Once you have found a vacation rental in Pistoia you might be looking for ways to fill your days while in this beautiful city.
Between the music festivals, historic and artistic gems, pretty views of the Tuscan landscape and local cuisine, you'll never be short on interesting (and delicious) things to see and do (and eat) but one event that we can particularly recommend is the traditional Feast of Saint Bartholomew that takes place on the 24th of August each year and combines a lot of the best parts of Pistoia in one event: good food, beautiful buildings, local tradition and the partying spirit of the city's inhabitants.
If you are planning on visiting this summer, this is one event that you won't want to miss!
Between the music festivals, historic and artistic gems, pretty views of the Tuscan landscape and local cuisine, you'll never be short on interesting (and delicious) things to see and do (and eat) but one event that we can particularly recommend is the traditional Feast of Saint Bartholomew that takes place on the 24th of August each year and combines a lot of the best parts of Pistoia in one event: good food, beautiful buildings, local tradition and the partying spirit of the city's inhabitants.
If you are planning on visiting this summer, this is one event that you won't want to miss!
This traditional celebration that honours Saint Bartholomew goes back to the 15th century when a practice of anointing the foreheads of children to protect them from evil on the day of the saint was introduced. To this day, on the 24th of August, the church of S. Bartolomeo still anoints children, and adults as well, in a ceremony where a priest marks the forehead with blessed oil while repeating an ancient prayer to invoke the protection of the saint. However, the event has grown over the centuries and there is now much more to it than a blessing and lots for those outside the Catholic faith to enjoy.
The piazza in front the church and the neighbouring streets become filled with stalls selling sweets and toys and happy festival goers wander around, enjoying the food and festivities. A garland in the form of a rosary made of small medallions of pastry and decorated with chocolates and sugared sweets is a traditional speciality of the festival and is a must for anyone experiencing the festival for the first time.
The piazza in front the church and the neighbouring streets become filled with stalls selling sweets and toys and happy festival goers wander around, enjoying the food and festivities. A garland in the form of a rosary made of small medallions of pastry and decorated with chocolates and sugared sweets is a traditional speciality of the festival and is a must for anyone experiencing the festival for the first time.
The church itself is also worth a visit. Modelled on ancient basilicas and with fine sculptural decoration throughout that is both geometric and figurative in design, it is a particularly pretty building that rewards closer inspection. The Romanesque pulpit by Guido da Como, the 14th century cycle of frescoes by the local school and a fresco depicting St Bartholomew the Apostle by an unknown artist of the twelfth-century Florentine school are particular artistic gems of the church.
Around thirty thousand people come to Pistoia every year to be anointed but others come for the outdoor market for children, the fun and the excitement of this unique festival in Tuscany.
Around thirty thousand people come to Pistoia every year to be anointed but others come for the outdoor market for children, the fun and the excitement of this unique festival in Tuscany.
Photo credits
Picture 2: Fluctuat / CC BY-SA 3.0;
Picture 3: Geobia / CC BY-SA 3.0
Picture 2: Fluctuat / CC BY-SA 3.0;
Picture 3: Geobia / CC BY-SA 3.0
