Send Gift Baskets to Pistoia, Italy

Cathedral of St. Zeno

Built on the site of a fifth-century church in the 12th to 13th centuries, the Cathedrale di San Zeno has enough artistic quality to warrant a visit. 1311 was when the entrance, with seven arches and three doorways, was completed.

Baptistery

The baptistery, built by Cellino di Nese to Andrea Pisano’s designs, stands opposite the cathedral’s west end. A Madonna figure appears in the tympanum of the central doorway, flanked by alternating bands of white and green marble.

The Church of Sant’Andrea

Its origins date back to the eighth century, and construction continued into the 12th century but was never completed. There are blind arches of white and green marble on the facade, as well as two lions flanking a statue of St. Andrew in the manner of Giovanni Pisano.

Giardino Zoologico di Pistoia (Zoo)

About 15 minutes outside Pistoia, this zoo has an impressive variety of exotic and European animals. In the summer, it is pleasant to stroll through the shaded grounds, where you can see elephants, tigers, brown bears, giraffes, zebras, lesser pandas, lynxes, pigmy hippos, wolves, alligators, crocodiles, pelicans, penguins, tropical birds, flamingos, and smaller animals.

Ospedale del Ceppo & Pistoia Sotterranea

A medieval hospital north of the Palazzo del Comune, the Ospedale del Ceppo was founded in the 13th or 14th century and was named after the box that collected alms for the poor and sick.

San Giovanni Fuorcivitas

This church (whose name translates to St. John outside the town), at the time beyond the town walls, was constructed in the mid-12th century and completed in the 14th.

San Bartolomeo in Pantano

Near the Duomo, San Bartolomeo was founded in the 700s but reconstructed in the 12th century. Over time, many of the original Romanesque features have been altered, but a 20th-century restoration revealed many of them.

Palazzo Fabroni (Contemporary Art Center)

The 17th-century palace of the Fabroni family has been restored to house the Centro Arti Visive Contemporanee, an exhibition space dedicated to local and famous international artists, as well as an important modern art collection.

Piazza della Sala

Although Piazza del Duomo may be the city’s historical and architectural heart, Piazza della Sala is its commercial and social heart. Pistoia’s market has been here since the 11th century, making it one of the city’s oldest squares.

Museo Capitolare (Cathedral Treasury)

Located in the sacristy is the Museo Capitolare, home to the Cathedral Treasury, which Dante mentions in his Divine Comedy. Lorenzo Ghiberti’s exquisite reliquary of St. James, made in 1407, is housed inside the reliquary of St. Zeno.