Summer

Summer in Abetone and the Pistoia Mountains

Discover the Pistoia Mountains in summer with hiking trails, museums, outdoor activities and events across Abetone Cutigliano, San Marcello Piteglio and Sambuca Pistoiese.

Summer is the perfect season to discover the Pistoia Mountains, with their forests, hiking trails, historic villages and mountain lifts. Between Abetone Cutigliano, San Marcello Piteglio and Sambuca Pistoiese, visitors can enjoy outdoor adventures, family activities and museums that tell the story of the Tuscan Apennines. To help you plan your stay, explore our guides to summer events, outdoor experiences and local festivals across the Pistoia Mountains, or browse the…

Sambuca Pistoiese, San Marcello Piteglio, Abetone Cutigliano

The most-liked places of Pistoia on Instagram

The most iconic places of the city of Pistoia and the essential tips to find the right angle and bring home the perfect shot.

Sharing the most beautiful shots of a vacation is an almost indispensable gesture for many travelers and for all those who use social networks as boards where they leave a trace of their most special moments. Italian cities have a special charm, that’s why the alleys of a village, the halls of a great museum, crowded or lonely squares become perfect snapshots that contain, without words, only thanks to the…

Pistoia

Spring and summer outdoor excursions

The temperatures get warmer and the days longer: being outdoors is an indispensable pleasure. Four ideas between nature, art and culture.

In spring, the natural world wakes up from its long winter lethargy while, at the same time, the days get longer and longer. Could there ever be a better moment to spend time outdoors, going for a lazy walk or having a picnic, lying in a field full of flowers? The Pistoia Mountains, together with the area's villas and parks, are perfect places for enjoying moments of leisure and relaxation,…

Montale, Quarrata, Pistoia

Not only the Joust of the Bear: a July full of traditions

On 25th July, Pistoia celebrates its Patron Saint with traditions, processions in historical costumes and the iconic Giostra dell'Orso – the Joust of the Bear.

On 25th July, the Day of Saint James, alias Saint Jacob (San Jacopo or Giacomo in Italian), Pistoia celebrates its patron saint by dressing up in historical costumes, as the Pistoia people have traditionally been doing for centuries. For one day, the city turns the clock back to the Middle Ages, to the era of noble dames and medieval knights who parade in a procession and who compete against each…

Pistoia

A summer of festivals: events you can’t miss

From blues to jazz, experimental guitar to soul: a quick guide to summer music festivals in Pistoia, Serravalle Pistoiese, and the Pistoia Mountains.

In summer, squares and open-air theatres fill with music and joy, thanks to major musical events that draw a large and diverse audience each year. The city of Pistoia and the hamlets in the area also transform into open-air stages. Here are the festivals you won't want to miss. Pistoia Blues Festival Since 1980, in July, the striking Piazza del Duomo in the historic heart of Pistoia has been transformed into an…

San Marcello Piteglio, Serravalle Pistoiese, Pistoia, Agliana

Medieval festivals and historical reenactments

A journey back in time to the era of noble ladies and knights, of jousts on horseback and merry celebrations, surrounded by drums and booming trumpets.

Duels, archery, games, dances, parades: these historical reenactments of medieval events are the ideal moment to visit art cities and tiny hamlets. Not only the 'Giostra dell'Orso' – the Joust of the Bear: this is the time to admire and to enjoy, parades and shows, with noble dames, knights, musicians and flag-throwers. 1. Medieval Cutigliano In the 14th century, the 'Capitano della Montagna's headquarters was in Cutigliano: this Captain was…

Abetone Cutigliano, Marliana, Pistoia, San Marcello Piteglio, Serravalle Pistoiese

Street art in Pistoia and the Pistoia Mountains

Street art in Pistoia and the Montagna Pistoiese has been reinterpreted with a modern, personal touch. Here’s a guide to the key artists behind these works.

Anyone strolling through the streets of Pistoia can’t help but notice its ancient medieval charm, still alive in every corner of the city. The striped churches in green and white, with their unique architecture and intricate details, tell stories of centuries of history and tradition, while major city landmarks, such as the Palazzo Comunale and the majestic Palazzo dei Vescovi, stand as witnesses to a distant past. However, among the…

Pistoia, San Marcello Piteglio

The zebra-striped churches of Pistoia

In Pistoia, some churches still stand out today for their green-and-white facades, a distinctive feature that has become emblematic of the city.

