A symbol of municipal power, it was established as the city’s seat of government, a function it maintains still today. The earliest work is traced back to 1294. The current form dates to work carried out in the mid-14th century.

Inside is the Civic Museum of Antique Art that, as the city’s main museum, exhibits mainly paintings on wood panels and on canvas, sculptures, and objects of applied art, presenting Pistoia’s entire artistic history the 13th to the 20th century. The Giovanni Michelucci Documentation Center is housed in the museum.