I came upon this pretty young thing decorating several poles in Pistoia. There were 2 of them either side of a statue of Garibaldi. I can’t decide whether he was amused or not by the girls.
Pistoia is an interesting city, not far from Florence. It is not a major tourist town, but it has a very well preserved historic centre. There are some very impressive buildings, most of which are in Piazza del Duomo
.
The Cathedral di San Zeno has a lunette of the Madonna and Child by Andrea della Robbia.
Please note the steps at the top of the Campanile. I am not climbing those.
The Baptistry opposite is elegantly banded in green and white marble.
I found a great face on the facade of the Baptistry.
The Palazzo Pretorio, next door to the Baptistry, I found particularly interesting. I love the vaulted ceilings, and the decoration was fascinating.
I wandered about and found myself in Piazza S. Francesco D’Assisi where there was a pretty park with a stunning war memorial.
Behind this was another beautiful building, Pantheon deli uomini illustri.
I was in Pistoia on a Saturday, when the city centre is taken over by a huge market. These markets are very popular and the city was filled with people. I always head for the food market, as I find this much more interesting than the general merchandise area.
These tiny things are clementines. I don’t know exactly what you do with them, but they are very cute.
This appears to be dried fennel tops.
I have no idea what these are.
I don’t often see passionfruit in Italy.
I can’t resist artichokes.
I had lunch at a delightful restaurant, Lo Storno, in Via del Lastrone, 8, near the food market.
I had tagliata di cinta senese with valeriana and Parmesan. It was delicious.
As I was waiting for my train back to Lucca I spotted Edward VIII. Yes, I thought he was dead too, but apparently he is alive and well and on Saturday at 1.00pm he was waiting for a train to Florence.
You have to admire someone who is prepared to stand out from the crowd in such a jaunty way.
And here is a final look at the pole dancer.
Lovely! As always, makes me hungry and want to go back to Italy!
By: Julie on November 26, 2011
at 6:30 pm
I love the way each town you go to has something different to offer.
By: Debra Kolkka on November 26, 2011
at 6:38 pm
Loved it! Let me know next time you go on these nice adventures?:)
By: Rosaly Palma Torvnes on November 26, 2011
at 6:30 pm
We will do some adventures together when I come back next year.
By: Debra Kolkka on November 26, 2011
at 6:39 pm
Lovely. Every bit of it. I love the narrative journey from pole dancer to church to food to Edward back to pole dancer. Fun.
By: Charlotte on November 26, 2011
at 6:32 pm
There is much to love in Italy.
By: Debra Kolkka on November 26, 2011
at 6:39 pm
that is one town i have to see. i love the food markets. and that food i miss so much. very nice pics.
By: Anonymous on November 26, 2011
at 6:36 pm
I forgot to mention that Pistoia gave its name to the pistol which was manufactured there from the 16th century.
By: Debra Kolkka on November 26, 2011
at 6:44 pm
Great pics….makes me want to go there. Thanks for sharing.
By: Languedoc Lady on November 26, 2011
at 6:41 pm
I really enjoyed my visit to Pistoia. The market is on every Wednesday and Saturday, and even though it takes over quite a lot of the town it is fun to be in a lively place full of people.
By: Debra Kolkka on November 26, 2011
at 6:46 pm
I want those dried fennel flowers! I dry a few of my own to go with potatoes but never have enough.The food market looks great. We go to the zoo in Pistoia a couple of times a year with the boys, I think I need to ensure it’s on a Saturday next time! And is ‘Edward’ for real? Amazing!!!
By: From a Tuscan Villa on November 26, 2011
at 7:31 pm
“Edward” was a real treat up close. He had the most amazing tan and I just loved those socks.
By: Debra Kolkka on November 26, 2011
at 7:54 pm
Garibaldi looks like he was making a deliberate effort not to stare. 🙂
Markets look fantastic, Deb!
By: Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial on November 26, 2011
at 7:32 pm
I think he showed remarkable restraint.
By: Debra Kolkka on November 26, 2011
at 7:54 pm
I laughed when I saw the image of ‘Edward VIII’ – who knew he was wandering around Pistoia. I agree he looks very jaunty; perhaps The Sartorialist should hop on a plane to Pisota to snap a few images of him.
By: Just Add Attitude on November 26, 2011
at 8:16 pm
I thought he was great. It was quite cold today, I’m not all that sure that white linen shorts were really suitable. His little legs must have been cold.
By: Debra Kolkka on November 26, 2011
at 8:39 pm
I, too, love “Edward’s” socks. What a hoot he is! Glad you didn’t try to climb those stairs!
Kathy
By: Kathryn McCullough on November 26, 2011
at 8:42 pm
Those stairs look too scary.I wonder who goes up there.
By: Debra Kolkka on November 26, 2011
at 8:47 pm
Clementines taste like mandarins and oranges. They are very popular at Christmas time in the US and in size they are between the mandarin and orange.
Great pictures Debra
Pam Proctor
By: Anonymous on November 26, 2011
at 9:38 pm
I bought some and they are just like small mandarines. I thought they would be, but I don’t think I have seen them in Australia and I was not sure whether they would be sweet or just used for jam, like cumquats.
