NORTHERN TUSCANY - Florence and Tuscany - page 177

Pistoia t

The citizens of Pistoia acquired a
reputation for viciousness and intrigue
in the 13th century and the taint has
never quite disappeared. The cause was
a feud between two of the city's rival
factions, the Neri and Bianchi (Blacks
and Whites), that spread to involve
other cities. Assassination in Pistoia's narrow alleyways
was commonplace. The favoured weapon was a tiny
but deadly dagger called the pistole made by the city's
ironworkers, who also specialized in surgical
instruments. The city still thrives on metalworking:
everything from buses to mattress springs is made
here. Its historic centre has several fine buildings.

The Cappella
del Tau symbol

Baptistry opposite the Cattedrale

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Cattedrale di San Zeno
Piazza del Duomo. Tel [phone].
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the basement, you can see
the excavated remains of
Roman buildings, and upstairs
there are some fine reliquar-
ies, crucifixes and chalices
made by local goldsmiths
in the 13th-15th centuries.

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Cappella del Tau
Corso Silvano Fedi 70. Tel [phone]
04.

8am-12:30pm, 3:30-7pm daily. 9am-1pm Mon-Sat.

This chapel owes its name
to the letter T ( tau in Greek)
which appeared on the cloaks
of the monks who built it and
which symbolized a crutch.
Inside the chapel there
are frescoes on The Creation
and the life of St Anthony
Abbot, who founded the
order, which is dedicated to
tending the sick and crippled.

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& side entrance.

Cappella di San Jacobo

7

daily.
Piazza del Duomo, the city's
main square, is dominated by
the Cattedrale di San Zeno and
its bulky campanile, which
was originally built in the
12th century as a defensive
watchtower in the city walls.
The interior is rich in funer-
ary monuments, including the
tomb of poet Cino da Pistoia,
in the south aisle. He is depict-
ed in a relief (1337) lecturing
to a class of young boys.
Nearby is the Cappella di San
Jacobo, with its extraordinary
silver altar decorated with over
600 statues and reliefs. The
earliest of these date from 1287
and the altar was not complet-
ed until 1456. During that
time, nearly every silver-
smith of note in Tuscany
contributed to the extra-
ordinarily rich design.
Among them was Brunel-
leschi, who began his
career working in metal
before switching to archi-
tecture. Also in Piazza
del Duomo, facing the
Cattedrale, is the octago-
nal Baptistry, which
was finished in 1359.

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E

Museo Civico
Palazzo del Comune, Piazza del
Duomo. Tel [phone].
#

10am-5pm Tue, Fri, Sat (to 6pm
in summer), 3-6pm Wed (4-7pm in
summer), 11am-5pm Sun (to 6pm in
summer). 7

On the opposite side of the
square is the Palazzo del
Comune (Town Hall), which
has the Museo Civico upstairs.
Exhibits here range from
medieval altar paintings to the
work of 20th-century Pistoian
artists, architects and sculptors.

¢ Mon. &

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Centro Marino Marini
Palazzo del Tau, Corso Silvano
Fedi 30. Tel [phone].
# 10am-5pm Mon-Fri,

9:30am-12:30pm Sat.

The work of Marino
Marini (1901-80),
Pistoia's most
famous 20th-
century artist,
is housed in a
museum in the
Palazzo del Tau. On
display are drawings
and casts, which trace
the development of his
style. Marini specialized
in sculpting primitive
forms in bronze or clay.
His subjects included a
horse and rider
(see p104) , and
Pomona, the
ancient Roman
goddess of fertility.

&

The Fall , in the Cappella del Tau

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San Giovanni Fuorcivitas
Via Cavour. daily.

Just north of the Cappella del
Tau is the 12th-century church
of San Giovanni Fuorcivitas
(“St John outside the city”,
since the church once stood
beyond the city walls). Its
north flank is strikingly clad
in banded marble and there
is a Romanesque relief of The
Last Supper over the portal.
Inside is Giovanni Pisano's
holy water basin, carved in
marble with figures of the
Virtues, and an equally
masterly pulpit by Guglielmo

#

E

Museo di San Zeno
Palazzo dei Vescovi, Piazza del
Duomo. Tel [phone].
# 10am-1pm, 3-5pm Tue,

Thu & Fri. partial.

In the beautifully
restored Palazzo dei
Vescovi (Bishop's
Palace) is the Museo
della Cattedrale. In

& 8 7

Pomona by Marino
Marini