Pisa

The ancient Pisae on the right bank of the Arno was only 2 m. from the sea, the delta having increased since. It is believed to have been founded from Pisae in Elis and is first mentioned in history as the place at which a Roman army from Sardinia landed in 225 B.C. Being situated on the coast road (Via Aemilia), it was important as a frontier fortress against Liguria, for the fertility of its territory, and its quarries and timber for shipbuilding. Scanty ruins of Roman baths exist near the modern Lucca gate on the north. The older town occupied the same site. (T. A.) Little is known of Pisa during the barbarian invasions, but it is an ascertained fact that it was one of the first towns to assert its independence of Byzantine rule. During the first years of the Lombard rule the necessity of defending the Italian coast from the attacks of the Byzantines was favourable to the development of the Pisan navy.

Early Wars.

In 1003 we find records of a war between Pisa and Lucca, which, according to Muratori, was the first waged between Italian cities in the middle ages. But the military development and real importance of Pisa in the 11th century must be attributed to the continuous and desperate struggle it maintained against the tide of Saracenic invasion from Sicily. Numerous legends and fables of the old chroniclers serve to attest the importance of Pisa in those days. The Saracens repeatedly attacked the town, but were repulsed, and the Pisans themselves assumed the offensive in Calabria, Sicily, and even in Africa. In 1015 a memorable expedition was undertaken by the united forces of Pisa and Genoa against Mogahid, better known in the Italian chronicles as Mugeto, whom they drove from Sardinia. Again invading the island, he was again attacked and defeated by the same adversaries, leaving a brother and son, or, as some authori ties aver, a wife and son, prisoners in their hands. Sardinia con tinued to be governed by native "judges" who were like petty sovereigns, but were now subject to the sway of Pisa. This was the primary cause of the jealousy of the Genoese and of the wars afterwards made by them upon Pisa. Meanwhile the Pisans flour ished more and more, and continued hostilities against the Sara cens. In 1062 their ships returned from Palermo laden with spoil. Thus it is not surprising that Pisa should already have had its own code of laws (Consuetudini di mare), which in 1075 were approved by Gregory VII., and in I081 confirmed by a patent from the emperor, Henry IV. The oldest of Pisan statutes still extant is the Breve dei consoli di mare of 1162.

Commercial Prosperity.

In io99 the Pisans joined in the second crusade, proved their valour at the capture of Jerusalem, and derived many commercial advantages from it ; for within a short time they had banks, consuls, warehouses and privileges of all kinds in every Eastern port. Thus while the commune of Pisa

was still under the rule of the marquises of Tuscany, all negotia tions with it were carried on as with an independent state officially represented by the archbishop and consuls. The aristocrats were the dominant party, and filled the highest offices of the republic, which, in the 12th century, rose to great power, both on sea and land, by its wars with the Lucchese, Genoese and Muslims. In the years 1113 and 1115 it achieved a still greater enterprise. The Pisan fleet of 300 sail, commanded by the archbishop, Pietro Moriconi, attacked the Balearic Isles, where as many as 20,000 Christians were said to be held captive by the Muslims and returned loaded with spoil and with a multitude of Christian and Muslim prisoners. The former were set at liberty or ransomed, and among the latter was the last descendant of the reigning dynasty. Immediately afterwards, the 14 years' war with Genoa broke out. The two republics contested the dominion of the sea, and both claimed supreme power over the islands of Corsica and Sardinia. A papal edict awarding the supremacy of Corsica to the Pisan Church proved sufficient cause for the war, which went on from '1'8 to 1132. Then Innocent II. transferred the supremacy over part of Corsica to the Genoese Church, and compensated Pisa by grants in Sardinia and elsewhere. Accordingly, to gratify the pope and the emperor, Lothair II., the Pisans entered Neapoli tan territory to combat the Normans. They aided in the vigorous defence of the city of Naples, and twice attacked and pillaged Amalfi, in 1135 and 1137, with such effect that the town never regained its prosperity. The war with Genoa never came to a real end. Even after the retaking of Jerusalem by the Muslims (1187) the Pisans and Genoese again met in conflict in the East, and it was plain that there could be no lasting peace between these rival powers until the one or the other should be crushed. The greatness and wealth of the Pisans at this period of their his tory is proved by the noble buildings by which their city is adorned. The foundations of the cathedral were laid in 1063, and its consecration took place in '118; the baptistry was begun in 1152, and the campanile (the famous leaning tower) in And all three magnificent structures were mainly the work of Pisan artists, who gave new life to Italian architecture, as they afterwards renewed the art of sculpture.