the Knights of St. Stephen during the naval battle of Lepanto on 7 October 1571. The main building on the square is Palazzo della Carovana, the palace of the Knights of St. Stephen, and formerly the Palace of the Elders. It was modernised in Renaissance style by Giorgio Vasari. The façade is decorated with sgraffiti, equally by Vasari, and contains six niches with busts of grand dukes of Tuscany. In front of the palace stands the large statue of Cosimo I de Medici by Pietro Francavilla, who also designed the Palace of the Priors in 1603. In the other corner of the square stands the Palazzo dell'Orologio, which is referred to in Dante's Inferno. 20th century Nowadays the Palazzo della Carovana houses the main building of the Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa, a university founded by Napoleon Bonaparte and modeled after the Ecole Normale Superieure of Paris. Italian poet Giosuè Carducci and physicist Enrico Fermi are among some of the pupils who have studied here. There is also the house of the Confraternita della Misericordia, a Catholic ambulance service. Buildings in the square Church of Santo Stefano dei Cavalieri Palazzo della Carovana Statue of Cosimo I Palazzo dell'Orologio Church of St. Rocco Palazzo del Collegio Puteano Palazzo del Consiglio dei Dodici Canonica Muda Tower Images gallery References External links Interactive high resolution 360° Panoramic photo of Piazza dei Cavalieri - virtual tour by Hans von Weissenfluh Piazzas in Pisa