A sweet other half

Despite being less well known than other Tuscan cities, Pistoia is a real gem surrounded by enchanted locations and beautiful landscapes. The northernmost of the region’s provincial capitals, it is strategically located at the foot of the Apennine mountains and just a few dozen kilometres from Florence, Lucca and Pisa. It may not be as touristy or bustling as its more famous counterparts, but as art historian Eugène Müntz wrote at the end of the nineteenth century, it can boast an astonishing quantity of artistic treasures dating from all periods of history, from Romanesque to renaissance, from baroque to neoclassical and through to contemporary art. But Pistoia also has a mysterious side to it with its underground passageway running underneath the old hospital and its curious mediaeval street names. Visitors should allow themselves plenty of time to explore the city centre at leisure, to lose themselves in its crisscrossing streets and to soak up the rhythms, customs and features of this provincial city — whether a church, a historic building, an atelier or the market. And after strolling through Piazza del Duomo, Piazza della Sala and Via Abbi Pazienza (famous for the wars between the black and white Guelph factions) and admiring Giovanni Pisano’s masterpiece, the pulpit in the church of Sant’Andrea, it’s worth taking a short break from cultural attractions to indulge in another temptation, that of taste. A strategically-located oasis of calm just a few minutes’ walk from the city centre, the recently renovated Bahira café and pastry shop has an almost timeless appeal underscored by an elegant combination of historic elements and modern details. The recent renovation project enhanced the building’s original structure, consisting of two separate spaces, and involved meticulously cleaning and restoring the facing brick arches, the stone walls and the vaulted ceiling with its handmade clay bricks, a feature that is particularly evident in the tearoom. In this unique setting, guests can savour the pastry shop’s specialities showcased in the gently curving central display counter. The perpendicular entrance space and bar area features a play of opposites, the exposed stone wall next to the service counter contrasting with the front wall decorated with Venetian stuccowork. The element that creates continuity between the spaces is the rectified porcelain floor tile from Ceramiche Keope’s Soul collection, chosen in the colour Walnut. The 25×150 cm slat format enhances the sense of depth of the volumes, while the colours and material texture reproduce the grain and warmth of natural wood. Moreover, the choice of colour together with the eco-sustainable nature of the tiles, highlighted by the GreenThinking logo and the Made In Italy label, lend personality and character to the entire interior design project.