Scotto Garden

Interno Giardino Scotto (L. Corevi, Comune di Pisa)

The Sangallo Fortress, or Cittadella Nuova, rises where the ancient church of Ss. Andrea and Vincenzo in Kinzica (1093) once stood. The base of the bell tower at the entrance to the garden from Lungarno Galilei is only partially visible. The fortress was built starting from 1440, during the first Florentine domination and the government of Cosimo the Elder de’ Medici. The first attribution was to Filippo Brunelleschi who likewise gave the design to the new citadel to close the bridge with the two towers (G.Vasari), even if the intervention of Domenico di Matteo, who was restoring the Cittadella Vecchia at the same time, is more likely. The project was submitted to Francesco Sforza of Milan: a triangular structure with corner towers. With the second Pisan republic (1494) the fortress was partially destroyed and rebuilt only after 1509, with a project by Giuliano da Sangallo who endowed it with three bulwarks, on which cannons were placed to defend the city (even if tradition has it that the cannons were aimed at Pisa, for fear of citizen revolts). With the advent of the Lorraine and the new reforms wanted by Pietro Leopoldo at the end of the eighteenth century, the fortress was abandoned and sold for 4,445 ducats to Gasparre Chiesa. In 1798, it passed to the Livorno shipowner Domenico Scotto who transformed it into a real garden of delights. Military rigour gave way to elegant Kaffehaus, to the long vaulted walk punctuated by large arches, pavilions and places of refreshment. Trees were planted and elegant fragrant flower beds created. Unfortunately, to provide for the opening of the road that was to lead from Piazza Guerrazzi to the new Ponte della Vittoria, in 1934, the western bulwark was cut. Almost at the same time, the two gates on the current Lungarno Fibonacci were opened. Recently, the underground ramparts were restored and brought to light the great gate of San Marco in Guatolongo (XII) of the ancient medieval walls and some pictorial decorations. During the summer, the park hosts outdoor film screenings.

The tradition, albeit unfounded, since at the time it had not yet become a garden of delights, tells that in the eighteenth century some meetings of the Colonia Alfea (the Pisan Arcadia) were held in this place: among the illustrious presences, Carlo Goldoni, who recited a sonnet (scene represented in a painting by Annibale Gatti on the curtain of the Verdi theatre). At the end of 1744, Goldoni arrived in Pisa and remained there for three years. In 1753, he published the comedy The servant of two masters, whose draft he had written in the city, dedicating it to the 'very happy days' spent in Pisa. Colonia Alfea was born in Pisa on 24 May 1700 from the union between the Academies of the Stravaganti (Extravagant), Ombrosi (Sombre), Oppressi (Oppressed) and Inesperti (Inexperienced). The requirements for admission were the 'civility of origin, combined with the goodness of morals' as well as a solid reputation as a scholar in at least one of the main sciences.

In 1781, the fortress was sold to Gaspare Chiesa, then passed , in 1798, to Domenico Scotto, a rich shipowner and merchant from Procida who in 1775, at the age of 25, moved to Livorno. His was a life full of encounters, mercantile trades and aristocratic friendships in the society of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. The Cittadella Nuova of Pisa, so called to distinguish it from the first fortress, the Citadel in Lungarno Simonelli, where the arsenals are also located, was dismantled and demilitarised. Domenico Scotto had it transformed into a garden of delights with a kaffeehouse and contributed himself to embellish it with laurel, bulbs and strawberry trees from Holland. He also imported various plants including oranges and lemons also from Portugal. He was helped by his daughter-in-law, Teresa, who between 1811 and 1827 bought many tree species, also from the Botanical Garden of Pisa. In 1935, the Municipality of Pisa purchased the garden and, based on a project by engineer Gino Steffanon, started its renovation. The bombings of '43 and '44 left many gaps, and the octagonal-shaped kaffeehouse was destroyed. However, today, following numerous restorations, the Scotto garden is the most romantic public green space in the city.