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Western quarters
A main route south from the Campo dei Miracoli is Via Santa Maria, which starts out clogged with touristy shops. Where Via dei Mille heads east for Piazza dei Cavalieri, the smaller Via Ghini cuts west to the gate of the Orto Botanico, the oldest university botanical gardens in the world, based in 1543 (Mon - Fri 8 am - 5.30 pm, Sat 8 am - 1 pm; free). Via Santa Maria continues south in a much more subdued vein, crooking its way down to meet the river alongside the second of Pisa's leaning towers, the campanile of San Nicola, which starts off cylindrical, then becomes octagonal, then finally hexagonal on top.
Alongside San Nicola, fronting onto the Arno, is the Museo Nazionale di Palazzo Reale , Lungarno Pacinotti 46 (Mon - Sat 9 am - 2 pm, displaying painting, sculpture and furniture belonging to the Medici, Lorraine and Savoy dynasties which occupied the house. Lavish sixteenth-century Flemish tapestries share space with antique weaponry, ivory miniatures and porcelain. A largely undistinguished collection of painting is led by Bronzino's famous portrait of Cosimo I's wife, Eleanor of Toledo. Just as memorable, however, is the lovely river view from the balcony.
West along the Arno is the vast Arsenale, built in the late sixteenth century to house the ships of the Order of St Stephen. In a twist of fate, it is again housing a naval fleet, though one from much earlier. In December 1998, during excavations to expand Pisa San Rossore train station, archeologists stumbled on the extensive, well-preserved remains of port facilities and ships dating from Etruscan and Roman times. Sixteen ships were uncovered, dating from between the first century BC and the sixth century AD, eight of them entire - one of which may turn out to be the only complete Roman warship yet discovered - along with a vast hoard of artefacts. Currently, the museum, known as Le Navi Antiche di Pisa, occupies one wing of the arsenal (Mon - Fri 10 am - 7 pm, Sat & Sun 11 am - 1 pm & 2 - 10 pm, but the authorities are planning to expand the displays to fill the whole building in the near future.
Just west of the arsenal rises the Torre Guelfa of the Fortezza Vecchia or Cittadella Vecchia (Tues - Sun: June - Aug 10 am - 1 pm & 5 - 8 pm, Sat & Sun until 10 pm; March - May, Sept & Oct 10 am - 1pm & 3 - 6 pm. This ancient fortress originally built in the thirteenth century, once stood guard over Pisa's harbor but now punctuates an otherwise little-explored district. Pisa is a low-rise city, and the view from the tower is spectacular.
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