Italy allocates millions to restore Pisa’s heritage and San Zeno Church
The Italian Ministry of Culture has allocated €8.68 million to Pisa for the 2025–2027 triennium to safeguard the city’s historic and artistic heritage, communicating the funding directly to the mayor. The Superintendency of Pisa and Livorno will serve as the implementing body for the various interventions. The ministry communicated the allocation to the mayor on November 8, 2026.
The package includes €1.88 million for the consolidation and restoration of the Church of San Zeno and €3 million for the restoration and valorization of the Jewish Cemetery alongside the reopening of the Lion’s Gate. Both initiatives fall under the ministry’s Strategic Plan “Great Cultural Heritage Projects.”
San Zeno Restoration to Return Historic Complex to the Public
Mayor Michele Conti called the arrival of the resources extraordinary news for Pisa and a concrete recognition of the value of the city’s historic, artistic and cultural heritage. He said the nearly €8.7 million investment will enable work on several culturally significant sites, contributing to their conservation and their return to the community. Conti stressed that the funding for San Zeno is particularly significant, as restoring the extraordinary complex means recovering a precious piece of the city’s collective memory and making the space accessible and usable once again. Conti added that the funding represents recognition of work carried forward with determination and continuity by the administration, which worked to invest in the safeguarding and recovery of the city’s cultural assets, planning the interventions, identifying the resources and building the conditions to realize concrete projects. Deputy mayor Filippo Bedini had anticipated in 2025 that the Church of San Zeno would be included in the funding.
Administration Links Funding to Broader Heritage Recovery
Deputy mayor Filippo Bedini, who holds the culture portfolio, said the financing allows the city to continue its goal of returning important places to residents. He noted that San Zeno, a building with a fascinating history that had remained closed for safety reasons for too long, will finally be restored. Bedini described San Zeno as a place of the heart
for the people of Pisa. He also pointed to other recent local achievements, including the recently restored and reopened church of Santa Maria della Spina. Returning San Zeno to the city, he said, means continuing the work begun with the church of Sant’Antonio in Qualquonia, San Marco in Calcesana and the parks inaugurated in recent months, to make some of Pisa’s most beautiful and significant corners open and usable once again. He added that San Zeno will return to being a space for culture, art and spirituality
. Bedini also thanked all those who contributed to reaching this result.
The interventions are scheduled to proceed across the 2025–2027 period.