Pisa e il Mediterraneo. Uomini, merci, idee dagli Etruschi ai Medici

Towards the end of 1998, in a location not far from the celebrated Piazza del Duomo area, the remains of the ancient port of Pisa came to light. The port had been buried and forgotten, yet for over one thousand years it had been operative, from the Etruscan times to the late Roman period, and the remains of a great number of ships were also found, many different types of ship from many different ages, some of which were in very good conditions. It was an extraordinary discovery, and a stroke of luck as it came to light thanks to excavations for the foundations of a building adjacent to the railway station of Pisa-San Rossore.
Starting out from this exceptional discovery, this volume gives an evocative account of various aspects of the relationship between Pisa and the Mediterranean over a period of two thousand years, with the objective of restoring awareness to the people of Pisa of the important relationship the city has had with the sea from its very birth and to highlight the advancement of scientific knowledge and developments.
On the whole this volume gives a clear idea of the objective importance of the relationship between Pisa and the Mediterranean which transcends the mere history of the city itself. It is articulated in three principal themes: the circulation of men, goods and culture.
The formulation of the book has tried to answer two needs: to focus on the relationship between Pisa and the Mediterranean, so as to conserve ties with the central theme, yet these issues are located within a more ample reading of the history of the Mediterranean. Thus it is possible to read a synthesis of the relationship between Etruria and the sea, or a survey of the military installations in the ports of the classical and Hellenistic periods, or new considerations on the Mediterranean in modern times.
There are archaeological artefacts, coins, ceramics, documents in paper and parchment, sculptures, drawings, bronzes, painted tables, flags, weapons, anchors, all in accordance with the principal themes of the exposition: the sea and navigation, merchandise for import and export, cultural exchanges and human migration. Some of the artworks have been chosen because of their extraordinary beauty, but their presence is also fully justifiable because of their relation to the themes and the other artefacts.