Chiesa di San Pier Maggiore

The medieval church from the eighth century

The church of San Pier Maggiore in Pistoia dates back to the Lombard period (VIII century), is dedicated to the Saints. Peter and Paul and had in the past such importance as to give its name to the Southern Gate (Porta Sancti Petri) and to host a decidedly unusual ritual. In 1091 a monastery of Benedictine nuns was added to it and stayed there until the end of the eighteenth century. The splendid façade of the church in white and green marble preserves the original Romanesque aspect and repeats the pentapartite scheme with a dichroic decoration and with a fancifulness in the choice of the illustrated themes and in the decorative repertoire that has no equal in Pistoia. In addition, on the central architrave it houses Jesus giving the keys to Saint Peter, with the Virgin and the apostles beside him, work of the Guidi Workshop between Pistoia and Lucca. The interior was unfortunately redone in 1640 by the architect Tommaso Ramignani in Baroque style, thus destroying the original environment. Today, not open to the public, the church has been deconsecrated perhaps due to the abandonment of the cult, or perhaps because we wanted to "forget" the unusual Christian ritual that took place inside these walls. According to a document dated 1561, the mystical marriage between the new bishop of the diocese of Pistoia and the abbess of the convent of San Pietro took place periodically in this church. This event remained "active" until the sixteenth century, it should have represented the symbolic union between the newly elected bishop and a woman who represented the figure of the Pistoia Church, following a very precise ritual, recalling the ancient pagan cults in which the union between man and woman had the added value of the union between man and God.