Description
The church of San Giovanni Fuorcivitas is one of Pistoia's great Romanesque monuments, in the old town. Its facade is on the side: the long flank, in white and green stripes, is the one you see and the one that has always served as the main entrance. Inside it keeps a small museum of masterpieces.
The name, Fuorcivitas, recalls that at the time of its Lombard founding the church stood outside the first circle of walls. The first written record dates from 1119, when the bishop describes it as nearly in ruins. Rebuilding went on until 1344, and the church grew into one large rectangular hall with an apse.
Above the door on the north flank, in 1166, the master Gruamonte carved the lintel with the Last Supper: Jesus at table with eleven apostles, and Judas alone, below, in front of them. Excluded, even in stone. The folds of the tablecloth form regular waves in front of each figure.
The flank is decorated with rows of small blind arches in white marble and green serpentine from Prato, so dense that at a glance they cover the whole design of the building. It is a decoration typical of Pistoian Romanesque, which imitates the Pisan one.
On the south side part of the 12th-century cloister survives, with stone colonnettes and capitals with lions' and oxen's heads.
Inside, to the left of the entrance, is Luca della Robbia's Visitation, in white glazed terracotta: Mary and Elizabeth embrace and look each other in the eyes. It was commissioned in 1445 and is the earliest surviving freestanding group in glazed terracotta from the della Robbia workshop.
Set against the south wall is the pulpit by Fra Guglielmo da Pisa, from 1270, with high reliefs in Apuan marble showing the Evangelists and scenes from the Gospel, once set against a background of colored glass. In the center of the nave, the marble holy-water font of the 12th or 13th century, held up by caryatids representing the Theological Virtues.
To the left of the presbytery, the polyptych by Taddeo Gaddi, from 1350-1353, shows the Madonna and Child with four saints. In the choir remain frescoes from 1307 with the Stories of the Passion.
Don't miss
• Luca della Robbia's Visitation.
• The pulpit by Fra Guglielmo da Pisa.
• The Last Supper lintel.
• Taddeo Gaddi's polyptych.
Did you know?
• The two figures of the Visitation have separate pedestals, even though they touch: a device to reduce the risk of their cracking during firing.
• The two lions that hold up the pulpit were turned around in 1778 and put back in their original position in 1947.
The name, Fuorcivitas, recalls that at the time of its Lombard founding the church stood outside the first circle of walls. The first written record dates from 1119, when the bishop describes it as nearly in ruins. Rebuilding went on until 1344, and the church grew into one large rectangular hall with an apse.
Above the door on the north flank, in 1166, the master Gruamonte carved the lintel with the Last Supper: Jesus at table with eleven apostles, and Judas alone, below, in front of them. Excluded, even in stone. The folds of the tablecloth form regular waves in front of each figure.
The flank is decorated with rows of small blind arches in white marble and green serpentine from Prato, so dense that at a glance they cover the whole design of the building. It is a decoration typical of Pistoian Romanesque, which imitates the Pisan one.
On the south side part of the 12th-century cloister survives, with stone colonnettes and capitals with lions' and oxen's heads.
Inside, to the left of the entrance, is Luca della Robbia's Visitation, in white glazed terracotta: Mary and Elizabeth embrace and look each other in the eyes. It was commissioned in 1445 and is the earliest surviving freestanding group in glazed terracotta from the della Robbia workshop.
Set against the south wall is the pulpit by Fra Guglielmo da Pisa, from 1270, with high reliefs in Apuan marble showing the Evangelists and scenes from the Gospel, once set against a background of colored glass. In the center of the nave, the marble holy-water font of the 12th or 13th century, held up by caryatids representing the Theological Virtues.
To the left of the presbytery, the polyptych by Taddeo Gaddi, from 1350-1353, shows the Madonna and Child with four saints. In the choir remain frescoes from 1307 with the Stories of the Passion.
Don't miss
• Luca della Robbia's Visitation.
• The pulpit by Fra Guglielmo da Pisa.
• The Last Supper lintel.
• Taddeo Gaddi's polyptych.
Did you know?
• The two figures of the Visitation have separate pedestals, even though they touch: a device to reduce the risk of their cracking during firing.
• The two lions that hold up the pulpit were turned around in 1778 and put back in their original position in 1947.