Cattedrale di San Zeno

Top choice in Pistoia


This cathedral with beautiful Pisan-Romanesque facade safeguards a lunette of the Madonna and Child between two angels by Andrea della Robbia. Its other highlight, in the gated chapel Cappella di San Jacopo off the north aisle (right of the main entrance), is the dazzling Altare d'Argento di San Giacomo (Silver Altarpiece of St James), begun by silversmiths by hand in 1287 and finished two centuries later by Brunelleschi. Buy chapel tickets, visited with an audio guide, in the Battistero di San Giovanni.

The Capella di San Jacopo also safeguards a much-treasured, silver reliquary containing part of the jawbone of St James.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

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1. Campanile della Cattedrale

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The bishops' palace, wedged next to the cathedral, provides a fascinating tour of Pistoia's urban history, ranging from touchable scale models of…

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