Palazzo Gambacorti is a

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

-style former aristocratic palace, located in Lungarno Gambacorti #1 corner with Piazza XX Settembre, near the spot the Ponte the Mezzo crosses over to the South bank of the Arno, in the historic center of

Pisa Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower, the cit ...

, region of Tuscany,

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. It is connected through the second floor of the white marble

Loggia di Banchi In architecture, a loggia ( , usually , ) is a covered exterior gallery or corridor, usually on an upper level, but sometimes on the ground level of a building. The outer wall is open to the elements, usually supported by a series of columns ...

, once the town archive. The palace is now houses the city council meetings in its Sala delle Baleari.

History and description

A palace at the site was likely erected in the mid 11th century, along with a defensive tower to the south. The river facing facade we see today was commissioned between 1370 and 1392 by Pietro Gambacorti, a wealthy merchant; the design is attributed to Tommaso Pisano, son of

Andrea Pisano Andrea Pisano (Pontedera 12901348 Orvieto) also known as Andrea da Pontedera, was an Italian sculptor and architect. Biography Pisano first learned the trade of a goldsmith. Pisano then became a pupil of Mino di Giovanni, about 1300, and work ...

. In the 1400s, after Pisa fell to the Florentines, the palace took over various government functions from customs to home of the priors. In 1533, it became property of the Tignoso family, who enlarged the palace. In 1698, with the new Grand-Ducal rule under the Lorraine, the palace housed the Magistrates. During the 19th-century, it housed the Archives of State in Pisa and barracks. From 2012 to 2015 the Sala Rossa and the Sala delle Baleari, were restored as well as their frescoes. The Gothic facade has multichrom stone blocks. The mullioned windows, four on the ground floor and five in the floors above overlook the bank of the Arno. The south facade of via Toselli was erected in the 17th-century and above the portal is a crown with a shield honoring the Medici. An inscription recalls the capture of Pisa by Florence in 1509.La patria; geografia dell' Italia
part. 2. Provincia di Massa e Carrara, Luca, Pisa, Livorno, by Gustavo Strafforello (1896); page 162. There are three grand halls of the palace, the Sala Rossa (Red Hall), so named for the red wall-paper has a ceiling fresco depicting ''Pisa honoring San Ranieri'' painted by Giuseppe and

Francesco Melani Francesco, the Italian (and original) version of the personal name "Francis", is the most common given name among males in Italy. Notable persons with that name include: People with the given name Francesco * Francesco I (disambiguation), sever ...

. The Sala delle Baleari (Hall of the Balearics) is the largest and the ceiling is frescoed with the maritime victories by the Pisans, including a crusade in 1113 against the Muslim fources occupying the

Balearic islands The Balearic Islands ( es, Islas Baleares ; or ca, Illes Balears ) are an archipelago in the Balearic Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The archipelago is an autonomous community and a province of Spain; its capital is ...

and the 1258 assault of Cagliari in

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...

. These scenes were completed in 1693 by

Giacomo Farelli Giacomo Farelli (1629 in Naples – 26 June 1706) was an Italian painter active in Naples. Biography He trained under Andrea Vaccaro, whose style he at first followed, but he afterwards imitated with more success that of Guido Reni and Luca Gio ...

. The central fresco shows the role of Pisans in the siege and capture of Jerusalem in 1099; this was completed by

Cesare Dandini Cesare Dandini (1 October 1596– 7 February 1657) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, active mainly in his native city of Florence. Biography He was the older brother of the painter Vincenzo Dandini (1609–1675). His nephew, Pi ...

in 1695. The Sala degli Stemmi, decorated with the heraldic shield of prominent Pisan families, is presently used to officiate civil weddings.

References

*Derived from Italian Wikipedia entry {{Authority control Gambacorti Gothic architecture in Pisa Gothic palaces in Italy