Pistoia is home to a famous hospital complex, Ospedale del Ceppo, done by the same artists as the orphanage in Florence (the one with the lazy susan for unwanted babies). It's a very elegant space, and along the courtyard is a remarkably well preserved series of frescoes recounting the hospital's good deeds.

It was presumably very busy, because Pistoia has a reputation as a particularly nasty, strife-torn city, which is quite a statement. This may stem from the fact that the city became rich through the manufacture of daggers and swords. Then, as technology improved, they gave the world the pistol, named of course after its hometown.