Pistoia Sotterranea

Beneath the old Ceppo hospital, Pistoia preserves the abandoned bed of the Brana stream, a Roman bridge, medieval mills and washhouses, alongside an anatomy theatre in the historic hospital.

Why it matters

Most visitors read Pistoia through its cathedral square and Romanesque churches, yet the city's oldest infrastructure lies underfoot. The Sotterranea route follows the bed of the Brana, the stream that ran alongside Pistoia's walls until the fourteenth century, when it was diverted into the channel that still carries it today. The preserved archaeological remains show how a medieval city used its water: a bridge, gate, mills and washhouses survive along the underground channel.

It is also an unusual arrangement for Tuscany: the visit is housed inside the Spedale del Ceppo, the hospital complex traditionally founded in 1277, and is run not by the civic museums but by a research institute, the Istituto Ricerche Storiche e Archeologiche of Pistoia.

What to notice

The underground channel extends for about 650 metres beneath the hospital. A Roman bridge, medieval washhouses and the remains of an ancient city gate mark the course of the Brana. Two mills stand along the channel, the older dating to the twelfth century.

The historic hospital also contains an anatomical theatre built between 1785 and 1787 for the lessons of its medico-surgical school.

Context and history

The Brana flowed beside the walls of Pistoia until the fourteenth century, when the watercourse was redirected into the Gora di Scornio, the channel that still carries it along the city's edge. The abandoned bed did not simply fill in: the hospital that grew above it, the Ceppo of 1277 tradition, kept using the underground passages, and the mills and washhouses multiplied along the channel beneath its blocks. The route known today was brought to light and made visitable through restoration campaigns.

The site is managed by the Istituto Ricerche Storiche e Archeologiche, whose researchers continue to study it.