Pisa does not show off its treasures, the visitor will be surprised by the amount of artistical masterpiecies, the cultural and spiritual peculiarities that were the expression of the economical and intellecual development reached by the Republic between the XI and the XIV c. Confortable shoes and our guide by your side are all you need for a half or a full day tour through the ‘heart’ of the city to the discovery of this ‘hidden’ treasures.

THE MEDIEVAL QUARTERS : This itinerary starts from the Dominican church of Santa Caterina, where Saint Tommaso d'Aquino preached during his visit in Pisa (his personal Chair is here on exibition). This church also houses several precious paintings and sculpures. Through Medieval narrow streets we get to the Church of San Francesco, founded by the saint himself. Important artists were asked to decorate this temple, such as Giotto, Tommaso Pisano, Niccolò di Pietro Gerini. St. Francis’s habit is here kept and visible inside a reliquary. In this church the Angelus was written and for the first time said. Not far away from here we can find an interesting example of Pisan baroque: the Church of San Matteo. The sumptuous baroque internal decorations (frescoes, stuccoes and canvas) are no little surprise since the external structure is a well preserved example of Pisan Romanesque. Crossing the river Arno, we get to the quarter of San Martino, named after the Parish church. Once again, this church is kind of a museum of paintings belonging to several artistical periods and made by important artists. A rare example of XVIII c. religious scenographic machinery is here kept. A few steps away, on the riverside, stands the XII c. Church of Santo Sepolcro, originally it was also a hospital and monastery. Pisan seat for the Knights Hospitaller (Order of St. John, later Knights of Malta), its structure reminds indeed that of the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, conquered by the crusaders in 1099. In a five minutes walk, we get to one of the main shopping streets of Pisa: Corso Italia. This quarter is dedicated to S. Antonio and was heavily rebuilt after the Second World War bombing. On one side of the Parish church, the american artist Keith Haring made in 1989 a huge mural representing “The Global World” Back to the riverside, the itinerary ends with a visit to Santa Maria della Spina. This tiny Medieval chapel was tranformed in the XIV c. into one of the most outstanding Gothic edifices of Europe. A shrine, a precious reliquary enriched with sculpure masterpiecies (Andrea and Nino Pisano, Giovanni di Balduccio), whose name of Spina ("thorn") derives from the presence of a thorn allegedly part of the crown dressed by Christ on the Cross and brought here in 1333 (nowadays visible in the church dedicated to S. Chiara).
Duration of the guided tour: to be agreed upon with the guide. Entrance fees: Church of Santa Maria della Spina: € 1,50