Arena Garibaldi Stadium Guide Pisa

Arena Garibaldi, Pisa, Italy

Andy Greeves

Located close to the world-famous Leaning Tower of Pisa, Arena Garibaldi - Stadio Romeo Anconetani (currently known as the Cetilar® Arena for sponsorship reasons) has been home to Pisa Sporting Club (formed 1909) since 1919.

Events have taken place on the site of Arena Garibaldi since 1807, with theatrical performances and horse racing previously staged there. Between 1896 and 1919 though, the venue stood abandoned before it was developed as a new home for Pisa SC, who had spent their early history plying their trade on various playing fields including the Piazza San Paolo a Ripa d'Arno, Piazza d'Armi, Velodromo Stampace and Campo dell'Abetone.

Stands

A ‘traditional' Italian style stadium, Arena Garibaldi has a covered, main grandstand opposite the uncovered Gradinata stand while the two curved goal-end stands (Curva Nord and Curva Sud) are also uncovered.
The Curva Nord is home to the club's ultras while visiting supporters are housed in the Curva Sud Ospiti, which can be accessed through Gate G off Via Rosmini.

History

The external appearance of the Arena Garibaldi hasn't change for decades. The stadium's original main stand was built in 1931 and renovated in the summer of 1982, while Curva Nord and Curva Sud were constructed during the 1960s. The Arena was once home to an athletics track which was removed in 1989, when the pitch level was lowered too. At its peak, the venue held around 35,000 but its capacity is restricted to around 12,500 today.

In the summer of 2025, a major renovation project took place at the Arena Garibaldi, which included the installation of new seats on the Curva Sud and construction of a new player tunnel while improvements were made to the stadium's lighting and interior areas such as the press conference room, media mixed zone and gym.

The Italy national team has played at the Arena Garibaldi on four occasions for matches versus Yugoslavia (23 September 1987), Denmark (22 February 1989), Norway (10 February 1999) and Northern Ireland (6 June 2009).

Arena Garibaldi was co-named after the late President Romeo Anconetani back in 2001.

Serie B match v Empoli. — Serie B match v Empoli

Pisa SC

Pisa Sporting Club was formed in 1909 and re-founded in 1994 as Pisa Calcio and in 2009 as Associazione Calcio Pisa. The club changed its name back to Pisa Sporting Club in the summer of 2021.

Pisa made an early mark in the Prima Categoria - the precursor for Serie A, which was established in 1929 - by finishing as runners-up in 1920-21. But by the time Serie A kicked off in 1929-30, the club club nicknamed Nerazzurri (The Black and Blues) were playing in Italian football's third tier.

Pisa gained a place in Serie B in 1934 as one of four final group winners of the Prima Divisione. After decades of ups and downs thereafter, it wasn't until 1968 that Pisa would enter Serie A for the first time. It was a brief stay in the top flight for the Nerazzurri, who were relegated at the end of the 1968-69 season. They spent the majority of the 1970s in Serie C before the purchase of the club by Romeo Anconetani in 1978 transformed their fortunes.

Promoted to Serie B in 1979, Pisa finished third the division in 1981-82 to book their return to the top flight of Italian league football for the first time in 13 years. Under manager Luis Simoni, the Nerazzurri achieved their best-ever league position in 1982-83, finishing 11th in the Serie A table. Relegation in 1983-84 was followed by a swift return to the top flight in 1985 as Serie B champions. They yo-yoed again with Serie A relegation in 1985-86 and 1988-89 and a Serie B title in 1986-87 and a promotion back to the top flight in 1989-90. A number of household names represented the club during the 1980s including future Brazil World Cup-winning captain Dunga, gifted English defender Paul Elliott, current Atlético Madrid head coach Diego Simeone and Denmark international Henrik Larsen.

