Description
Palazzo Panciatichi, which locals call the Palazzo del Balì, is the only medieval private palace left in Pistoia, on the corner of Via Cavour and Via Panciatichi. A three-storey block of stone on massive arches, it was born in the 14th century as the fortified house of the city's most powerful family.
Above all, look at the cross windows. For centuries they were thought to be a 16th-century addition; the restoration of the 1960s showed that they are Gothic and original. In 14th-century central Italy they would be unique.
The explanation lies in France. Vinciguerra Panciatichi, who began the palace around 1320, was a rich banker and an exile who had made his fortune across the Alps and lived in Avignon, where windows like these were common.
Along the top runs a large Renaissance stone and wood eave; only on the east side do a few Guelph battlements survive, which once crowned the whole building. Inside there are a tall portico around a lawn, a stone staircase and a hall with a coffered ceiling.
Illustrious guests stayed within these walls: Pope Alexander V, from November 1409 to February 1410, and the family of Lorenzo the Magnificent in 1478, with members of his court such as Poliziano, sheltering from the plague that was striking Florence. In the early 20th century, under the portico, there was instead one of the city's first cinemas, the Excelsior.
On 18 August 1500, during the struggles between the city's factions, the rival Cancellieri seized the palace and set it on fire. The restoration, completed in 1509, was directed by Ventura Vitoni, Pistoia's leading architect of those years, and turned the fortress into a Renaissance residence.
In 1579 the palace passed to the Cellesi, who had obtained the title of bailiff (balì) of the Order of Saint Stephen: hence its popular name.
The bombing of 24 October 1943 destroyed the entire south wing; after years of neglect, works between 1964 and 1967 rebuilt it along its original lines. The palace houses offices, private practices and the Provincial Council.
Above all, look at the cross windows. For centuries they were thought to be a 16th-century addition; the restoration of the 1960s showed that they are Gothic and original. In 14th-century central Italy they would be unique.
The explanation lies in France. Vinciguerra Panciatichi, who began the palace around 1320, was a rich banker and an exile who had made his fortune across the Alps and lived in Avignon, where windows like these were common.
Along the top runs a large Renaissance stone and wood eave; only on the east side do a few Guelph battlements survive, which once crowned the whole building. Inside there are a tall portico around a lawn, a stone staircase and a hall with a coffered ceiling.
Illustrious guests stayed within these walls: Pope Alexander V, from November 1409 to February 1410, and the family of Lorenzo the Magnificent in 1478, with members of his court such as Poliziano, sheltering from the plague that was striking Florence. In the early 20th century, under the portico, there was instead one of the city's first cinemas, the Excelsior.
On 18 August 1500, during the struggles between the city's factions, the rival Cancellieri seized the palace and set it on fire. The restoration, completed in 1509, was directed by Ventura Vitoni, Pistoia's leading architect of those years, and turned the fortress into a Renaissance residence.
In 1579 the palace passed to the Cellesi, who had obtained the title of bailiff (balì) of the Order of Saint Stephen: hence its popular name.
The bombing of 24 October 1943 destroyed the entire south wing; after years of neglect, works between 1964 and 1967 rebuilt it along its original lines. The palace houses offices, private practices and the Provincial Council.