The city of the "Leaning Tower" is among the most important historical centers of Italy, rich in monuments and art works, but also a qualified cultural center, thanks to the University and the Scuola Normale Superiore, and an active industrial and commercial center. Of Etruscan origin, Pisa was a loyal allied of Rome during the Punic Wars when its harbour was strengthened to serve as a strategic base for military operations in the Mediterranean Sea. Its important role at the side of the Romans is also demonstrated by a recent and formidable archaeological discovery, made by workers on a construction site in the railway station of St. Flushing. Ten Roman ships were brought to light in perfect condition thanks to the thick layer of mud that covered them, and returned intact on-board instruments and precious cargo ships, over 300 jars with their contents. During the Middle Ages, Pisa became one of the powerful Maritime City together with Amalfi, Venice and Genoa. It was a period of great commercial prosperity that began inexorably to decline in the thirteenth century: the dramatic battle of Meloria in 1284 marked the defeat of Pisa by the Genoese fleet of Doria, while in 1284 it was the turn of the capitulation to the Florentines that imposed a particularly hard peace treaty. Two centuries of continuous and tough battles have followed and it was only in 1509 that Pisa finally collapsed in front of Florence: the period of Medici´s rule, however, brought prosperity to Pisa that became therefore part of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, until the time of the annexation to the Kingdom of Italy.
