Other Collections

 Pistoia
The Luigi Tronci Foundation: the Foundation, founded in 2008, is dedicated to the research, preservation and cataloguing of about 800 musical instruments and exhibits purchased from its founder Luigi Tronci, a great lover of music and a collector for over 50 years. These instruments - ancient bells, historic organs and the suggestive machinery used in the theatres to create special sound effects - cover the history of music in Pistoia through the centuries.
A large area is moreover dedicated to percussion instruments like cymbals, gongs and tam tam drums from all continents and all cultures. (tel. 0573 994350 www.fondazioneluigitronci.org)

The Museum of Surgical Instruments and the Anatomy Room at the Hospital del Ceppo: the Hospital del Ceppo, famous for the Della Robbia frieze that decorates its loggias, is historically a place of welcome and cure in Pistoia. The structure housed a prestigious school of medicine and surgery from the 17th to the 19th centuries and many fine doctors were trained there, among them the anatomist Filippo Pacini. The priceless collection of antique surgical instruments, most of them dating from the 18th and 19th centuries, and the Anatomy Room, dating from the late 18th century and created inside a building in the hospital gardens in the shape of an oval amphitheatre with the table in the centre and desks for the students at the sides, still testify to the prestige and importance of the school.
The basements of the hospital have moreover recently been opened to the public so that it is now possible to make an unusual underground tour of the history of Pistoia: the Pistoia Underground route winds for about 650 m. through the basements, which were partly carried out during the Renaissance, when the ancient bed of the stream of the Brana was covered with barrel vaulting. (tel. 0573 368023; pistoiasotterranea@irsapt.it)

The Plain of Pistoia
The “Casale Stitch” Embroidery Museum: situated at Casalguidi in the borough of Serravalle Pistoiese, it contains a collection that includes several masterpieces that exemplify an ancient local tradition that has been passed down from generation to generation to the present day. (tel. 0573 917414 – Town Council of Serravalle Pistoiese, Public Library).

The Collection of Sacred Art at the Church of Ss. Filippo e Giacomo: it is situated at La Ferruccia, in the Borough of Quarrata, and contains ancient religious objects that document the popular piety and religiosity of a typical rural community living in the plains of Pistoia. (tel. Parish priest 0573 718895)


Nievole Valley
The Publio Mine – Historical Ethnographical Museum of the Miner and Quarryman: this collection can be found at Vellano in the suggestive territory of the so-called little Switzerland above Pescia; it preserves and exhibits objects related to the activities of the miners and quarrymen, together with various mineralogical samples. Opening hours: Winter: from Monday to Friday 9am-1pm and 3pm-5.30pm; Summer: from Monday to Friday 9am-1pm and 3pm-7pm. On previous reservation, the Collection is open on Saturday and Sunday (tel. and fax 0572 409181)

The Civic Museum of Larciano Castle: the Civic Museum is housed inside the keep of the historic castle of Larciano and composed of a small collection of artefacts from the eastern Nievole Valley area that cover a period that ranges from prehistoric times to the modern day. They are mostly everyday items, such as kitchen tiles and ceramics, brickwork and metal objects. (tel. 0573 837722 – Town Council of Larciano, U.O.S. Culture and Education)


The Parish Exhibition Gallery in the Church of S. Pietro Apostolo: the ancient Parish Museum of Montecatini Alto was opened in 1900 with the aim of preserving the treasures of the Castle. Enlarged in 1934 to host the monumental fresco of Christ in glory between angels and saints from the Church and Convent of Sant’Agostino, the museum was closed to the public in 1980 after a major theft. The Parish Exhibition Gallery only opened a short while ago and displays part of the priceless art works that were once contained in the museum, including two recently restored reliquary busts in polychrome wood of the 17th century. (tel. 0572 73727) 

Pistoia Mountains
The Museum of Everyday Life at Torri: situated in the suggestive village of Torri, in the Borough of Sambuca Pistoiese, the museum contains a collection, divided into nine sections, displaying tools, utensils and other objects assembled by their owner Renzo Innocenti (tel. 0573 401261 cell. 338 2786544).