Explorations of a gorgeous medieval Tuscan city.
Northwest of Florence, Pistoia has a lovely medieval city center and a gorgeous cathedral. It’s a fairly typical Tuscan city, but that doesn’t mean its not special. It’s Tuscany after all.
I arrived on a Sunday, market day. The main streets and plazas were full of vendors. However, by lunchtime they all vanished like nothing happened. I went into a museum and came out to not a single market stall. So, I ran around getting new photos of everything. Therefore, below is the places I visited in order, but not the photos.
Jana Irving Very Tuscany.
Jana Irving It looks like the building on the right used to be larger. The facade on the left looks older and same ground floor facade. Confusing.
Jana Irving Piazza della Sala, where you will find the fruits and vegetables on market day.
Jana Irving San Bartolomeo, an 8th century church that was later renovated in the 12th century to its current Romanesque style.
Jana Irving Traces of frescoes were found on the walls during the mid-20th century renovation. The church may have been brightly colored at one point.
Jana Irving Fresco remnants.
Jana Irving A very elaborate pulpit.
Jana Irving San Giovanni Fuoricivitas and its absolutely stunning Romanesque facade. The date of the current appearance of the church is somewhere in 12th-14th centuries.
Jana Irving This church has 13th century frescoes and a giant pulpit. Many of the churches in Pistoia had giant altars like this one.
Jana Irving Cattedrale di San Zeno and its giant bell tower.
Jana Irving Gorgeous Romanesque front.
Jana Irving The cathedral is a cross between Romanesque and Baroque. Interesting combination.
Jana Irving Love the painted wood ceiling and the bits of fresco that have survived.
Jana Irving That’s one very elaborate baptismal font.
Jana Irving A pop of Baroque in the sanctuary.
Jana Irving Back outside in the Piazza del Duomo, where you can find the Gothic Battistero di San Giovanni in Corte from the 14th century opposite from the cathedral.
Jana Irving More of the piazza after the market disappeared.
Jana Irving The adorable Piazzetta Spirito Santo, with the giant dome of the Basilica della Madonna dell’Umiltà in the distance.
Jana Irving Another gorgeous Romanesque church, Sant’Andrea Apostolo.
Jana Irving Gorgeous facade.
Jana Irving Oh, look! Another giant pulpit.
Jana Irving An elaborate one, too.
Jana Irving San Francesco, a 14th century church with a later facade.
Jana Irving The front of the church reminds me of a couple of churches in Florence.
Jana Irving Some of the little chapels were elaborately decorated in frescoes.
Jana Irving A very yellow tower house.
Jana Irving People come from all over the area to check out Pistoia’s famous Sunday market.
Jana Irving Santi Prospero e Filippo, a very lovely random find.
Jana Irving Neatest part of the church was the apse with a second floor viewing area. It was a bit unexpected.
Jana Irving Love those warm colors.
Jana Irving Finally made it to the Basilica della Madonna dell’Umiltà, the owner of the big dome. This church has a very odd layout. This is the back of the church. To the left is the main church area.
Jana Irving A multi-sided church with a giant dome. Also, very hard to photograph.
Jana Irving Flowers, anyone?
Jana Irving I can’t explain why this gorgeous medieval building is now a store. Seems too churchy.
Jana Irving Museo dello Spedale del Ceppo, which is in a former 13th century hospital.
Jana Irving The gorgeous frieze is from the early 16th century. It’s been mostly restored except for the panel on the right. The frieze shows the seven works of mercy.
Jana Irving The museum has collections of antique medical equipment. The main feature is the still complete anatomy theater from the 1780s. Cadavers would be dissected on the marble table as the students watched.
Jana Irving Palazzo della Cassa di Risparmio. I just thought it looks neat.
Jana Irving More warm colors.
Jana Irving It’s hard to tell that just a couple of hours before I took this photo, this street was full of market stalls.
Pistoia was a very neat city. There is plenty to do here, from museums to churches. Pistoia is a perfect place to get the experience of a Tuscan city without all of Florence’s crowds.
Check out my next update where I explore the Northern Italian city of Ferrara!
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Start at the beginning of this adventure.
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