The province of Pisa follows the thin line of the Arno river that flows into the Tyhrrenian Sea twelve kilometres west of Pisa, and to the east advances for a long stretch among the hills of the Apennines, to the slopes of Mount Pisano. Tuscany’s “holy river” and its tributaries mark the stages of our journey through towns rich in history and art, worthy of the marvellous city in whose orbit they move. En route from Pisa to the coast one comes to the Basilica of San Piero a Grado, built in the 11th century on the site of a Roman river port, where St. Peter, so the legend goes, disembarked on his return from Syria. Today the church stands isolated in the midst of the countryside, like a mirage in the plain. The three imposing apses in tuff from Leghorn, facing eastwards, are surmounted by Romanesque arches and haven taken on a golden hue with the passing of time. The interior divided into a nave and two aisles holds an extensive collection of medieval sculpture as well as Gothic frescoes by Deodato Orlandi, inspired by the ones in the early building of St Peter’s in the Vatican.
The Charterhouse of Pisa near Calci, set among the olive groves of the Val Graziosa stretching as far as the eye can see, is another extraordinary religious building. The church and monastery date back to 1366, but the complex was entirely rebuilt in the 17th and 18th century in the Baroque style. Rebuilding was carried out above all by the Pisan architect Giovanni Battista Cartoni, while the stucco and fresco decorations were executed by the Rolli brothers of Bologna and Angelo Somazzi from the Ticino. The church impresses because of its sumptuous magnificence, while the convent’s charm lies in its solemn, rarefied atmosphere and in the elegance of the Grand-ducal Hall and Great Cloister.
No monks live here since 1972 and today the Charterhouse is mostly open to the public. Part of the rooms house the Museum of Natural and Local History, one of the most prestigious institutions of the University of Pisa.
From the village of Calci, centred around the lovely Romanesque parish church dedicated to saints John and Ermolao, it is but a short way to the Uliveto and San Giovanni spas, famous for the healing properties of their waters and for their illustrious visitors: the list includes Shelley, Byron, Alfieri, Montaigne and Paolina Borghese. Following the banks of the Arno eastwards one soon comes to Càscina, where woodworking is an ancient tradition and some of the province’s major furniture factories are to be found. The old town, whose centre is Piazza della Chiesa, boasts a Romanesque gem, the parish church of Santa Maria. Further on, where the Val d’Era begins, stands Vicopisano, an ancient rural village that belonged to Florence throughout the 15th century. The Romanesque parish church built around the year 1000 holds a valuable wooden Deposition and the Palazzo Pretorio is one of the most elegant examples of Pisan fourteenth-century civil architecture. Yet the first and most lasting impression is made by the walls and towers restored around 1406 by Brunelleschi. The Cassero, the Mastio, the Gemelle, del Soccorso and dell’Orologio towers and the gothic Torre delle Quattro Porte are the main monuments of the old town.
An urban landscape of stone and fired brick in perfect chromatic harmony with the green slopes of Mount Pisano and the Cerbaie. Continuing eastwards along the Arno we come to Pontedera, an industrial town and one of the region’s major road junctions, the place where Valdarno and Valdelsa meet, beyond which the province of Pisa joins that of Florence, in an interplay of historical references and artistic influences.