Pistoia
The provincial capital of PISTOIA is one of the least visited cities in Tuscany; this negligence is unjustified in relation to the secluded, a well-preserved medieval town at the foot of the Apennines. Because the train journey from Florence only takes 35 minutes (about the same amount by bus) you can go here for a pleasant day trip, and also stop on the way to Lucca and Pisa, with which the city has strong architectural links.
In medieval times, the city was famous for its vendetta and was stigmatized by Dante and Machiavelli. It was also an important metallurgical city and the local legacy is a pistol, word derived from the name of the city. Today's Pistoia maintains industrial traditions in the form of a large railway track factory, but more famous for its garden nurseries in the surrounding hills. Of the artistic attractions, the city boasts a number of churches and Romanesque sculptures, and the most famous is the excellent colorful frieze della Robbii.
City
From the train (or bus) From Florence you get off just a few hundred meters from the Centro Storico. Viale XX Settembre leads through the walls to the heart of the city, exquisite medieval complex Piazza del Duomo, where the EPT office in the Bishop's Palace is located.
Duomo will seem familiar to you, if you came from Pisa or Lucca, because it was built in the characteristic Pisan-Romanesque style with black and white stripes of marble and multiplied arcades. On the portico there is a delicate bas-relief of Andrea della Robbia. Inside (closed. 12.00-16.00) there are a number of outstanding sculptures, including several tombstones of Verocchia, the magnificent baptismal font of Andrea da Fiesole and (on the right wall) monument to Dante's friend, Cino da Pistoia; the poet gives a lecture to his students, among which there is reportedly Petrarch. Just behind the monument is Cappella di San Jacopo, with one of the finest goldsmith monuments in the world – an altar started in 1287 r.( and completed in the fifteenth century., when Brunelleschi made two figures on the left.
The campania adjacent to the cathedral served as a watchtower in the Middle Ages and was quite amusingly rebuilt with Romanesque arcades and a gothic turret. Opposite is the baptistery, a more thoughtful Romanesque design by Giovanni Pisano, and next to it is the old Palazzo Podesta. On the upper floors of Palazzo Comunale, standing next to the cathedral, houses the common Museo Civico, and at the bottom a more interesting permanent exhibition of works by Pistoia-born Marino Marini (1901 -80). In the early period of His work, Marini found inspiration in the realism of the Etruscan sarcophagi., as he expressed in an endless series of sculptures of horses and riders, which has fascinated him all his life; in the 40s he turned to portraiture — he painted, among others, Thomas Mann, Henry Miller and Marc Chagall. (Tue-Sun. 9.00-13.00 i 16.00-19.00; Free entrance).
From Piazza del Duomo you can walk in any direction through the streets, at which there will be a romanesque church or a medieval palazzo. The three most interesting churches date from the twelfth century and are distinguished by three pulpits decorated with the highest flight of the thirteenth-century Tuscan sculpture. W San Bartolomeo in Panatano, west of Piazza Duomo, is the oldest of the pulpits, made in 1250 r. by Guida da Como. Further south, beyond the original perimeter of the walls, stands the church of San Giovanni Fuorcivitas with majestic arcades, pulpit of the year 1270 works of the disciple Nicola Pisana and the holy water bowl of his son Giovanni. In turn, the pulpit made by Giovanni himself – the masterpiece of the city – is located in San Andrea.; is based on his father's design for the Pisan Baptistery and only slightly less sophisticated than his own work for the Pisan Cathedral.
On the square at the end of via Pacini, behind Palazzo Comunale, is located Ospedale del Ceppo. The entire length of the hospital is decorated with a colorfully enamelled frieze, showing the Seven Works of Mercy. It was completed in the sixteenth century. and depicts an astonishing, an extremely colorful parade of Renaissance characters and costumes: Pilgrims, Prisoners, Sick, dead, all presented with meticulous realism.
Practical details
Pistoia's low populousness among tourists is accompanied by scant accommodation possibilities. If you want to stay here overnight, you need to call in advance – guesthouses are small, and expensive hotels. In prices 35000-40000 L for two are Albergo Autisli, viale Pacinotti 93 (057/21771), and Albergo Firenze, via Curtatone e Montanara 42 (0573/23141).
In Pistoia, the most happens at the end of July, when Luglio Pistoiese — a month-long festival of concerts and other events — Giostra delPOrso is crowned. modeled on medieval tournaments and held in Piazza del Duomo. In the rest of the year, the city comes to life a little on Wednesdays and Saturdays during the fair in Piazza della Sala.
Lazzi Bus (to Florence and Prato) depart from outside the train station; COPIT buses (to Vinci and Empoli) from Piazza San Francesco. Road to Vinci, Leonardo's birthplace leads through the slopes of the beautiful Monte Albano, and the trip is short enough, that you can make it back to Florence or Pisa.