The first records of the Pisan arsenal date back to the early 13th century when, outside the western side of the city walls, a dock was created for the construction or storage of new vessels. It was a period in which military victories and thriving maritime trade had made it necessary for the city to find suitable space for the development of naval activities.
Construction of the Guelf Tower
The defeats of the subsequent century and the stagnation of merchant traffic led to a conversion of the area at the end of the 14th century when it was transformed into a fortress. The Florentine conquest of 1406 resulted in further changes, including the new construction of the Guelf Tower (or the Citadel), standing 18 meters high, in opposition to the pre-existing Ghibelline Tower, which has now disappeared. The area was off-limits to the Pisans and any commercial activities. In the mid-16th century, it ceased to be a military fortress, and the first location of the Botanical Garden was established there.
In the 18th century, the site housed prisons, and a cavalry barracks was built, heavily damaged during the bombings of 1943, along with much of the medieval arsenal.
The bombings of 1944
The Guelf Tower was faithfully reconstructed after the bombings of 1944. Its unmistakable profile has always attracted the attention of those who have stayed or walked along the Lungarni.
Inside, there are some coats of arms of the Florentine Commissioners who succeeded each other in governing the city. Only the Medicean shipyards remain of the original construction, now the location of the Museum of Ancient Ships.