Piezometrica tower and Pacis gate

Torre piezometrica ( da Mura di Pisa, www.muradipisa.it)

The piezometric tower in the former Marzotto complex was used as a water reservoir, since its height ensured greater pressure in the pipelines. The tower is an entrance to the walkway on top of the walls. It is possible to go up to the top floor to enjoy a view over the entire city and Monte Pisano. The former Marzotto textile factory was founded in 1936, when Gaetano Marzotto bought the nineteenth-century factory of Pellegrino Pontecorvo. The factory, inaugurated in 1939, was partly destroyed by the war. After some attempts at its recovery, the business was definitively closed in 1974 and the building was acquired by the University of Pisa. Today the complex houses the departments of mathematical, physical and natural sciences, as well as study rooms and the general secretariats of the University.
The original Porta Pacis (now closed and not to be confused with the twentieth century opening) is currently positioned at the point where the walls form a right angle before continuing linearly. The opening of the Supra Castellum gate, so originally called, seems to be contemporary with the construction of the walls. Since 1380, the gate is mentioned in documents as Pacis, perhaps from the name of the ancient Pisan noble family Della Pace, owner of some adjacent plots of land.