Although the Palace of the Putean College is the Piazza dei Cavalieri’s smallest palace, it still takes up the square’s entire western quarter. Come to take pictures of the palace’s monumental exterior but don’t expect to go inside. The building is part of the Scuola Normale, one of the best colleges in the country.
Originally an assortment of individual houses, during the 1500s the Palace of the Putean College had its separate buildings joined into one structure. Over several centuries, the palace housed the knights of St. Stephen, while its quarters housed students who had moved to the city from elsewhere in Italy. Notice the ornate, antique façade, which is a vestige of the palace’s former use by Pisan nobility.
Scan the façade of the palace for the symbolic frescoes painted in 1608 by baroque painter Giovanni Stefano Marucelli. The palace shares its burnt-brown colour with many buildings in the city, caused by the gradual wear of the hot sun for which Tuscany is famous. This gives the building its authentic historic charm, along with the beautifully decayed state of its ornamental centrepiece.
Today, the mathematics department of the Scuola Normale uses the Palace of the Putean College as a research facility and the building is inaccessible to the public. Appropriately, given the building’s history, the university still hosts visiting students in the palace’s guesthouse.
Located on Knights’ Square in Pisa’s historic centre, the Palace of the Putean College is easily accessible on foot or by bus. If you are driving, park on the south side of the river, since parking around Knights’ Square is limited. While here, visit the Church of Santo Stefano dei Cavalieri and the Palazzo della Carovona, which also line the square.
