The Pisan Rule

THE AGE OF THE PISAN RULE

During the Middle Ages, it was the Marine Republic of Pisa that took advantage of the iron and granite mines of Elba; the major part of the columns that adorn the Piazza dei Miracoli were sculpted by the skilful stone-cutters of San Piero. Today, there are many remains from the Pisan period: the refined Romanesque churches, the Tower of San Giovanni in Campo built on an enormous granite rock, the Mighty "Fortress"of Marciana, and the castle of Voterraio sentinel of the mountains and the sea.  From the 6th century A.D., Elba was exposed to various foreign rule from the east and to continued plunder, invasion and incursion by pirates until the Marine Republic of Pisa conquered it favoring a rapid, civil, economic, and commercial development. The Pisans reopened the iron mines, forgotten for nearly 500 years, and built various fortresses on the hills near the sea,and progressively moved the inhabited areas to the interior. An example of which is present-day Marciana. They also initiated the activity of excavating and working the Elban granite, which, for example, they used to create the columns for the Duomo of Pisa.

The numerous wars with which the Republic of Pisa was involved, in the end had a negative economic effect on the island which provoked a great emigration toward the continent. And so began a series of protests and rebellions against the Pisan government, which, instead of helping the citizens live better, imposed enormous taxes and exploited the extraordinary wealth from the minerals and ores found on the island to finance their wars. In 1348, the inhabitants were stuck down by the plague caused by the horrid sanitary conditions in which they lived. The population continued to reduce until it leveled off at only 2000 inhabitants.