Pisa Walking Tour with Audio and Written Guide by a Local

Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II was urbanistically reorganised in the 19th century, during which time the ancient medieval walls and the San Gilio gate were demolished. The latter, at the time, gave access to today’s Corso Italia, also known as Carraia del Carmine, which led to the station.

The mural ‘Tuttomondo’ was created by Keith Haring in 1989. The artist was invited to Pisa by Piergiorgio Castellani, a young Pisan who met him in New York and proposed that he create one of his street art works in the Tuscan city. We are going to see it!

A quick stop to visit this church. Built between 1324 and 1326, it was one of the first Carmelite churches in Europe, with the order already present in Pisa at the church of Sant’Apollinare in Barbaricina.

An extraordinary example of Pisan Gothic architecture, the small church of S. Maria della Spina was built in 1230 on the banks of the Arno at the site of an important bridge, the Ponte Novo, which joined Via Santa Maria and Via Sant’ Antonio, destroyed during the 15th century and never rebuilt.

After our walk along the river, we find ourselves in Borgo Stretto (often simply called ‘Borgo’ by the Pisans), one of the busiest streets in Pisa. This area, with its architecture, arcades and shops, offers a significant glimpse of local history.

In the Middle Ages, the area was known as Piazza delle Sette Vie, as seven streets converged there. Here stood the Palazzo degli Anziani and the Torre della Muda, where eagles were kept during the moulting of their feathers. These buildings, together with the former Palazzotto di Giustizia or del Capitano del Popolo, now form the Palazzo dell’Orologio.

The Botanical Garden and Museum of Pisa is a didactic-scientific structure part of the University of Pisa’s University Museum System. it is considered the oldest university botanical garden in the world. Ticket cost: 4€

An essential stop if you come to Pisa and a Unesco heritage site since 1987. The name was given by the poet Gabriele D’Annunzio who called this area the ‘Field of Miracles’ where the miracles were precisely the imposing buildings present.

The construction of the Leaning Tower of Pisa, conceived as a bell tower for the nearby cathedral, took 177 years and took place in three phases. Ticket cost: 27€ (includes all the monuments in the square)

Work on the construction of the Baptistery, the largest in Italy, began in 1152 under the guidance of the architect Diotislavi. Really beautiful from the outside and even inside! Ticket cost: 27€ (includes all the monuments in the square)

An emblem of Pisan Romanesque architecture, Pisa Cathedral, designed by the architect Buscheto in 1064, reflects through its splendour the influence of different styles and cultures.

The Camposanto di Pisa, located north of Piazza dei Miracoli, is a monumental cemetery begun in 1277. Surrounded by a marble enclosure, it has an internal cloister-like structure. Ticket cost: 27€ (includes all the monuments in the square)