By: Debra Kolkka on November 27, 2011
at 2:16 pm
Great blog Deb. Enjoyed it very much
Alan
By: alan featherby on November 26, 2011
at 10:20 pm
Great blog Deb. Very interesting. I have never been to this town
Alan
By: alan featherby on November 26, 2011
at 10:51 pm
Thanks, Pistoia is worth a visit.
By: Debra Kolkka on November 27, 2011
at 2:17 pm
I’m embarrassed to say that I hadn’t actually heard of Pistoia before today! But seeing those cured pork legs hanging and the market pics got me all excited!
By: Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella on November 26, 2011
at 11:20 pm
It was an excellent food market
By: Debra Kolkka on November 27, 2011
at 2:18 pm
Oh I just love the blazer & shorts man – he is right up there in the fashion stakes!
I think I’ll have to do a tour of inside churches in Italy – they are exquisite aren’t they!
The carrube beans are locust beans – used for feeding animals ( so I read.)
The clementines are a cross between oranges & mandarins so you could make anything eg. muffins, sauce with chicken would be delicious. I often see recipes. Try them. Yum.
Great photos Deb.
By: mary D on November 27, 2011
at 4:21 am
I did buy some clementines and they were delicious.
By: Debra Kolkka on November 27, 2011
at 2:19 pm
edward is CUTE!!!!
By: darylbutler on November 27, 2011
at 5:53 am
I think any man willing to brave a bow tie and shorts must be ok.
Love all the food market shots. I wonder what the every day cook would do with the Pugliese carrube too.
By: cityhippyfarmgirl on November 27, 2011
at 6:47 am
According to Maria, carrube is carob. I think I will just eat chocolate too.
By: Debra Kolkka on November 27, 2011
at 2:21 pm
Loved Edward’s photos. What a character!
Anyway, “carrube” is our carob or mock chocolate, its seeds are made into a flour (similar to cocoa) and made into sweets and pastries. The best one comes from the southern Italian provinces, Puglia and Sicily. In any case, I prefer chocolate….
By: Mulino Dominillo on November 27, 2011
at 7:33 am
Beautiful your photographs, how I miss my Italy days… They are all so nicely captured, but especially some of them fascinated me, like this jaunty way of a man, and the restaurant, Lo Storno, in Via del Lastrone, they are typical Italian images… I loved them, Thank you, with my love, nia
By: niasunset on November 27, 2011
at 12:49 pm
Thank you for your comments.
By: Debra Kolkka on November 27, 2011
at 2:21 pm
I love this blog – pole dancing made me laugh – not to mention the gent waiting for the train!!
By: hotelhauserhappenings on November 27, 2011
at 12:55 pm
It was a fun day.
By: Debra Kolkka on November 27, 2011
at 2:22 pm
Hey Ma
Just asked Elena, the Italian girl I am living with, She says the carrube are like dried beans, but are kind of sweet and are eaten usually around Chistmas time. She also says that the seeds were once used as the standard weight for measuring diamond carats.
By: Anonymous on November 27, 2011
at 4:28 pm
Thanks Brand, I think I’ll have the diamonds.
By: Debra Kolkka on November 27, 2011
at 5:11 pm
Wow Deb, you sure know how to catch a reader’s attention! Pistoia looks like a great find – I would never have known about it if it weren’t for your post. I will put it on my checklist for the next time I go to Italy.
By: James on November 28, 2011
at 5:08 pm
Pistoia is on the train line between Florence and Lucca, making it easy to get to. There is plenty to see there.
By: Debra Kolkka on November 28, 2011
at 5:23 pm
When we were in Italy in october we met a lovely family from Pistoia. We spent the afternoon with them in Parma and were invited to their home for dinner the next night. We had to decline as we were terrified of driving by that point! Little did we know that we could have easily caught the train there! It was great to see these pics of Pistoia! Although sad to see what we missed by not going. Thanks for sharing. It looks like a lovely city! And, yes, we have kept in touch with the lovely family that we met! 🙂
By: Lesley on November 28, 2011
at 6:30 pm
I don’t particularly like driving into unknown towns alone. I drove to Lucca, parked at the station and caught the train, easy.
By: Debra Kolkka on November 28, 2011
at 6:34 pm
Panini Girl included Pistoia in the trip I took with her this May. The food market was the highlight for our group, but I, too, was fascinated by the Cathedral and the campanile. In fact, a picture I took of the green and white marble of the baptistry is presently the wallpaper on my iPad. Thank you for the beautiful post which brought back fond memories of Italy in the spring while I sit in New York on a rainy fall morning.
By: Anonymous on November 29, 2011
at 3:17 pm
That’s a great food market in Pistoia, I will certainly be going back there.
By: Debra Kolkka on November 30, 2011
at 6:28 am
[…] Click here to see him, he is at the end of a post I wrote about Pistoia. […]
By: Edward VIII sighting | Bagni di Lucca and Beyond on August 30, 2017
at 9:38 pm
[…] Pole dancing in Pistoia […]
By: Pistoia revisited | Bagni di Lucca and Beyond on August 21, 2020
at 8:40 pm