The Piazza del Duomo is the civic and religious heart of Pistoia, and it holds its own against the famous squares of neighbouring Tuscan cities. The Cathedral of San Zeno dominates the north side, its Romanesque façade stripped in green and white marble, its tall campanile rising separately alongside. The octagonal Baptistery of San Giovanni in Corte faces it across the piazza, also in green-and-white marble, built in the 14th century to a design by Cellino di Nese. The Palazzo del Podestà closes the east side, its loggia and Gothic arches making a counterpoint to the religious architecture.
Unlike the squares of Florence or Siena, which are designed for spectacle, the Piazza del Duomo in Pistoia retains a workaday character. The morning market sets up here twice a week, old men sit on the steps of the Palazzo Pretorio, and people cut through on their way to work. This is still a functioning Italian piazza, not a stage set for tourism.