The building situated in the heart of Pistoia historic centre owes its peculiar name to a city legend linked to two merchants called Bendinella and Antimo.

Like in other Tuscan towns, in the Middle Ages in Pistoia people used to collect donations for the poor in a hollow trunk. The legend goes that in the late 13th century, in winter, the Virgin Mary appeared to the two spouses and ordered them to found a hospital in the place where they would find a flowering trunk ("ceppo" is the Tuscan word for trunk).

Nowadays, almost eight century after its construction (1277), the Ospedale del Ceppo still stands among the traditional Tuscan houses in Pistoia historic centre.

Particularly interesting are the glazed terracotta tiles that decorate its facade and the tondi above the columns of the porch. The tiles by Santi Buglioni and Della Robbias` disciples represent the works of compassion people should engage in to help the poor and needy, whereas the tondi represent sacred subjects and scenes.

In the course of the centuries, the hospital acted as pilgrim hospice, home for orphans, and even as medical school. Nowadays it has been transformed into a museum housing items linked to its history that tourist can visit upon request.

By the Ospedale del Ceppo there is the information point of the Museo di Pistoia Sotterranea, a particular museum you should not absolutely miss.