Pistoia - San Bartolomeo in Pantano

"San Bartolomeo in Pantano" was founded between 726 and 764 by the Lombard physician Gaiduald on swampy ground (= pantano) . A Benedictian convent was established here under the protection of the Marquises of Tuscany.

In 1433 the Benedictines were replaced by Canons Regular. End of the 18th century the monastery was given to the Vallumbrosan Order, which remained here in 1810. Then church became a parish church.

San Bartolomeo in Pantano of today was erected mid 12th century, commissioned by Abbot Buono in 1159. The facade, divided into five compartments with arches, is characteristic for the Pistoiese Romanesque style.

The interior had been modified and altered a couple of times over the centuries, but a renovation undertaken in the 1950s broight back the Romanesque church. The pulpit got restaurated as well. It is less "sophisticated" than Giovanni Pisani´s pulpit in Sant'Andrea. Compared to Pisani Guido da Como, the artist who signed this work of art, is nearly "minimalistic".