Piazza Chiara Gambacorti (Lucarelli, wikimediacommons)The area of Pisa divided into the districts of Sant'Antonio and San Martino, was the district of 'Chinzica' in the Middle Ages. Kinzica is the name of the legendary heroine who saved the city, but there is also a philological explanation that would explain the etymological origin of the district’sname; the term could, in fact, derive from the union of the Germanic root quint, which indicates stream, hollows, or by extension 'abandoned river bed' with the Arabic word suq which means 'market'. Throughout the Kinzica district the narrow streets, which run perpendicular from via San Martino and via San Paolo towards the river, are parallel to each other: it is an urban typology called 'comb'. The Arno was the main commercial channel for Pisa during the ancient and republican eras and the main source of income. Each building that overlooked the river had a small dock for the unloading of goods coming from the sea or from the valley, which were loaded on wagons and transported to the centre of the commercial district to be treated and sorted. The straight and parallel alleys allowed for quick and easily handling. Kinzica was also called the Arab district of the city; a satellite neighbourhood inhabited by merchants from all over the world, included, in the 12th century, in the city walled perimeter.
