Pisa

Pisa is a 30 minute drive from Lucca, and definitely worth a day trip.

Pisa was a maritime powerhouse from 1000-1406, when is was conquered by Florence.

Pisa and Genoa fought for control of the Tyrrhenian Sea after ousting Arab Muslims from Corsica and Sardinia.

Many of Pisa's treasures came from aiding the Normans in their conquest of Palermo in 1063, which they looted to pay for the Piazza del Duomo.

The Pisa Baptistry was built between the 12th and 14th centuries.

The Pisa Cathedral has Corinthian columns looted from the Mosque of Palermo

The Camposanto Monumentale is where the most worthy Pisans were buried. It is covered in disturbing frescoes.

The Last Judgement Fresco from 1336 A.D. by Buonamico Buffalmacco.

An interesting tombstone

The Genoese destroyed the Pisan fleet in 1284 in the Battle of Meloria, marking the decline of the maritime republic. These chains protected the Porto Pisano; they were taken by Genoa, then returned in 1860.

The Pisa Griffin, the largest known medieval Islamic metal sculpture, made in Al-Andalus in the 11th century.