Pistoia - Sant'Andrea

A little way east of San Francesco is the Church of Sant'Andrea, the origins of which go back to the eighth century. Work continued in the 12th century, but the church remained unfinished. The facade has blind arcading of white and green marble. In the main doorway are two lions flanking a statue of St Andrew in the manner of Giovanni Pisano. On the architrave is a relief depicting the Three Kings before Herod and in Bethlehem by Gruamonte and Adeodato (1166). The capitals of the pillars framing the doorway have, on the left, representations of Zacharias and the Angel and the Visitation and, on the right, the Annunciation and St Anne.

The nave is impressive: tall and narrow, with an open timber roof structure. The pulpit, one of Giovanni Pisano's finest works (1298-1301), is similar to the one in the Cathedral of Pisa. It rests on seven porphyry columns, two supported on lions, one on a bent human figure and the central one on a lion and an eagle. On the capitals, which are linked by arches with Gothic tracery, are figures of Sibyls and Prophets. The relief panels round the pulpit depict the Annunciation, the Nativity, the Adoration of the Kings, Joseph's Dream, the Slaughter of the Innocents, the Crucifixion and the Last Judgment. Between the panels are Old and New Testament figures. Giovanni Pisano was also responsible for the wooden Crucifix on the tabernacle in the third chapel on the left.