traveldk.com

Often-overlooked collection of 13th-century Crucifixions and such notable works as Simone Martini’s Virgin and Child with Saints (1321), Nino Pisano’s Madonna del Latte and Donatello’s bust of San Rossore. Masaccio, Fra Angelico, Gozzoli, Lorenzo di Credi and Ghirlandaio are also represented.

A pinnacled jewel of Gothic architecture built in 1230–1323 by Nino and Giovanni Pisano to house a thorn said to be from Christ’s crown, brought back by a Pisan Crusader.

This attractive arcaded piazza stands at the centre of Pisa’s colourful, lively outdoor food market.

The probable site of the ancient forum is ringed by Giorgio Vasari’s sgrafitto façade on the Palazzo dei Cavalieri (1562), the baroque Santo Stefano and the Palazzo dell’Orologio. It was in the latter’s tower that Count Ugolino – immortalized by Dante and Shelley – was locked away to starve with his sons in 1288, accused of treason.

Ten Roman ships, dating from 100 BC to AD 400 and probably sunk by flash floods or storms, were discovered in 1998 during work on San Rossore station (which was the harbour area before the Arno silted up). The ships’ cargo and everyday accoutrements are displayed in the Medici Arsenale as they are excavated, and will eventually be joined by the ships themselves.

Behind the 1330 Gothic façade hides Nino Pisano’s Annunciation and his tomb of Simone Saltarelli (1342), as well as Francesco Triani’s Apothesis of St Thomas Aquinas (1350).

A venerable church (AD 805) with a 13th-century façade and the Romanesque chapel of Sant’Agata set in the grassy park behind.

Coastal wildlife reserve, with boar, deer and waterfowl. The poet Shelley’s body was washed ashore here in 1822 after his supposed murder by pirates.

This Carthusian monastery of 1366, 12 km (8 miles) east of town, is stuffed with Baroque frescoed chapels and cloisters.

The 1,000-year-old church has a belltower staircase that inspired Donato Bramante’s Vatican steps.