Pisa makes everyone think of the leaning tower. But in another of the city’s squares there is a surprising reminder of the struggle against the Ottomans in the Mediterranean: the Ottoman and corsair flags hanging from the ceiling of the church of Santo Stefano dei Cavalieri.

The Medici’s naval order

In 1561 Cosimo I de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, founded the Order of the Knights of Saint Stephen. Its task was to fight Ottoman and North African corsair ships in the Mediterranean. Its headquarters was set up on today’s Piazza dei Cavalieri in Pisa, and the order’s church was built on the same square.

Trophies in the church

The knights hung the flags of ships captured at sea in the church as signs of victory. A record from 1892 mentions about 140 flags; today the church holds just over sixty. According to tradition, one of them was taken from the flagship of the Ottoman admiral Müezzinzade Ali Pasha at the Battle of Lepanto in 1571. This is a tradition, however, not a documented fact.

A sea war with two sides

These flags tell the story of the long “small war” of the 16th and 17th-century Mediterranean: on one side the Ottoman navy and the North African corsairs, on the other Christian orders such as the Knights of Malta and of Saint Stephen. Both sides raided ships, took captives and collected booty.

The flags of Pisa are silent witnesses of a centuries-long naval struggle between the two shores of the Mediterranean.

What to see today

  • Church of Santo Stefano dei Cavalieri: flags hanging from the ceiling and walls.
  • Piazza dei Cavalieri: the Renaissance square that was the order’s headquarters, today also home to the famous Scuola Normale Superiore.
  • Florence, Stibbert Museum: about an hour away, its arms collection includes Islamic and Ottoman armour.

Tips for your visit

Piazza dei Cavalieri is a ten-minute walk from the Leaning Tower, so you can see both on one outing. The church was closed for a time for restoration; check before you go whether it is open and what the current hours are. For memories of Lepanto in Venice, see the Venice page.