Leaning against the parapet of Lungarno Gambacorti, overlooking the river in perhaps the most beautiful point of the entire Pisan lungarno from which you can enjoy a breathtaking view at sunset there is a small Gothic church that deserves a visit no less than Piazza dei Miracoli.
The Church of the Spina is not only famous for its spires, its pinnacles and the beauty of its polychrome marble but also for its history: the proximity to the river has always been a danger for the church that was originally built on the banks of the river. The subsidence of the ground and the continuous threat of infiltration when the Arno flooded convinced the authorities in the mid-19th century to "dismantle" the church piece by piece and reposition it a few metres higher up: a real feat at the limits of the engineering possibilities of the time that saved the Chiesa della Spina, allowing us all to admire it even today.
