city state · Italy

Commune of Pistoia

1105 CE – 1401 CE (approx.) · capital Pistoia

A Tuscan city-republic with some of Italy's oldest communal statutes, where the feud of Black and White Guelphs began before spreading to Florence.

Origins

Pistoia, at the foot of the Apennines between Florence and Lucca, had consuls by 1105. Its early statutes, from the 12th century, are among the oldest surviving communal law codes in Italy.

Rule and society

The commune was governed by consuls, then a podestà and a captain of the people. Pistoia was known for banking and metalwork and for the silver altar of Saint James in its cathedral. Around 1300 a feud within the Cancellieri family split the Guelphs into Blacks and Whites, a quarrel exported to Florence that led to Dante's exile. Florence and Lucca besieged and took Pistoia in 1305–1306.

Decline and legacy

Castruccio Castracani of Lucca seized the city in 1325. Florence later imposed a protectorate and gradually tightened control, formally annexing Pistoia in 1401, after which it remained part of the Republic of Florence.

Connections (2)

More states of Italy →

Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Commune of Pistoia. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/commune-of-pistoia
MLA
“Commune of Pistoia.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/commune-of-pistoia. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Commune of Pistoia.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/commune-of-pistoia.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Commune of Pistoia’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/commune-of-pistoia (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