Description of the attraction
The San Martino quarter, located in Pisa along the Lungarno Galilei promenade, is a paradise for lovers of wandering among old houses, beautiful squares and small original churches. Here, for example, is the Church of Santo Sepolcro - a Romanesque octagonal temple built in the 12th century to store relics from the Church of the Holy Sepulcher brought here from Jerusalem. Inside Santo Sepolcro, you can see a stone-lined well, left over from an ancient hospital that was once part of a church. Among the ancient palaces, it is worth highlighting the Palazzo Lanfranca with its huge coats of arms that belonged to the wealthy and influential Pisa Lanfranca family.
Another promenade in the San Martino quarter is Lungarno Fibonacci, named after the great Pisa mathematician. It contains the so-called Fortezza Nuova, also known as Cittadella Nuova or Giardino Scotto, a huge garden inside the ancient fortress of Fortezza Sangallo, turned into a public park in the 1930s. The name of the park - Giardino Scotto - comes from the name of a wealthy family who bought the fortress at the end of the 18th century.
Via San Martino is full of luxurious palaces. At number 108 is the Palazzo Cevoli, where Federico IV, King of Denmark and Norway, lived during a visit to the noble Chevoli family. The royal visit was not only political, but also romantic: 17 years earlier, Federico met a young girl, Maria Maddalena Trenta, who came from a wealthy family from the city of Lucca, and fell in love with her. But the king was a Protestant, and Mary was a Catholic, they could not get married. The girl decided to become a nun in a monastery in Florence, and he returned to Denmark. When Federico became king, he decided to return to Tuscany to see his beloved again, which is why he came to Italy. On the Palazzo Cevoli building, you can see an inscription in Latin that commemorates the royal visit, and inside, there are splendid frescoes depicting members of the Danish royal dynasty.
Another notable palace is Palazzo Tizzoni, which belonged to the Pisa Tizzoni family. It stands out for its marble bas-relief depicting a young girl - the legendary Kintsiki dei Sismondi, who saved the city from the attack of the Turkish army in the 11th century. Another attraction of the Palazzo is the Roman sarcophagus, built in 3-4 centuries.
