Knights' Square (Pisa)
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The Knights’ Square (Italian: Piazza dei Cavalieri) is one of the most important landmarks in Pisa, Italy. It is located at the same place as the forum of the antique Portus Pisanus, as Pisa was called in Roman times. This square was the political centre in medieval Pisa, where the Pisans used to discuss their problems or celebrate their victories. Also on this square, the emissary of Florence proclaimed the end of the independence of Pisa in 1406.
In the 16th century the square was rebuilt in Renaissance style by Giorgio Vasari, the famous architect of the grand duke Cosimo I de' Medici of Florence. He designed the Church of the Cavalieri for the Holy and Military Order of St. Stephen, but it was mainly built by other architects. This is the only church in Pisa in Renaissance style. It contains the Turkish banners captured by the Knights of St. Stephen during the naval battle of Lepanto on 7 October 1571.
The main building on the square is Palazzo della Carovana, the palace of the Knights of St. Stephen. It was modernised in renaissance style by Giorgio Vasari. The awesome façade is decorated with sgraffiti, equally by Vasari, and contains six niches with busts of grand dukes of Tuscany. It now houses the prestigious Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa. In front of the palace stands the large statue of Cosimo I de Medici.
In the other corner of the square stands the Palazzo dell'Orologio.
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