After a few weeks we come back to talk about the amazing history of this land, one that Tuscans are generally very fond of. While it's true that many other places can boast about a rich past, what makes this place different is that ancient events always find a way to sneak into everyday life. There are Tuscans squabbling about battles happened centuries ago! Despite this, many of the more interesting events about this land are unknown to many. Few people, for example, know that up until the 17th century, Pisa had a different patron saint, Saint Sixtus. Even fewer people are aware that behind the choice of Saint Rainier there was the not-so-subtle land of Pisa's sworn enemy, the Medici family. That's why this week "What's Up Tuscany" will bring you back to the city of the Leaning Tower to tell you everything there is to know about this remarkable tale of faith, superstition and political intrigue. If you listen to the entire episode, you'll know about the remarkable history of the unfortunate Pope that is one of the few saints celebrated by both the Catholic and the Orthodox church. I'll tell you also about the very odd reason that made him so close to the hearts of the Pisa faithful and how a devastating defeat broke this special relationship. In the final chapters, we will explore how the fight between the Emperor and the Pope gave rise to the figure of Saint Rainier and why, several centuries later, it was the Florentines that pushed to have him as the patron saint of their arch-rival so that people forgot about their proud past. This is truly a special story that speaks volumes about how history is never far from this land. It always come back to haunt you. Email: [email protected] Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/larno.it Twitter: @arno_it / @WhatsupTuscany LINKS TO SOURCES (ITALIAN ONLY) http://www.stilepisano.it/leggende/leg(g)ende_pisane_N20_sanranieri_26feb2018.pdf https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiesa_di_San_Sisto_(Pisa) https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papa_Sisto_II BACKGROUND MUSIC Pipe Choir - Bom Bom Breakthrough (Instrumental) Wayne John Bradley - Summercycle Aerocity - Cold Weather Kids Wayne John Bradley - Waiting Cityfires - Blood Problems (Instrumental) Pipe Choir - Children of the Son Wayne John Bradley - Blues Rock Original Instrumental All released under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License https://soundcloud.com/pipe-choir-2/pipe-choir-bom-bom-breakthrough-creative-commons-instrumental https://soundcloud.com/ayneohnradley/summercycle-original-indie-style-instrumental-creative-commons https://soundcloud.com/argofox/aerocity-cold-weather-kids https://soundcloud.com/ayneohnradley/waiting-original-uplifting-indie-pop-style-instrumentalcreative-commons https://soundcloud.com/ljayofficial/blood-problems-instrumentalby-cityfires https://soundcloud.com/pipe-choir-2/pc-one-children-of-the-son-creative-commons-instrumental https://soundcloud.com/ayneohnradley/blues-rock-original-instrumentalcreative-commons http://www.pipechoir.com/