Between the 12th and 13th centuries, thanks in part to the arrival of the precious relic of Saint James from Santiago de Compostela, still preserved in the Cathedral of San Zeno, Pistoia experienced a period of flourishing revival. During this time, many medieval churches were expanded and redesigned according to Romanesque style principles, distinguished in this area by a striking use of two-tone color achieved with white Carrara marble and…

Pistoia

On the way to discovering St. James through the art works to be seen in the City Museum of Antique Art

In the City Museum of antique art's exhibition rooms: a way to discover the works of art that depict St. James himself, or that are linked to his cult.

There are 16 of them - paintings on various mountings, sculptures and jewellery as well as items of minor arts, of different dates and of difference provenance; the works of art of the City Museum of Antique Art offer an all-embracing view of St. James' iconography over the centuries. Thanks to these works, you can get to know images and their history, to understand how, over the years, Pistoia art…

Pistoia

To live and enjoy the mountains: the Casetta de’ Pulledrari di Maresca

A well-equipped green area is the starting point for excursions on foot or by e-bike. Events, games and music all summer long thanks to the 'Vivere Piteglio' association.

In the Forest of Teso, not far from the Rombiciano Pass, stands the Casetta de' Pulledrari: built after the Second World War, it has been a point of reference for many excursionists and enthusiastic visitors to the Pistoia Mountains for many years. The Casetta is coming alive once again thanks to Vivere Piteglio, a cultural and recreational association. Refreshment point and e-bike hire The refreshment point will enhance the value…

San Marcello Piteglio

Abetone Botanical and Forest Garden

An itinerary full of flavors and colors to protect biodiversity in the Pistoia Apennines.

Abetone Cutigliano

Pistoia and the Jacobean cult

Pistoia's culture - the result of a long tradition of it being at the crossroads between Rome and Santiago - has stayed alive and this can be seen by its traditions,

Pistoia has been linked to the cult of the Apostle Saint James the Greater since 1145, the year in which Bishop Atto brought a fragment of the saint's skull from Santiago de Compostela to Pistoia. The relic is now kept in the Cathedral's Cappella del Giudizio in a beautiful reliquary made by Lorenzo Ghiberti in 1407. The Silver Altar - a masterpiece of goldsmith art - is to be found…

Pistoia

Things that you would never dream of doing in a library

Culture, wellbeing, amusement, socialization and somebody always ready to help you: the San Giorgio is a very special library indeed.

The San Giorgio is not the usual library; this you can see as soon as you step over its threshold. A large and luminous space, the result of the restoration of the warehouses of the former San Giorgio railway factory. We are in front of the Depot of Historic Trains (directions) and you can see the old engines peeking out from the enclosure, a few yards away from its entrance.…

Pistoia

Discovering the mountains near Pistoia along the Porrettana railway route

A fascinating journey through history and nature.

Inaugurated in 1864, the Porrettana Railway traverses the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines from Pistoia to Bologna via the spa town of Porretta Terme, after which the railway is named. Designed and built during the Risorgimento (the period leading to the unification of Italy) with an unprecedented engineering effort, for years it was the focal point of the railway network connecting the centre of Italy to the north and south of the Country, and a strategic link…

Pistoia, Sambuca Pistoiese, San Marcello Piteglio

Taste the flavours of Pistoiese mountains

Stagionalità e alta qualità: la cucina di montagna esalta al meglio i frutti del territorio.

The Pistoia mountains are renowned for the fruits of the undergrowth - raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, currants but above all wild bilberries - to which various events are dedicated during summer. The protagonists of the mountain tables are also the mushrooms of the Apennines - of which the porcino is the undisputed king, bought fresh between the end of summer and the beginning of autumn - and chestnuts, perfect on their…

Sambuca Pistoiese, San Marcello Piteglio

5 Cathedrals to visit along the Cammino di San Jacopo

Along the historic via Cassia, the Cammino winds through extraordinary areas that are rich in history and connect some of the most beautiful Italian cities of art.

For centuries, Tuscany has been a land of passage: pilgrims and travellers walked the routes to and from Rome, throughout the region. Routes and paths that, even today, are crossed by modern pilgrims like hikers, or those seeking relaxation and tranquillity through contact with nature. In Tuscany, along the historic via Cassia, an itinerary winds through extraordinary areas that are rich in history and connect some of the most beautiful…

Pistoia