Mention Pisa and most people picture the Leaning Tower, tilting stubbornly against gravity in the Piazza dei Miracoli. Tourists pour in year after year to strike that same photo pose—hands outstretched, pretending to hold it up. But for locals, Pisa’s soul isn’t found among the selfie sticks and marble facades. It’s alive in the Arena Garibaldi, where black-and-blue shirts, scarves, and friendships forged over decades come together on a Saturday afternoon.
For years, that soul was tested. Pisa’s story has been one of heartbreak—relegations, bankruptcies, and the slow fading of the Romeo Anconetani golden era, when dreams of competing with Italy’s giants didn’t feel so far-fetched. The club became a ghost of itself, surviving on memories and stubborn loyalty.
Last season, though, something shifted. Under the guidance of Alexander Knaster and Giuseppe Corrado, Pisa finally made it back to Serie A. It had been 34 long years since their last appearance in the top flight, and the return set the city alight. Tickets disappeared almost overnight, the Arena filled to the rafters, and a roar that had been quiet for decades found its voice again.
And now comes the real test. In just a few weeks, the Tuscan derby with Fiorentina returns—a rivalry that stretches back centuries, fuelled as much by history and civic pride as by football. It’s more than a fixture; it’s an echo of medieval rivalries, a reminder that football in Italy is rarely just football. Pisa’s fans will show up in force. That’s a given.
The football itself? That’s a little trickier. The season started with tough fixtures—Atalanta, Roma, Udinese—but there are already signs of life, flashes of growth. Coach Alberto Gilardino knows his challenge is bigger than tactics. He has to connect this squad with its people, to bridge the 34-year gap and make Pisa feel like a Serie A club again.
For a city so often defined by a tower that leans, Pisa’s footballing story is about something else entirely: resilience, revival, and a fanbase that never stopped believing. The tower may always steal the headlines, but right now, football in Pisa is standing tall.
