Pistoia

Pistoia (pēstô`yä), city (1991 pop. 87,830), capital of Pistoia prov., Tuscany, central Italy, at the foot of the Apennines. It is an agricultural and industrial center. Manufactures include leather and metal goods, glass, textiles, and footwear. Pistoia was under Roman rule from the 6th cent. B.C. In 62 B.C., Catiline, the Roman politician and conspirator, was killed in battle nearby. The city rose to prominence in the 12th and 13th cent., and its citizens made important contributions to architecture and sculpture. Hampered by wars and by internal strife between the Blacks and the Whites (these factions were transferred from Pistoia to Florence), it fell under the hegemony of Florence in the 14th cent. Noteworthy buildings include the Pisan-Romanesque cathedral (13th–14th cent.); the churches of Sant' Andrea (with a pulpit by Pisano) and San Pietro; a 14th-century baptistery; the Palazzo Pretorio (14th cent.); and the Ospedale del Ceppo (13th–16th cent.), with a fine terra-cotta frieze by Giovanni della Robbia.