Logge di Banchi da Ponte di Mezzo (L. Corevi, Comune di Pisa)
Logge di Banchi (Banchi Loggias), via di Banchi
Logge di Banchi da Ponte di Mezzo (M. Del Rosso, Comune di Pisa)Built starting from 1603, the Logge di Banchi (Banchi Loggias) were born at the behest of Grand Duke Ferdinando I de’ Medici with the intention of transferring the grain market to the left bank of the river. The building was made even more monumental thanks to the destruction of the Loggetta del Bargello, the city prisons located near the river. The project was by Bernardo Buontalenti and was masterfully executed by Cosimo Pugliani who developed the building on 12 large pillars covered in marble. The upper floor, which is accessed via an overpass connected to the Palazzo Gambacorti, the location of the municipality, was enlarged in the 19th century to house the new State Archive (now in Palazzo Toscanelli) inaugurated in 1865. Different types of markets alternated under the loggia, from silk to wool, to exchange counters, which gave the loggia its name. In 1925, entrepreneur Cleopatro Cobianchi obtained the permits to build an underground daytime hotel, now public bathrooms, with showers, bathtubs and various services for personal hygiene. During the Gioco del Ponte (Game of the Bridge), a historic city event, the Banchi (as they are called in Pisa) represent the Campo on the Southernpart, where the fighters prepare for the challenge and where the most important strategic decisions are made.
