Piazza dei Cavalieri
Walk ten minutes from the Leaning Tower and the tourist tide drops away. Piazza dei Cavalieri opens in front of you as a roughly triangular space almost entirely given over to the Scuola Normale Superiore — one of Italy's most selective universities — which means no café terraces, no souvenir carts, just stone and sgraffito and the occasional student crossing the square with a book under an arm.
The façade of Palazzo della Carovana stops you. Vasari covered it in sgraffito — geometric and floral patterns scratched through layers of coloured plaster — and lined it with six carved busts of Medici Grand Dukes, a deliberate proclamation of Florentine authority over a city that lost its independence here in 1406.
💛 What travellers fall for
People who come back tend to linger in front of Palazzo dell'Orologio and think about Dante. One of its towers is the Torre della Fame — the Tower of Hunger — where Count Ugolino della Gherardesca and his family were starved to death in 1289, an episode Dante put into the Inferno. The square holds that kind of weight quietly.
The story behind Piazza dei Cavalieri
Before Giorgio Vasari arrived with Cosimo I de' Medici's commission, this was Piazza delle Sette Vie — the Square of the Seven Streets — and the civic heart of medieval Pisa, possibly built over the site of a Roman harbour forum. The Palazzo del Popolo e degli Anziani went up in 1254 by joining existing towers together. Then in 1406 a Florentine emissary stood here and declared Pisa's independence finished.
Cosimo I chose the square for his new Order of the Knights of St. Stephen, and in 1558 he gave Vasari the task of rebuilding it in Renaissance style. The Palazzo della Carovana followed in 1562–64, the Church of Santo Stefano dei Cavalieri in 1565–69, and the Palazzo dell'Orologio in 1605–8. Napoleon later refounded the Palazzo della Carovana as the Scuola Normale Superiore, modelled on Paris's École Normale Supérieure. Enrico Fermi and the poet Giosuè Carducci both studied within its walls.
Good to know
The square is free and always open. The Church of Santo Stefano dei Cavalieri charges around €3–5 to enter. There are no bars or restaurants on the square itself, so eat before you arrive. From the Leaning Tower it's a five-minute walk via Via Capponi and Via Martini.
The square is open to the sky and offers almost no shade. Summer afternoons in Pisa can be genuinely hot; early morning or evening visits in July and August are more comfortable. Spring and autumn are the easiest seasons to spend time here without the sun becoming the main event.
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What travellers say about Piazza dei Cavalieri
It’s a very small plaza, and there weren’t many people when we came here taking pictures of the place. However, it is located nearby to the Leaning Tower of Pisa, which many tourists visit.
A very elegant and atmospheric place ✨ The architecture is truly impressive, with beautiful details that make you stop and admire every corner. It feels calm, refined, and full of history. A perfect spot to enjoy the beauty of the city and take stunning photos 💛
Piazza dei Cavalieri is a beautifully open and well-sized square that immediately catches your attention. The statue of Cosimo I de' Medici on one side looks great with the Scuola Normale Superiore building rising behind it. This architecture is truly majestic and has a historical feel that dominates the entire space. It was an impressive space with stunning architecture.
The flea market at the square on Saturday morning was fantastic. There was a great atmosphere and many interesting stalls with antiques, vintage items, books, and small treasures. It’s a perfect place to walk around, discover unique things, and enjoy a relaxed Saturday morning. Definitely worth visiting!
Beautiful piazza with open space and hardly anyone around
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