Pisa Museo Aperto

Location(s)

In the second half of the 14th century the demographic drop and the tendency to concentrate wealth in the hands of few families resulted also in the formation of palaces composed by two or more tower-houses. In Pisa this trend became more evident during the 15th century, after the Florentine conquest in 1406 and the settlement in the city of many rich merchant families.

This is just the case of the palace called “alla Giornata” (meaning to live from one day to the next without caring about the future), that was built on the Tramontana Lungarno for Battista Lanfreducci. The Lanfreducci family, of Pisan origins, represented a powerful aristocratic consortium. As early as the 12th and the 12th century the Lanfreducci formed a large consortium, they were owners of towers and of a loggia on the Tramontana Lungarno, on the stretch later occupied by the “alla Giornata”, Vitelli and Royal palaces. The Lanfreducci were also owners of large estates in the surrounding coutryside.
The Ponte Nuovo (New Bridge), built in 1182 to link the roads St. Mary and St. Anthony, was under their jurisdiction. Maritime trade was the main source of income for the Lanfreducci, while several members of the family were ecclesiastical dignitaries or diplomats and they took part in the tragic naval battle of Meloria (1285), counting a certain number of victims.
Since 1418 Battista di Bando (1388-1465), repeatedly elected prior of the city council, was buying some houses near the parish church of San Biagio alle Catene, which was under the patronage of the family. He bought two big houses and a tower. In 1442 he wrote in his book of “Ricordanze” (Memories): “... and these three houses  have become one single house”. That was the origin of the Lanfreducci palace, later called “alla Giornata”, that today houses the administrative offices of the University of Pisa.

The palace, in the form that we can see today, was realised by Cosimo Pugliani between 1594 and the early 17th century. The citizens of Pisa used to call it “alla Giornata” because of the motto chosen by brother Francesco Lanfreducci, knight of Malta, after his release from a long imprisonment in Algiers. The motto was probably chosen to underline the fragility of earthly life. This motto was much used in the 16th and 17th century and has the same meaning of that more ancient memento “Carpe diem”. Brother Francesco Lanfreducci was one of the defenders of Fort St. Elmo during the siege of Malta in 1565. On that occasion he was captured by Barbaresque pirates and sent to Algiers. He spent six years as a slave in a seraglio. During his imprisonment he made a vote: that after his return to Pisa he would rebuild the family palace, which was already in bad conditions.

Brother Lanfreducci was set free in 1571, after the family paid a generous ransom which impoverished the family’s savings. The works of restauration began only in 1594 due to the lack of money. Brother Francesco ordered the motto “alla Giornata” to be sculpted on all his palaces not only in Pisa, but also in Malta.

The piece of chain that Lanfreducci made hang in front of the main door of the palace reminds also the years spent in captivity in Algiers. Similar mementos, stumps and chains can be found also in other European countries, for example in France, in Auvergne, on the porch of the romanesque church of St. Mary of Orcival.

In more recent times, the adventurous life of Francesco Lanfreducci offered a good subject to Gabriele d’Annunzio for one of his poems in the Alcyone collection.