Church of San Jacopo in Castellare

San Jacopo in Castellare is one of the oldest churches in Pistoia, likely existing even in early medieval times. The building stands near the first city wall in the area known as the “Castellare” due to the presence of military fortifications since the 10ᵗʰ century. The initial Romanesque church was extended around the year 1242, gaining a transept, traces of which remain in the large arches of the nave. In the late 18ᵗʰ century, the building was used as an oratory for the nearby Scuole Leopoldine (schools established by Leopold II, Grand Duke of Tuscany) and later as a private workshop, a change of use that contributed to the damage of many of the ancient painted murals. 

The still-preserved frescoes, mostly devotional in character and created in several stages between the mid-13ᵗʰ century and the second half of the 14ᵗʰ century, were partly rediscovered in the late 19ᵗʰ and early 20ᵗʰ centuries thanks to the restoration works at the hands of painter Galileo Chini. Recent restorations also salvaged other painted murals, such as the elegant decoration in the archway of the left flank and Christ in Majesty Among Angels in the dome of the apse, dating from the last quarter of the 14ᵗʰ century.

Thanks to its strategic location, San Jacopo in Castellare provides privileged access to the 20ᵗʰ-century Collections of Palazzo de’ Rossi, via the passage to the Terrazza Grandonio, as well as to the nearby Palazzo Fabroni Museum of 20ᵗʰ-century and Contemporary Art, through the Sdrucciolo of the Castellare.