Pistoia, the capital of a province with the same name, is a city in North-West Tuscany. Home to 89,120 people and covering an area of the 236.80 km², Pistoia is a symbol of Tuscany’s beautiful cultural and artistic history.

Located close to the Tuscan Alps and Mount Pistoiese, Pistoia is crossed the Ombrone, Brana and Torrente Bure Waterways and is blessed with a striking landscape of verdant hills found only in Tuscany.

The origins of Pistoia can be traced to the second century BC, when, under the rule of the Roman Empire, it began life as a small settlement built to provide a residence for the troops who fought against the Ligurian armies. Over the centuries that followed, Pistoia became a major Roman city and an Oppidum of the Empire. In the Middle Ages, Renaissance and following periods, Pistoia lost much of its former glory and was controlled mostly by local noble families until it became part of the Kingdom of Italy.

Pistoia became known for its wealth of monuments, buildings and especially for its churches during the early 19th century. No longer just another city in Tuscany, Pistoia draws tourists with its architecturally and artistically breathtaking structures built in almost every style and century. These include the Baptistery of San Giovanni in the Court, a Gothic building dating back to the fifteenth century; the Church of San Pier Maggiore Romano; once guardian of important objects and works of art but today a deconsecrated building; the Basilica di San Giovanni Battista, a Renaissance church almost completely restored around 1950 following heavy bombings in World War II; the Church of the Santissima Annunziata, a Baroque construction which guards the Cloister of the Dead; the Church of Santa Maria Cavalier, built in 979 but now deconsecrated; the Church of the Sacred Heart of Mary Immaculate; the Church of San Giovanni Fuorcivitas, dating back to the twelfth century; the Church of the Holy Spirit; the Basilica of Our Lady of Humility, famous for its dome designed by Giorgio Vasari; the Church of the Carmine; and finally, the Duomo, dedicated to Saint Zeno and the heart of what remains a very religious city.

When not building sacred monuments, the people of Pistoia found time to enrich their city with some equally splendid pieces of secular art, in particular, the 14th century Praetorian Palace, built in Gothic style and surrounded by a courtyard decorated with the emblems of the various judges who once lived there; the Campanile Tower, a tower erected at the hands of Lombard during 1100; the Palace of Bishops, a Gothic fortified palace built in the 11th century; and finally the Tower of Catilina, which reaches an altitude of 30 metres.