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Pope Clemente IX. Itineraries in Pistoia 

Memory and the tangible evidence of the prestige of the Rospigliosi family, one of the most important in Pistoia, and the munificence of the Pistoian Pope Clemente IX, have left an important mark on the history of the city and on its monuments.

Museo Rospigliosi
The museum houses a rich collection of works of art, among which is the Portrait of Clemente IX with its monumental frame, and the bed where tradition has it the Pope himself slept, works by Ludovico and Giacinto Gemignani, and copies of Nicolas Poussin paintings.

Cattedrale di San Zeno and Museo Capitolare
The Rospigliosi family took part in the fitting out of the new apse in the cathedral by funding the creation of three altar-pieces, the Resurrection (1602) by Cristofano Allori, the Descent of the Holy Spirit (1603-04) by Gregorio Pagani, the Ascension of Christ (1606) by Benedetto Veli and the two statues of San Jacopo e San Zeno (1603) in gilded terracotta. After the fire that in 1641 destroyed much of the property of the Capitolo, the Rospigliosi offered numerous gifts to the Cathedral, including an elegant chalice and a series of reliquaries such as the reliquiario di San Bartolomeo (1663) and the reliquario di San Bonifacio (1661). These works can all be seen today in the Museo Capitolare.

Museo Civico
This museum houses the Portrait of Papa Clemente IX (1669), a copy of Maratta, Allegoria del dominio dei Medici su Pistoia (1666) by Giacinto Gemignani, the Pianta della città di Pistoia, commissioned by Giulio Rospigliosi (1657) and enclosed in the volume Historie di Pistoia e fazioni d’Italia (1656) by Michelangelo Salvi.

Palazzo Rospigliosi in via del Duca
The palace of the papal family still bears witness today to the patronage of the Rospigliosi in the frescoed chapel, painted in 1633 by Giovanni Mannozzi da Sangiovanni, depicting episodes in the life of Saint Catherine, in honour of the Pope’s mother.

Church of Sant'Ignazio di Loyola (later dello Spirito Santo)
The construction of the new church (1647) was an impressive undertaking by the Rospigliosi family and one that celebrated the prestige of the papal family. Aside from the paintings by Ludovico Gemignani for the chapels under Rospigliosi patronage, Giulio had a beautiful organ made by the Flemish Jesuit William Hermans. For the main altar he turned to Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1670) and for the altarpiece The Apparition of Christ to Saint Ignatius (1667-1669), to Pietro da Cortona.

Church of Saints Prospero e Filippo
Girolamo di Taddeo Rospigliosi, 1622, commissioned the renovation of the church on the occasion of the canonisation of Saint Filippo Neri. The reliquario di San Giordano was donated to the church by Giulio Rospigliosi in 1655.

Church of the Madonna dell'Umiltà
Among the Pistoia families that the church was a beneficiary of, the Rospigliosi was one of the first. At either side of the main altar are the two Rospigliosi family patron’s chapels (1580), with the frescoes of Vita di Maria, Storie della vita di Gesù e della Vergine and two altarpieces, the Annunciazione (1586) by Ludovico Buti and the Assunzione by Giovan Battista Naldini or Francesco Morandini known as ”il Poppi”. The treasury of the church holds a chalice (1641) donated by Caterina (the mother of the Pope) and a silver altar stair (1643) donated by Camillo (brother of the Pope).   

Chiurch and Monastery of San Domenico
From 1668 – 1670 Giulio Rospigliosi and his brother put up on the walls of the church transept the memorial tablets (made in Rome by the workshop of Gian Lorenzo Bernini) for the tombs of his parents Girolamo and Caterina Rospigliosi and of his uncle Pompeo, brother of Girolamo. Two paintings of interest to Giulio Rospigliosi are kept here, San Sebastiano curato da Sant’Irene by Giacinto Gemignani (1642), and San Michele Arcangelo by Giovan Francesco Romanelli (1641). Over the altar on the right can be seen the altarpiece by Jacopo Chimenti detto l'Empoli, San Carlo Borromeo con la famiglia Rospigliosi (1613).

Villa Rospigliosi - Lamporecchio (Spicchio)
The decision to build a new palace in Lamporecchio, the family’s place of origin, was taken by Giulio Rospigliosi after his election to the papal throne (1667). He entrusted the project to Gian Lorenzo Bernini, who turned to his close collaborator Mattia de’Rossi. Austere from the outside, on the ground floor the villa unexpectedly reveals an oval, vaulted scenic space, enhanced by the decorative painting attributed to Ludovico Gemignani (Apollo on the chariot of the Sun and Dawn, and allegories of the Signs of the Zodiac). In front of the villa is the chapel of the Saints Simone and Giuda, designed by Mattia de’Rossi, topped by a cupola and frescoed throughout.