Vicopisano

Monuments

The Pieve of S. Maria
The Pieve of Santa Maria, just outside the town walls, remains the only medieval religious building among the many that were in Vicopisano. Dating back to the 12th century, it has the features of the true Pisa Romanesque style. The interior has a nave and two aisles, divided by columns and contains an unusual group of wooden sculptures, the Deposition from the Cross, which can be dated to the first two decades of the 13th century. The walls still have traces of frescoes and tombstones from the same period.

The towers and Rocca
Among the merits of Vicopisano is certainly that of having preserved all of nine towers (which can be dated between the 11th and 15th centuries). Besides, along the ramparts, there are four cylindrical large towers from the 14th century surrounding walls, still visible. The highest tower (34 m) is that of the Rocca, built as part of the fortification which Filippo Brunelleschi created (from 1435) still in medieval style, shortly before the spread of the use of artillery, which was to force architects to make radical changes in military architecture. The Rocca is connected, through a long battlement, to the Torre del Soccorso, set at the bottom of the hill, where the old river port used to be.

On the Rocca's tower

The Palazzo Pretorio
In the 12th century this biulding was the seat of the archbishop’s authority and from the 15th century housed the vicariate who administered justice on behalf of the Florentine government, as testified by the many coats of arms on the recently restored façade. It now holds the Historical Archiv. From the highest part of the village, you can see the whole of Vicopisano and its surroundings. From here you can go down one of the many alleys paved with stone slabs or turned into steps.