Ospedale del Ceppo - Museo dello Spedale del Ceppo

The former Ospedale del Ceppo in Pistoia preserves a long history of medical care and a celebrated Renaissance terracotta frieze. Its museum explores the hospital's work through medical objects, records and the architecture of the historic complex.

Why it matters

Tradition places the hospital's foundation in 1277; it served Pistoia until hospital functions moved to the new San Jacopo facility in 2013. The fifteenth-century loggia carries a polychrome terracotta frieze depicting the Seven Works of Mercy, commissioned by rector Leonardo Buonafede. The historic hospital opened as a museum in 2017.

What to notice

The frieze unfolds above the loggia arches, with scenes separated by verses from the Sermon on the Mount. Five Virtues and other terracotta decorations complete the programme. Inside, the museum displays historic surgical instruments and material on medical practice, including the obstetric teaching model known as the macchina del parto. The small oval anatomy theatre dates from 1785–87.

Context and history

Buonafede commissioned terracotta works from the Della Robbia and Buglioni workshops in the early sixteenth century. Santi Buglioni modelled the main frieze between 1526 and 1528; Filippo di Lorenzo Paladini completed the final scene in 1583–86. A restoration campaign returned the frieze's colours in 2015. The museum's development followed a 2015 agreement among the municipality, region, health authority and culture ministry; a first section opened in 2015, followed by the full museum in 2017.