Pistoia was part of my old patch, the corner of Tuscany around Lucca, Pescia and Pistoia. Up behind it are the Pistoia mountains, where I once found a cat curled up in a box outside someone’s front door in Calamecca.
People tend to rush past it on the way to Florence. They shouldn’t. It’s underrated, cheaper than Florence and a lovely town in its own right, with one of the best cathedral squares in Tuscany. Here’s my guide.
Pistoia quick facts
- Province: Pistoia (the city is the provincial capital)
- Population: 89,094 for the whole comune (ISTAT estimate, 1 January 2026)
- Altitude: about 81 metres in the city, rising into the mountains to the north
- Nearest station: Pistoia, on the Florence to Lucca line, a short walk from the centre
- Lucca: about 45 km by road, roughly 40 minutes
- Florence: about 37 km by road, roughly 35 minutes, or direct by train
A short history of Pistoia
The Romans called it Pistoria, and it grew up in the 2nd century BC as a base for their troops in the wars against the Ligurians in the hills. It became an important bishop’s seat, and from the 12th century a busy class of merchants and bankers grew up, trading as far as France. The cathedral of San Zeno was rebuilt in the 13th century after two fires.
It sat between two hungry neighbours, Florence and Lucca, and in 1306, after a siege of eleven months, it surrendered to them both and lost its independence. From then on it was largely in Florence’s orbit, and later part of the Medici state.
The city was awarded a silver medal for its part in the Resistance in the Second World War. In 2017 it was Italy’s Capital of Culture, which brought it some of the attention it had long deserved.
What to see in Pistoia
Piazza del Duomo. The heart of the city, with the cathedral of San Zeno, its tall bell tower, the baptistery and the old town hall all round one square. On 25 July it’s where the Giostra dell’Orso is held.
The silver altar of San Jacopo. Inside the cathedral, the great silver altar of San Jacopo, the city’s patron saint.
Sant’Andrea. A small Romanesque church with a famous marble pulpit carved by Giovanni Pisano, crowded with figures.
The Ospedale del Ceppo. The old hospital, with a frieze of glazed della Robbia terracotta across its front.
Pistoia Sotterranea. Under the Ceppo there’s a hidden world of medieval vaults and old channels. A guided tour takes you about 650 metres through it in roughly an hour. Fascinating, slightly spooky and completely dry, which is why it’s in my rainy day ideas near Lucca, Pescia and Pistoia.
Piazza della Sala. Just off the cathedral square, the old vegetable market square, with a daily food market on Monday to Saturday mornings and bars all round for lunch afterwards. The big general market is on Wednesday and Saturday in the centre. More in Tuscany market days.
The villages of Pistoia
The comune of Pistoia is big. It runs from the plant nurseries on the plain right up into the Apennines, with well over a hundred villages and hamlets in my list. If you have a car and a spare day, the Montagna Pistoiese is the place to go: chestnut woods, beech forests and cooler air in summer.
Further west, in the province, are the cats of the Tuscan villages and the ten castle villages above Pescia, which have their own Pescia guide.
All the villages of Pistoia (132)
Acqualunga, Aia Vecchia, Arcigliano, Baggio, Belriguardo, Bonelle, Borghetto, Botro, Bottegone, Bussotto, Bussotto – La Torre, Cacciaia, Caloria, Campiglio, Campiglio di Cireglio, Campopiano, Camporipano, Camporipano – Casa Geri – Selvapiana, Canapale, Candeglia, Capostrada, Casa Corrieri, Casa Lotti, Case Geri, Case Soldi, Cason dei Giacomelli – La Villa, Casone di Sopra, Cassarese, Cassero, Castagno, Castagno di Pieve a Celle, Castel Berti, Castel Bolognini, Castel de’ Fedi, Castel dei Gai, Castel dei Milli, Castel Gargane, Cerchiaio, Chiazzano, Ciatti, Cignano, Cireglio, Colle I, Collina di Pontelungo, Collina Pistoiese, Corbezzi, Corsini Bianchi, Corsini Bianchi e Corsini Neri, Corsini Neri, Croce a Uzzo, Cucciano, Dreini, Fabbiana, Fiano, Fornace, Forra al Pitta, Gello, Germinaia, Giaccherino, Gragnella, Grazie, Iano, La Cugna, La Spagna, Lanificio, Le Forri, Le Grazie, Le Piastre, Le Pozze, Le Querci, Lizzanello, Lupicciano, Masiano, Mengarone, Monte, Nespolo, Orsigna, Paccosi, Passo della Collina – Collina Vecchia, Pian di Giuliano, Pian di Stazzana, Pianella, Piastre, Piastrelle, Piazza, Piestro, Pieve a Celle, Piteccio, Piuvica, Poggiolo, Ponte Nuovo San Marco, Ponte Paoli, Pontelungo, Pontepetri, Ponzano, Pozze di Valdibure, Pracchia, Prombialla, Pupigliana, Ramini, Rotone, Sammommè, San Felice, Sant’Agostino, Sant’Alessio, Santomato, Santomoro, Sarripoli, Saturnana, Serrantona, Signorino, Spazzavento, Spedaletto, Statigliana, Stazzana, Tani, Torbecchia, Uzzo, Vaioni, Valdibrana, Valdibure, Villa di Baggio, Villa di Cireglio, Villa di Cireglio Villa di Saturnana, Villa di Piteccio, Villa di Saturnana, Villa di Sopra, Villa di Sotto, Villa Sbertoli, Villaggio del Signorino, Villanova, Vivaio
For the neighbouring towns, see Villages of Pistoia province.
Food and festas
Pistoia’s feast day dish is maccheroni sull’anatra, wide pasta ribbons with a duck ragù, eaten on 25 July for San Jacopo, the patron saint. There’s carcerato, an old dish of bread, offal and broth said to have been cooked for prisoners (hearty, to put it politely), and the confetti di Pistoia, knobbly sugared almonds made the slow traditional way. They make a lovely present to take home.
The big day is 25 July, the feast of San Jacopo, when knights on horseback charge at two stylised bears in Piazza del Duomo in the Giostra dell’Orso. More in my Tuscany’s big festivals post and what to eat in the Lucca and Pistoia hills.
Getting to Pistoia
Pistoia is on the railway between Florence and Lucca, with regional trains through the day. Florence is under an hour away, and Florence airport is the handier one for Pistoia. The old centre is a ZTL, so if you drive, park outside it.
- Pisa or Florence airport to Lucca, Pescia and Pistoia
- Getting around Tuscany: trains, buses or driving?
- Trains, buses and how not to get fined
- Driving in Tuscany: ZTL zones, fines, tolls and car hire
Where to stay
Pistoia makes a good, cheaper base than Florence, and it’s easy for both Florence and Lucca. For the bigger picture, my where to stay in Tuscany guide weighs up villages, towns and agriturismi, and where to stay near Lucca and the Svizzera Pesciatina covers my old patch.
Useful numbers
In any emergency, call 112. Pistoia’s hospital is the Ospedale San Jacopo, Via Ciliegiole 97, with a 24-hour Pronto Soccorso (A&E).
Every other number you might need, from the doctor to the train strike line, is in my useful numbers in Tuscany post.
Map
Pistoia is one of the towns of Pistoia province. See Pistoia on the Pistoia page, or browse all of Villages of Tuscany.
Susan x