Palazzo Arcivescovile (Archbishop's Palace), Pisa

Palazzo Arcivescovile is the municipal seat of the Catholic Church. It was founded in the 4th century and became an archdiocese in 1092. At that time the first Archbishop, Dagoberta, had no palace, but he was friendly with the Countess Mathilda, daughter of Boniface the Duke of Tuscany, who lived in a small palace in a square to the east of the Piazza dei Miracoli. When the countess died in 1115 she left all her property to the Vatican.

The palace was used until 1207 by the foreign governors of Florence, but then it fell into ruin and wasn’t rebuilt until 1472, when it was named the Palazzo Arcivescovile. It has been the official residence of the archbishop of Pisa since then and houses the Archiepiscopal Archives. In 1503 the building was nearly destroyed by fire and was rebuilt by Giovanni Antonio Doscio. The magnificent interior courtyard, ground floor rooms and the main staircase were constructed by Bernardino in the 17th century.

The courtyard is surrounded by elegant archways and slender columns. There are several busts of various archbishops and an imposing statue of Moses, sculpted by Vacca in the 18th century. On the first floor is a chapel full of wonderful Baroque frescoes painted by the Melani brothers.