Those who have already spent their holidays in Tuscany have certainly realised that the Tuscan cities, whether big or small, are often divided into districts or "contrade". Since the Middle Ages, the rivalry between the inhabitants of the different areas of the towns has produced heartfelt challenges, which are often called "palio".

And Pisa has obviously followed this "tradition" that intrigues foreign tourists so much.

Divided by the Arno River into two large areas - Tramontana, or Borea, on the north and Mezzogiorno, or Austro, on the south - the town that gave birth to Galileo Galilei is further divided into four historic districts: Ponte (north-west and west) is the most ancient one; Mezzo (north-east), according to many is the noblest of Pisa districts; Fuoriporta (east), which owes its name to the fact of being outside the ancient city walls; and Kinzica (south of the Arno river), probably named after a foreign noblewoman.

When the Florentines conquered the town in 1406, they divided Pisa into the four districts of Santa Maria, San Francesco (in the area called Tramontana), Sant`Antonio and San Martino (in the area called Mezzogiorno).

This is the reason why reading the ads for apartments or vacation villas in Pisa for rent you will often stumble across sentences saying: "The house is situated in the district of Santa Maria, just a few steps from the Duomo and the Leaning Tower...".