PISA. a province of Italy, bounded on the n. by the province of Lucca, on the e. by that of Firenze, on the s. by that of Siena, and on the w. by the Mediterranean; drained by the Arno, Serchio, Cecina, and Era; intersected by railroads running to Leghorn, Florence. and Lucca; 1177 sq.m.; pop. '72, 265,959. The surface is varied, crossed in the central and n. parts by branches of the Apennines, and swampy in some other parts. The n, part is a wide plain, on which the city of Pisa is built. Corn, wine, fruits; flax, silk, and hemp are the chief products. Capital, Pisa.
PI'S?, one of the oldest and most beautiful cities of Italy, capital of the province of the same name, which formed part of the late grand duchy of Tuscany is situated on the banks of the river Arno, which intersects the city and is spanned by three noble brivIgee. Pisa is situated in 43° 43' u. lat., and 11° 24' e. long. The population was, in 1872, 50,341. It has broad, straight, well-paved streets, and several fine squares. Among its 80 churches, the most worthy of notice is the cathedral, or Duomo, begun in 1068, and completed in 1118, with its noble dome, supported by 74 pillars, and its fine paint ings, variegated marbles, and painted windows. Near the cathedral stands the round marble belfry known as the leaning tower of Pisa, from the circumstance that it deviates about 14 ft. from the perpendicular. This celebrated building, which is 180 ft. in height, and consists of seven stories divided by rows of columns, and surmounted by a flat roof and an open gallery commanding a splendid' view 'of the surrounding country, was erected in the 12th c. by the German architect Wilhelm'of Innsbruck. The baptistery, or church of St. John, opposite the .althost equally remarkable structure, was completed in 1162 by Diotisalvi. The main building, which is circular, and raised on several steps, supports a leaden-roofed dome, having a second dome above it, sur mounted by a statue of St. John. The beautifully proportioned interior, noted for its wonderful echo, contains a pulpit, which ranks as the greatest masterpiece of Nicola Pisano, various pisses of sculpture, and a large octagonal marble font. The Campo Santo, or ancient national cemetery, dates from the year 1228, when the Pisans caused earth to be brought from Jerusalem for the graves of the most distinguished citizens of the republic. In 1283. the ground was surrounded by cloisters, the walls of which were adorned by fresco-paintings, now nearly obliterated, although some of these works of art, which are chiefly by Giotto, Veneziano. Oreagni, and Menuni, still retain traces of their original beauty. Among thd other public buildings of Pisa, special notice is due to the churches of La Madonna della Spina and San Stefano, both rich in paiotings and and the hatter famous for its organ, the largest in the grand ducal and Lanfranchi palaces; the Torre della Fame. so ealled from its being supposed to have been supposed the spot iu which Ugolino GhCrinlesea, and his children were starved to death in 1288; the university., fotorded in 1330. and restored by Cosmo I. de' _Medici. which enjoyed a high reputation middle ages, and still possesses claims to considernt ion in its library, botanical garden, observatory, and :titillated schools and art collections, etc. The population of Pisa, which, in the 13111 c., amounted to 150,000, had fallen. in
the present c., to less than one-sixth of that number; but of late years, trade and bolus trial arts have made a rapid advance, and the population has increased in proportion. In the neighborhood of Pisa. at the foot of San Giuliano, lie the mineral baths, whose fame was 'known :o Pliny, and which continued through the middle ages to attract suf ferers from every part of Italy. The waters, which are rich in carbonic acid and chloride of sodium, are found efficacious in various arthritic and rheumatic affections.
lli-story.—Ancient Pisa, like other Etruscan cities subject to Rome, retained its municipal government, and enjoyed an almost _unlimited freedom while nominally tinder Roman protection; but, on the decline of the imperial power, it was compelled to sub mit in turn to the various transalpine nations who successively overran northern Italy. Early in the 11th c., Pisa had risen to the rank of a powerful republic, whose sway included the then fertile district known as the Maremma di Lerici, and which yielded little more than nominal homage to its suzerain lords, the emperors of Ocrtuany. Throughout the 11th c. Pisa was at the height of its prosperity, and to this period belong most of the splendid monuments of art that still adorn the city. Its troops took part in in all the great events of the Holy Land; dud its fleet in turn gave aid to the pope in southern Italy, to the emperor in northern France. chastised the Moors, and exacted its own terms from the eastern emperors. In their wars with the Saracens of Sardinia, the Pisans had Coliquered Sardinia, Corsica, and the Balearic islands, and for a time main tained their ground against their hereditary enemies, the Genoese: but having sided with the Ghibellines in the long wars which desolated the empire, Pisa suffered severely at the hands of the victorious. Guelphie party. Indeed, the rivalry of the Guelphic cities of Florence, Lucca. and Sienna nearly brought Pisa to the brink of ruin at the close of the 13th c.; and after struggling for more than a hundred years against external foes and the internal dissensions between the democratic mob and the Ghibelline nobles, without losing their character for indomitable valor, the Pisans finally threw themselves tinder the protection of Galeazzo, viscouti of Milan. The son of the latter sold the Pisan territory to their greatest enemies, the from whose tyrannical role it was for a time relieved by Charles VIII. of France, who, in 1494, accepted the protectorate of the city. When the French left Italy, the old struggle was renewed; and after a desperate resistance, the Pisans,.in 1509. were com pelled by hunger to surrender to the Florentine army. The most influential families, as formerly in 1406, emigrated. Pisa, with the rest of Tuscany, became part of the kingdom of Italy in 1860. Since 1868 Pisa has given its name to an Italian province, containing a population of, '71, 265,959. The city and suburbs contain 41,796.