The Ancient Palace of the Bishops, located in Piazza del Duomo in Pistoia, is attested since 1091. Initially a fortified residence, in the 12th century it acquired the appearance of a noble residence. Among the many characteristics, the building houses the sacristy of San Jacopo, built between 1163 and 1170, in which the theft of Vanni Fucci narrated by Dante in the XXIV canto of the Inferno took place. In the 16th century the palace achieved notable elegance but began to lack service rooms, so much so that Bishop Scipione de' Ricci obtained permission from the Grand Duke Pietro Leopoldo to build a new bishop's palace. In the following decades, it was sold to private individuals and was profoundly remodeled, increasing the number of internal floors and heavily modifying the facades. In 1976 the Cassa di Risparmio di Pistoia e Pescia began a complex restoration of the building which ended in 1980, with the recovery of a large part of the structures and its original appearance.

Today, owned by the Caript Foundation, the Palace constitutes one of the summits of the Pistoia Museums Foundation, dedicated to ancient and modern art. The Palace hosts several sections: the equipped Archaeological Route , the Museum of the Cathedral of San Zeno, the Bigongiari Collection, the Millefiori Tapestry, a Pomona by Marino Marini, the Mural Paintings by Giovanni Boldini, the Tactile Museum: the city to be touched.