Overview
As is often the case in the central squares of Italian cities, in Pistoia the main historical space has since time immemorial been a place for market days, where many centuries have seen the seats of religious power and city power coexisting and opposing one another. The late evening is a good time to come to the square and stop to admire everything that faces it: a studied urban lighting highlights both the complex consisting of the Cathedral of San Zeno, the Baptistery of St John, the Court and the Ancient Palace of the Bishops, and the side overlooking the majestic Town Hall.
Alongside the Baptistery, the secular component also includes the Podestà Palace or Pretorio Palace, a sturdy building dating back to the mid 14th century that preserves frescoes and a stone table on which the podestà administered justice. In the 19th century, however, the complex was heavily remodelled and enlarged: today it serves as a Courthouse.
The tower house that stands practically on the corner of the square, was part of the first city walls. It is nicknamed Torre di Catilina because it was believed to have been built on the burial site of the ancient Roman opponent, who fled to what is now Tuscany and was finally killed in the war in the area of Pistoia. The final battle and its outcome are documented by the historian Sallust, but the rest of the story is very uncertain.
