Sant'Andrea Forisportam, Romanesque church in Pisa, Italy.
Sant'Andrea Forisportam is a deconsecrated Romanesque church on via Palestro in Pisa. Its smooth stone facade has three portals and five blind arches divided by pilasters, with lozenges and oculi; the upper part and its rose window were rebuilt in 2011. The rough-stone sides and rear carry small arches and ceramic basins, and the interior has three naves and five bays on six columns.
First documented in 1104, the church kept its 11th-century side walls and apse, decorated with hanging arches and Islamic ceramic basins. It was a parish church under San Pietro in Vinculis until 1839, when it was deconsecrated for a fish-market that was never built. Restored in the 1840s, it was damaged in World War II, reopened in 1948, and has housed Teatro Sant'Andrea since 1986.
The name Forisportam means "outside the gate", because the church stood beyond a gate of the early medieval walls, not the later republican circuit. Since 1986 it has housed the Teatro Sant'Andrea, and the deconsecrated nave now serves as a performance space.
The church has housed Teatro Sant'Andrea since 1986, so the interior is generally seen during performances rather than as an open monument. Entry follows the theatre's programme; check the current schedule before planning a visit. The building stands on via Palestro, in the centre of Pisa.
The small arches under the eaves on the sides and rear hold copies of 11th-12th-century Islamic and Pisan ceramic basins; the originals are kept at the Museo di San Matteo. The same device appears on the coeval brick bell tower and on older Pisan churches such as San Piero a Grado and San Sisto.
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