Did You Know? Italy
Long before tourists traveled to Pisa to take pictures holding up its famous leaning tower, the city was a major military and commercial power.
During the Middle Ages, Pisa was one of Italy’s great maritime republics. Its location on the western coast of Tuscany gave it access to the Mediterranean, allowing its merchants and ships to travel throughout the region.
Pisa became particularly powerful between the 11th and 13th centuries. Its fleets fought Muslim forces in the western Mediterranean and helped expand Pisa’s commercial influence.
Pisan merchants established trading connections across the Mediterranean and gained access to important ports. The city’s wealth was reflected in its architecture. The famous Piazza dei Miracoli, or Square of Miracles, eventually became home to the cathedral, baptistery, cemetery, and the bell tower that would become known as the Leaning Tower of Pisa. The cathedral complex was a statement of Pisa’s wealth and confidence.
But Pisa’s greatest rival wasn’t a distant kingdom. It was another Italian maritime republic: Genoa. The two powers fought repeatedly for control of Mediterranean trade.
On August 6, 1284, near the islet of Meloria off the Tuscan coast, the largest naval engagement of the Middle Ages took place at the Battle of Meloria. The battle was the culmination of two centuries of intense commercial and political friction between Pisa and Genoa. Pisa assembled a fleet of 72 galleys commanded by Podestà Alberto Morosini and Count Ugolino della Gherardesca. Genoa countered with a fleet of 88 galleys split into two lines. Oberto Doria engaged the Pisan fleet directly with 58 galleys, while Admiral Benedetto Zaccaria kept 30 galleys hidden beyond the horizon. The hidden fleet ambushed the exposed Pisan flank, shattering their line and causing extensive human and military losses.
The defeat marked a major turning point. Pisa’s maritime power declined, while Genoa’s influence expanded. This opened the door for Tuscan rival Florence to lay siege to Pisa and taking them under its control.
Its days as an independent maritime power were over. Yet the city never lost its cultural importance. The monuments built during Pisa’s prosperous medieval period remain among Italy’s most recognizable landmarks.
The story of Pisa reminds us that the medieval Mediterranean was not dominated only by kings and emperors. Italian cities themselves could build fleets, wage wars, establish trading networks, and compete for control of international commerce.
Before the Leaning Tower became a tourist icon, Pisa was a maritime powerhouse.
Were you surprised to learn that Pisa was once a major naval power?
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