Santissima Annunziata, Baroque church in Pistoia, Italy

Santissima Annunziata is a church on Piazza dei Servi in Pistoia, built from 1269 to 1393 and later given a Baroque interior of gilded stucco. Its wooden trussed ceiling survives from the 15th century, and the 27-metre square campanile keeps four Gothic windows. The interior walls carry two registers of frescoes: sixteen Servite saints and blesseds by Niccolò Nannetti above, and angels by Giovanni Domenico Ferretti below.

The church was established in 1269 and originally dedicated to Santa Maria de' Servi, then renamed Santissima Annunziata in 1537. Its baroque redesign during the 17th century transformed it into the structure visitors see today.

The name changed from Santa Maria de' Servi to Santissima Annunziata in 1537. The Peraccini altar holds a 14th-century fresco of the Annunciate Virgin; Sebastiano Vini added the announcing angel and the Eternal Father with two angels in 1590, signing it on the flower vase at the Virgin's right. The adjoining oratory belonged to the Compagnia dei Sette Dolori.

The church stands at Piazza dei Servi 4, reached by via Laudesi from San Desiderio or via Piazza dei Servi from San Giovanni Decollato. The former convent, long used as a warehouse, was left inaccessible after roof collapses in 2013; the church itself was restored between 2020 and 2022. Check current opening before planning a visit.

The cloister area features 17th-century frescoes depicting stories from the Servite order's history through detailed narrative scenes. Many visitors overlook these frescoes while focusing on the main church space, though they offer rich detail and careful artistic execution worth examining closely.