Pistoia - Cathedral of Santi Zeno Cattedrale di San Zeno

A doorway in the south aisle of the cathedral in Pistoia leads into the Cappella di San Iácopo, with a silver altar which is a masterpiece of the silversmith's art. The work was carried out in stages between 1287 and 1456, and thus shows a succession of different styles from Early Gothic to Renaissance. On the front are 15 New Testament scenes (by Andrea di Iácopo d'Ognabene, 1316), on the right-hand end nine Old Testament scenes (by Francesco di Niccolò and Leonardo di Giovanni, 1361-64) and on the left-hand end nine scenes from the life of St James (by Leonardo di Giovanni, 1376-71). The two figures of Prophets on the left-hand side of the upper part are attributed to Brunelleschi (1377-1446).

At the left-hand end of the facade rises the massive campanile, 67m/220ft high, the lower part of which is said to have been a Lombard watch-tower. The upper storys, with arcades, were added in the 13th century, the top in the 16th. With its unmistakable and characteristic form the campanile has become the emblem and landmark of Pistoia. The spacious interior of the cathedral has pillars and columns with richly decorated capitals separating the nave from the aisles. Immediately inside the right-hand doorway is the Tomb of Cino da Pistoia (Sienese work of about 1337).

The facade, with its seven-arched portico and three doorways, was completed in 1311. The vaulting behind the central arch, which is higher than the others, is decorated with panels of majolica, and the lunette over the central doorway has a glazed terracotta relief of the Virgin and Child with two Angels by Andrea della Robbia (1505). In the center of the facade above the portico are two orders of arcading, and above these, at the ends of the pediment, are marble figures of the church's patrons, SS James and Zeno.

The sacristy leads into the Museo Capitolare (Museum of the Cathedral Chapter), with the Cathedral Treasury, the richness of which is referred to by Dante in the "Divine Comedy" ("Inferno" 24). Its contents include reliquaries of SS James and Zeno, illuminated manuscripts and a terracotta "Madonna" by Pollaiuolo (15th c.). In front of the altar is a bronze candelabrum (1440) by Maso di Bartolomeo. In the chapel to the left of the altar are a painting, the "Madonna Enthroned" (1485) by Verrocchio and Lorenzo di Credi and a stele with the figure of Bishop Donato de' Médici by Antonio Rossellino (1475). Beside the north doorway on the west front can be found the Monument of Cardinal Niccolò Forteguerri (1419-73), probably by Verrocchio and his pupils, and between the north and central doorways is a font designed by Benedetto da Maiano.