Significant decline on and off the pitch thereafter saw Pisa plying their trade in Serie C and declared bankrupt during the 1990s. Phoenix club Pisa Calcio was formed in the summer of 1994 from the ashes of the former Sporting Club, with the ‘new' Nerazzurri placed in the Eccellenza at the fifth level of the Italian league pyramid. Pisa reached Serie C2 in 1996 and C1 by 1999 before eventually returning to Serie B in 2007. Just two years later though, the club was liquidated for the second time in its history and another phoenix club, A.C. Pisa 1909 S.S.D was created. This new club started out in Serie D, winning Group D in 2009-10 to gain promotion.

Pisa returned to Serie B having Lega Pro Group B in 2015-16. They again yo-yoed between the second and third tier before finishing as Serie B runners-up in 2024-25 under the management of the legendary Filippo Inzaghi to take their place in the top flight of Italian football for the first time in 34 years. Inzaghi departed Pisa for Palermo in the summer of 2025 with his replacements Alberto Gilardino and then Oscar Hiljemark unable to prevent Pisa finishing bottom of Serie A in 2025-26.

Paolo Bianco was installed as Pisa's new head coach ahead of the start of the 2026-27 season.

Match action in Pisa. — Match action in Pisa

Honours

Serie B
Winners: 1984-85, 1986-87
Runners-up: 1989-90, 2024-25
Third Place (Promoted): 1981-82

Serie C
Winners: 1933-34, 1964-65
Winners: C1 Group B: 1978-79
Winners: C1 Group A: 2006-07
Winners: C2 Group A: 1998-99
Third Place - Group A (Promoted): 2018-19

Lega Pro
Runners-up (Promoted) - Group B: 2015-16

Serie D
Winners - Group D: 2009-10

Coppa Italia Serie C
Winners: 1999-2000
Runners-up: 2011-12

Mitropa Cup
Winners: 1985-86, 1987-88
Runners-up: 1991

Electronic scoreboard. — Electronic scoreboard

Matchday Experience

There is no stadium tour available at the Arena Garibaldi. However, visitors to the ground can purchase a ‘Matchday Experience' from the Pisa Store in Via Oberdan (Borgo Largo) or via an online form which can be found at pisasportingclub.com/en/matchday-experience

The Matchday Experience allows visitors to go behind-the-scenes two hours before kick-off on a matchday, with access to the team dressing rooms, media facilities and the players' tunnel. You can also checkout the pre-match warm up from pitch level. The price for this experience varies depending on Pisa's matchday opponents.

Fun Facts

Legendary former Pisa president Romeo Anconetani used to scatter salt on the Arena Garibaldi pitch on matchdays to ward off bad luck before matches!
Arena Garibaldi is currently known as Cetilar® Arena for sponsorship reasons. Cetilar® is a brand of sports nutrition products owned by pharmaceutical company PharmaNutra S.p.A.
Pisa Sporting Club's crest carries an image of the world-famous Leaning Tower of Pisa. The 55.86m tower, situated close to the Arena Garibaldi has a lean of around four degrees.
Pisa are two-time winners of the Mitropa Cup - one of the first major European competitions for club sides. A total of 50 Mitropa Cup tournaments took place between 1927 and 1992.

Access - Getting to Arena Garibaldi - Stadio Romeo Anconetani

Pisa's main railway station, Pisa Centrale, is approximately 25 minutes' walk from the Arena Garibaldi. Local bus operator Autolinee Toscane has a number of routes between the Pisa Centrale and Arena Garibaldi. From the station, travel on Line 1+ (from Stazione 1 stop) to Torre, Line 3+ (from Stazione 6 stop) to Pacinotti or Line 4 (from Stazione 8 stop) to Rindi. All these stops are approximately 10 minutes' walk to the stadium.

Address: Via Antonio Rosmini, 61, 56123, Pisa, Italy

Accessibility

The Arena Garibaldi has around 15 wheelchair positions available which should be booked in advance of a match by emailing accrediti[at]pisasportingclub.com. These positions - along with a personal assistant ticket - are provided free of charge.