San Pier Maggiore is an originally Romanesque-style, former Roman Catholic church in

Pistoia Pistoia (, is a city and ''comune'' in the Italian region of Tuscany, the capital of a province of the same name, located about west and north of Florence and is crossed by the Ombrone Pistoiese, a tributary of the River Arno. It is a typi ...

, region of Tuscany, Italy. The church is notable for polychrome decorations that partially decorate the ground floor of the exterior, similar to that see in the church

San Giovanni Fuorcivitas San Giovanni Fuoricivitas (also called San Giovanni Evangelista Fuorcivitas or ''Forcivitas'') is a Romanesque religious church and adjacent buildings in Pistoia, Tuscany, central Italy. The adjective ''fuoricivitas'' (a mix of Italian and Latin m ...

History

A church here was putatively erected circa 798 by a Lombard patron, by the name of either Ratperto di Guinichisio or Retnato di Guillichisio. It came to be under the ownership of an order of Benedictine nuns, and later Franciscans. In underwent a few expansions and refurbishment, a major restoration in 1263, from when the Romanesque exterior derives. The central portal's

architrave In classical architecture, an architrave (; from it, architrave "chief beam", also called an epistyle; from Greek ἐπίστυλον ''epistylon'' "door frame") is the lintel or beam that rests on the capitals of columns. The term can ...

is attributed to the workshop of

Guido da Como Guido is a given name Latinised from the Old High German name Wido. It originated in Medieval Italy. Guido later became a male first name in Austria, Germany, the Low Countries, Scandinavia, Spain, Portugal, Latin America and Switzerland. The mea ...

, and depicts a "Jesus Giving the Keys to St Peter, with the Virgin and the Apostles". The façade has maintained the original Romanesque appearance, and, like the nearby church of

San Bartolomeo in Pantano San Bartolomeo in Pantano is a Romanesque and Gothic style, Roman Catholic church in Pistoia, Tuscany, central Italy, dedicated to St. Bartholomew the Apostle. The '' pantano'' of the name refers to the once marshy area in which the building was ...

, is divided into five compartments with bichrome decoration. In 1640, under Jesuit ownership, the interior was largely restored and enriched with Baroque-style decorations. Today the church is deconsecrated, the interior artwork has been moved, and the former convent now houses a State Institute of Arts, the ''Liceo Artistico Petrocchi''. In the matronaeum are exhibited work by the Pistoiese sculptor

Andrea Lippi Andrea is a given name which is common worldwide for both males and females, cognate to Andreas, Andrej and Andrew. Origin of the name The name derives from the Greek word ἀνήρ (''anēr''), genitive ἀνδρός (''andrós''), that ref ...

. Of historical interest is that a newly appointed bishop to Pistoia, arriving to town via Porta Lucchese, in a ceremony in this church, would have a

mystical marriage __NOTOC__ Within the Christianity, Christian tradition, bridal theology, also referred to as mystical marriage, is the New Testament portrayal of communion with Jesus as a marriage, and God's reign as a wedding banquet. This tradition in turn trac ...

to the abbess of the Benedictine convent, and then move to the cathedral to take his post.F. Tolomei, page 59-60.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pier Maggiore Pistoia 8th-century churches in Italy 11th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy 12th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy 13th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Pier Maggiore Romanesque architecture in Pistoia Churches completed in 1263 Churches completed in 1124