Place dei cavalieri

Piazza dei Cavalieri is the second largest square of Pisa, the historical center of the city, with which the main events of its history are connected. There are several palaces on the square, the High School of Pisa and the Church of St. Stephen. In the formation of the architectural ensemble of the square, the outstanding art critic of the Renaissance Giorgio Vasari took an active part.

The name Piazza dei Cavalieri is translated into Russian as “the square of the knights”. The origin of this place name dates back to the XIII century and the activities of the knightly order of St. Stephen. On the square was built a church in the name of the saint.

In 1254, the Palace of the People and Elders was built here, the main building of the independent commune of Pisa. The majestic facade of the building is decorated with huge sgraphitto – drawings imitating architectural elements of decor, and statues of Tuscan dukes. Subsequently, this building housed the main educational institution of Pisa – the Higher School.

The square also houses the Gualandi Tower, where, according to legend, the disgraced ruler of medieval Pisa Ugolino died of hunger, whose tragic death was described by the great Dante in The Divine Comedy.

Giorgio Vasari, a Florentine architect and art historian, designed in the middle of the XVI century a new church of St. Stephen, he was also the initiator of the installation on the square of the monument to the Grand Duke of Florence Cosimo Medici, patron of arts and patron of arts.