Province of Pisa

The Province of Pisa (Italian: Provincia di Pisa) is a province in the Tuscany region of central Italy. Its capital is the city of Pisa. With an area of 2,448 square kilometres (945 sq mi) and a total population of 421,642 (As of 2014), it is the second most populous and fifth largest province of Tuscany. It is subdivided into 37 comuni. With a history dating back to the Etruscans and Phoenicians, the province achieved considerable power and influence in the Mediterranean in the 12th and 13th centuries. Pisa, the provincial capital, is well known for its Leaning Tower which attracts tourists to the area with many historic landmarks.

History

The area has a long maritime history dating back to the Etruscans, tbe Phoenicians and the Gauls. Under the Roman Empire, it was responsible for naval battles against the Ligurians, Gauls and Carthaginians, becoming a Roman colony in 180 B.C. and gaining further colonial independence under Julius Caesar. Thanks to its complex river system, with the fall of the Roman Empire, Pisa did not suffer unduly and was able to combat Saracen pirates. In 828, it launched an expedition against the north African coast while in 871, Pisan troops helped to defend Salerno from the Moors.

Pisa

Pisa (/ˈpiːzə/; Italian pronunciation: [ˈpiːza]) is a city in Tuscany, Central Italy, straddling the River Arno just before it empties into the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower (the bell tower of the city's cathedral), the city of over 89,940 residents (around 200,000 with the metropolitan area) contains more than 20 other historic churches, several medieval palaces and various bridges across the River Arno. Much of the city's architecture was financed from its history as one of the Italian maritime republics.

The city is also home of the University of Pisa, which has a history going back to the 12th century and also has the mythic Napoleonic Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa and Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies as the best sanctioned Superior Graduate Schools in Italy.

History

Ancient times

The origin of the name, Pisa, is a mystery. While the origin of the city had remained unknown for centuries, the Pelasgi, the Greeks, the Etruscans, and the Ligurians had variously been proposed as founders of the city (for example, a colony of the ancient city of Pisa, Greece). Archaeological remains from the 5th century BC confirmed the existence of a city at the sea, trading with Greeks and Gauls. The presence of an Etruscan necropolis, discovered during excavations in the Arena Garibaldi in 1991, confirmed its Etruscan origins.

Arno

The Arno is a river in the Tuscany region of Italy. It is the most important river of central Italy after the Tiber.

Source and route

The river originates on Mount Falterona in the Casentino area of the Apennines, and initially takes a southward curve. The river turns to the west near Arezzo passing through Florence, Empoli and Pisa, flowing into the Tyrrhenian Sea at Marina di Pisa.

With a length of 241 kilometres (150 mi), it is the largest river in the region. It has many tributaries: Sieve at 60 kilometres (37 mi) long, Bisenzio at 49 kilometres (30 mi), and the Era, Elsa, Pesa, and Pescia. The drainage basin amounts to more than 8,200 square kilometres (3,200 sq mi) and drains the waters of the following subbasins:

Tuscany

Tuscany (/ˈtʌskəni/ TUSK-ə-nee; Italian: Toscana, pronounced [toˈskaːna]) is a region in central Italy with an area of about 23,000 square kilometres (8,900 sq mi) and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants (2013). The regional capital is Florence (Firenze).

Tuscany is known for its landscapes, traditions, history, artistic legacy and its influence on high culture. It is regarded as the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance and has been home to many figures influential in the history of art and science, and contains well-known museums such as the Uffizi and the Pitti Palace. Tuscany produces wines, including Chianti, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, Morellino di Scansano and Brunello di Montalcino. Having a strong linguistic and cultural identity, it is sometimes considered "a nation within a nation".

Seven Tuscan localities have been designated World Heritage Sites: the historic centre of Florence (1982); the historical centre of Siena (1995); the square of the Cathedral of Pisa (1987); the historical centre of San Gimignano (1990); the historical centre of Pienza (1996); the Val d'Orcia (2004), and the Medici Villas and Gardens (2013). Tuscany has over 120 protected nature reserves, making Tuscany and its capital Florence popular tourist destinations that attract millions of tourists every year. In 2012, the city of Florence was the world's 89th most visited city, with over 1.834 million arrivals.

Tyrrhenian Sea

The Tyrrhenian Sea (/tᵻˈriːniən ˈsiː/; Corsican: Mari Tirrenu, French: Mer Tyrrhénienne [mɛʁ tiʁenjɛn], Italian: Mar Tirreno [mar tirˈrɛːno], Neapolitan: Mar Tirreno, Sardinian: Mare Tirrenu, Sicilian: Mari Tirrenu) is part of the Mediterranean Sea off the western coast of Italy. It is named for the Tyrrhenian people, identified since the 6th century BCE with the Etruscans of Italy.

Geography

The sea is bounded by Corsica and Sardinia (to the west), the Italian peninsula (regions of Tuscany, Lazio, Campania, Basilicata, and Calabria) to the east, and Sicily (to the south).

The maximum depth of the sea is 3,785 metres (12,418 ft).

The Tyrrhenian Sea is situated near where the African and Eurasian Plates meet; therefore mountain chains and active volcanoes such as Mount Marsili are found in its depths. The eight Aeolian Islands and Ustica are located in the southern part of the sea, north of Sicily.

Extent

The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Tyrrhenian Sea as follows: