Pistoia (ancient Pistoria) is a city in the Tuscany region of Italy, the capital of a province of the same name, located about 30 km (18 mi) west and north of Florence.
History
The town was a Roman colony in the 6th century BC, and in 62 BC Catiline and his fellow conspirators were slain nearby. In 1254 Ghibelline Pistoia was taken over by Guelph Florence, but supposedly resulted in the division of the Guelphs into “Black” and “White” factions. Pistoia remained a Florentine holding except for a brief period in the 14th century, when Castruccio Castracani captured it for Lucca, and was officially annexed to Florence in 1530.
Landmarks
Pistoia always had a bad reputation; Dante mentioned Pistoia as the home town of Vanni Fucci, who is encountered in Inferno tangled up in a knot of snakes while cursing God, and Michelangelo called the Pistoiese the “enemies of heaven”.
Pistoia lent its name to the pistol, which it started manufacturing in the 16th century. But today it is also notable for the extensive garden nurseries spreading around it.
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