Palazzo della Carovana (also Palazzo dei Cavalieri) is a palace in Knights' Square, Pisa,

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, presently housing the main building of the Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa.

History

It was built in 1562–1564 by

Giorgio Vasari Giorgio Vasari (, also , ; 30 July 1511 – 27 June 1574) was an Italian Renaissance Master, who worked as a painter, architect, engineer, writer, and historian, who is best known for his work '' The Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculp ...

for the headquarters of the Knights of St. Stephen, as a renovation of the already existing ''Palazzo degli Anziani'' ("Palace of the Elders"). The name, meaning "Palace of the Convoy", derives from the three-year period undertaken by the initiates of the Order for their training, called "la Carovana". The façade is characterized by a complex scheme with

sgraffiti ''Sgraffito'' (; plural: ''sgraffiti'') is a technique either of wall decor, produced by applying layers of plaster tinted in contrasting colours to a moistened surface, or in pottery, by applying to an unfired ceramic body two successive laye ...

representing allegorical figures and zodiacal signs, designed by Vasari himself and sculpted by Tommaso di Battista del Verrocchio and Alessandro Forzori, coupled to busts and marble crests. The current paintings date however to the 19th-20th centuries. Amongst the sculptures are the

Medici The House of Medici ( , ) was an Italian banking family and political dynasty that first began to gather prominence under Cosimo de' Medici, in the Republic of Florence during the first half of the 15th century. The family originated in the Mu ...

Coat of Arms and that of the Knights, flanked by the allegories of Religion and Justice by Stoldo Lorenzi (1563). The upper gallery of busts of the Grand Dukes of Tuscany (who were all also the Grand Masters of the Order) were added in the late 16th-early 18th centuries, sculpted by Ridolfo Sirigatti,

Pietro Tacca Pietro Tacca (16 September 1577 – 26 October 1640) was an Italian sculptor, who was the chief pupil and follower of Giambologna. Tacca began in a Mannerist style and worked in the Baroque style during his maturity. Biography Born in Ca ...

and Giovan Battista Foggini. Stemmi dei cavalieri nel palazzo della carovana 205 Giovanni Battista Giusti di Colle Val d'Elsa, 1571

The double-ramp staircase was remade in 1821. The rear area is a modern addition (1928–1930) for the Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa. Some halls of the interior house 16th-century paintings.

External links

Palazzo della Carovana
{{DEFAULTSORT:Palazzo Della Carovana Houses completed in 1564 Carovana Renaissance architecture in Pisa Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa Giorgio Vasari buildings