Ancient times 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 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 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 a base for Roman naval expeditions against
Ligurians and
Gauls. In 180 BC, it became a Roman colony under Roman law, as . In 89 BC, became a
municipium. Emperor
Augustus fortified the colony into an important port and changed the name to . Pisa supposedly was founded on the shore, but due to the alluvial sediments from the Arno and the Serchio, whose mouth lies about north of the Arno's, the shore moved west. Strabo states that the city was away from the coast. Currently, it is located 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.
Late Antiquity and Early Middle Ages During the last years of 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. Pisa 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 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 the middle of tenth century
Liutprand of Cremona, bishop of
Cremona, called Pisa ("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 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.
11th century The power of Pisa as 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 (). 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 in the south of Italy. Pisa, which was attacked in 1011, was in continuous conflict with some '
Saracens' - a medieval term to refer to Arab
Muslims - who had their bases in Corsica. 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 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 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 . 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 the new "Laws and customs of the sea" instituted by the Pisans, and in 1081 Emperor
Henry IV recognized their communal government. 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 the town to the rank of archbishopric. The Pisan fleet captured the
Zirid city of
Mahdia in 1087, securing a ransom from its ruler. 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; the Pisan crusaders were led by their archbishop
Daibert, the future
patriarch of Jerusalem. Pisa and the other 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 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 the Byzantine Empire, overcoming
Venice itself.
12th century 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
Mallorca were brought in chains to Tuscany. Though the
Almoravides soon reconquered the island, the booty taken helped 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 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 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 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 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 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 , 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 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 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 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 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, 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 the trading benefits in Constantinople.
13th century 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 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, 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 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 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 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 ("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 the power to ratify the laws of the Major General Council and the Senate.
Decline ''. 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 the maritime power of Pisa and the town never fully recovered; 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 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 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, later reinforced by the
Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa, founded in 1810 with a decree by
Napoleon, and more recently by
Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies (1987). For fourteen years between 1801 and 1815, Tuscany came under French and Spanish domination. In 1801, the region became the
Kingdom of Etruria, created from the
Grand Duchy of Tuscany under the
Treaty of Aranjuez, ruled by King
Louis I of Etruria, a cousin of the
King of Spain, as part of a larger agreement between
Napoleonic France and
Spain. However, after only six years, in 1807, Napoleon dissolved the kingdom and integrated it into France, with Pisa being within the new French
department of
Méditerranée. But only eight years later, after the final total
defeat of Napoleon in 1814, the department was disbanded in 1815, under the terms of the
Congress of Vienna, and the Grand Duchy of Tuscany was restored to its previous
Habsburg-Lorraine prince,
Ferdinand III. Pisa was the birthplace of the important early physicist
Galileo Galilei. It 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. ==Geography==