palazzo della CarovanaPalazzo della CarovanaPalazzo della Carovana is a palace in Knights' Square, Pisa, Italy, presently housing the Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa....
- Statue of Cosimo IStatue of Cosimo IThe statue of Cosimo I de' Medici stands in the middle of Knights' Square of Pisa, just in front of Palazzo della Carovana.It was commissioned by Grand Duke Ferdinando I in 1596 to the Franco-Flemish sculptor Pietro Francavilla, who executed it in the elegant Late Mannerist tradition. The statue...
- Palazzo dell'Orologio
- Church of St. Rocco
- Palazzo del Collegio PuteanoPalazzo del Collegio PuteanoThe Palazzo del Collegio Puteano is a building in Piazza dei Cavalieri in Pisa, Italy.The palace, located near to the Church of St Rocco, was built in the present form between 1549 and 1598, by joining a group of previous houses.In 1605, it was given in perpetual rent to the Knights of St Stephen,...
- Palazzo del Consiglio dei Dodici
- Canonica
- Muda TowerTorre dei GualandiThe Torre dei Gualandi is a former tower in Pisa, central Italy, now included in the Palazzo dell'Orologio.It is located on the north part of the Piazza dei Cavalieri....
Images gallery
External links
- Interactive high resolution 360° Panoramic photo of Piazza dei Cavalieri - virtual tour by Hans von Weissenfluh