The Palazzo del Podestà — also called Palazzo Pretorio — occupies the east side of the Piazza del Duomo. Built in the 13th century as the residence of the city's chief magistrate, it was expanded and modified over the following centuries but retains its Gothic loggia at ground level and a courtyard accessible through the arched entrance. The courtyard walls bear the coats of arms of successive podestà, carved in stone, making it an informal register of the men who governed Pistoia through the medieval and Renaissance periods.
The building is now used for civic functions and is not always open to the public, but when the courtyard gate is unlocked it is worth stepping in. The collection of coats of arms covering the courtyard walls — some in terracotta, some in painted stone — gives the enclosed space an unusually personal character. The exterior loggia at ground level faces the piazza and forms part of the medieval streetscape that makes this square so appealing.