Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
southern
lungarno
(riverside embankment), from where shopping boulevard
Corso Italia
legs it to the central train station, Stazione Centrale. Don't miss the waterside, triple-
little Pisan-Gothic church encrusted with tabernacles and statues. It was built between
1230 and 1223 to house a reliquary of a
spina
(thorn) from Christ's crown, but is unfortu-
nately closed today.
Pisa's medieval heart lies north of the water: from
Piazza Cairoli
, with its evening bevy
of bars and gelato shops, meander along
Via Cavour
and get lost in the surrounding lanes
and alleys. A daily fresh-produce market fills
Piazza delle Vettovaglie
, ringed with 15th-cen-
tury porticoes and cafe terraces.
Palazzo Blu
MAP
ART GALLERY
GOOGLE MAP
(
www.palazzoblu.it
;
Lungarno Gambacorti 9; 10am-7pm Tue-Fri, to 8pm Sat & Sun)
Facing
the river is this magnificently restored, 14th-century building that has a striking dusty-blue
facade. Inside, its over-the-top 19th-century interior decoration is the perfect backdrop for
the Foundation CariPisa's art collection - predominantly Pisan works from the 14th to the
20th centuries, plus various temporary exhibitions.
Museo Nazionale di San Matteo
(Piazza San Matteo in Soarta; adult/reduced €5/2.50; 8.30am-7pm Tue-Sat, to 1.30pm Sun)
This in-
spiring repository of medieval masterpieces sits in a 13th-century Benedictine convent on
the Arno's northern waterfront boulevard. The gallery's collection of paintings from the
Tuscan school (c 12th to 14th centuries) is notable, with works by Lippo Memmi, Taddeo
Gaddi, Gentile da Fabriano and Ghirlandaio. Don't miss Masaccio's
St Paul,
Fra An-
gelico's
Madonna of Humility
and Simone Martini's
Polyptych of Saint Catherine.
Equally engaging is the collection of 14th- and 15th-century Pisan sculptures, including
pieces by Nicola and Giovanni Pisano, Andrea and Nino Pisano, Francesco di Valdam-
brino, Donatello, Michelozzo and Andrea della Robbia.
ART GALLERY
Domus Mazziniana
MAP
MUSEUM
GOOGLE MAP
(
www.domusmazziniana.it
;
Via Mazzini 71; 9am-12.30pm Mon-Fri)
One glimpse of the
beautiful renovated facade of Palazzo Nathan-Rosselli, the Pisan mansion where Italian
