Pistoia is a handsome Tuscan city that sits in the shadow of its famous neighbours — Florence is 35 km east, Lucca 45 km west — and benefits from the relative neglect. The historic centre is compact and almost entirely medieval, built around the Piazza del Duomo, one of the finest squares in Tuscany.
The Cathedral of San Zeno holds a silver altar of Saint James that took two centuries to complete, with contributions attributed to Brunelleschi. The octagonal Baptistery opposite is striped in green and white marble. Wandering the streets around the piazza you find Romanesque churches at every turn — San Giovanni Fuoricivitas with its spectacular striped marble flank, Sant'Andrea with its extraordinary pulpit by Giovanni Pisano, and the Ospedale del Ceppo with its remarkable Della Robbia frieze running the length of the portico.
Pistoia feels like a lived-in Italian city rather than a museum piece. The Wednesday and Saturday market fills the piazza, and the bar scene along Via del Lastrone is lively without being touristy. In July, the Giostra dell'Orso — a jousting festival dating to the 13th century — takes over the old town.