Pistoia is a city rich in art and history, on a human scale and a short distance from Buggiano. A city that can be pleasantly explored on foot and that, even in a few hours, allows you to appreciate its beauties.
The heart of Pistoia is the Piazza del Duomo in the historic center enclosed within the ancient city walls. The Cathedral, the Baptistery, the Bell Tower, the Palazzo del Podestà and the ancient Palazzo dei Vescovi, certainly make it one of the most beautiful squares in Italy.
In the Cathedral of San Zeno, in typical Pistoian Romanesque style with its white and green polychrome marbles, on the facade there are sculptures of San Zeno precisely, and San Jacopo, patron saint of the city.
San Jacopo, or San Giacomo, was one of the apostles and on his death his body was transferred to Spain in Santiago de Compostela and from here a fragment of his skull was sent back to Pistoia (preserved in the beautiful other silvery).
The presence of this small relic of the saint has made the city a halfway point of pilgrimage in connection with Santiago de Compostela with a path.The Way of San Jacopohas been traveled for centuries and still trodden by many pilgrims also passes by Buggiano.
A short distance away is the beautiful Piazza della Sala, home to the fruit and vegetable market and the Piazzetta degli Ortaggi, once the city’s brothel, where there are many bars and restaurants where you can taste typical dishes such as the prisoner’s soup, black cabbage porridge, or the many desserts made with chestnut flour produced from the chestnut trees of the Apennines.
Walking through the city you can come across wonderful churches such as San Giovanni Fuorcìvìtas, just outside the walls and with the beautiful Visitation of the Della Robbia inside, or the Pieve di S. Andrea with the wonderful pulpit by Giovanni Pisano.
The Ospedale del Ceppo is famous for its painted and glazed terracotta decoration on the loggia by the Della Robbia and Santi Buglioni family.
From here there is also the access to the underground Pistoia: it is the longest hypogeum path in Tuscany with its 650 meters.
Here once flowed the Brana stream, later diverted, and inside there are evidence of a Roman bridge, the ancient medieval wash houses, the wheel of the mill.
Lose yourself in this beautiful city just minutes by car from Buggiano and let yourself be carried away in its traditions.
Train
From Borgo a Buggiano station you can take the train and reach Pistoia station in about 15 minutes.
Once you get off you can reach the historic center in just 1O minutes on foot.
Car
From Buggiano take the A11 “Firenze – Mare” motorway towards Florence.