Welcome to Pistoia, Italy

October 10

After breakfast at a cafe at the Lucca train station we left Lucca for the day to visit a small town about an hour away called Pistoia. The attraction to this town is primarily its old town center which dates back to Ancient Roman times. We took an early train an arrived in time to see the whole city before our train back to Lucca at 2:27pm.

It is a very manageable town and we started off by seeing the Baptistery and the Duomo which is spectacular inside and has a beautifully simply pulpit. The outside is reminiscent of the other Duomos in Tuscany with the white and dark green stripes. Inside there are so many beautiful sculptures and frescos but what caught my eye was the sculpture on a tomb of a Medieval cardinal. The sculpture was of an angel crying. I’d never seen one before but when I asked about it I was told that it was a common thing to see in this part of the country and symbolizes the pain of those morning the loss of loved one.

We then took a tour of the Cathedral Museum which was remarkable. Christina, our extremely knowledgeable and enthusiastic tour guide talked to us for over an hour and half about the ancient Roman ruins that were excavated over the last 30 or so years, about the relic of Saint Jacob which is the pride and joy of Pistoia and each year a lavish celebration is given in its honor, as well as general life in Pistoia. She also gave us the traditional sweet treat called confetti which looks like a small snow ball but tastes like the almond candy you get at Italian weddings. The treats are usually given to children when they are visiting the relic but she was so kind to share them with us as well. She made it all sound so wonderful and it turned out she was an anthropologist and gives tours at the museum as well as works on research and educational programs about Pistoia for schools.

There is a place next door to the Duomo which has the an enormous front entrance and sprawling staircase when you enter but it is the unique modern sculpture of a girl riding a horse in the foyer that should be seen if not for the artistry in the sculpture than for the visual contrast of such a modern piece within a medieval structure.

We visited several other churches including Saint Bartolomeo, Saint Andrea with it’s exquisitely carved pulpit, Saint Lorenzo with the beautiful blue and marble carvings of the Virgin Mary and Saint Giovanni. There was so much unique art in the collective churches of Pistoia including a statue of the Virgin Mary that was like no other I had seen before and was so beautiful to behold. Also in each of the churches you would find at least one organ and sometimes multiples and each one had its own character and complimented its surroundings well.

Although the town was small by most anyone’s standards it was well worth the trip to see it. There is a great combindation of ancient with various other time periods including modern such as the Art Deco building now housing a shopping mall.

When we arrived back to Lucca Melody visited the main palace museum and I just walked around and enjoyed watching people and taking in more of the architectural beauty. I had seen too much art for one day and just like you would have sorbet to cleanse the pallet before eating another course I cleansed my pallet with some fresh air and a relaxing stroll and now my senses are ready for all the beauty tomorrows sights will aff