Church of Saint Andrew, Pistoia: Interior, nave looking towards altar with the Pisano pulpit to the left

The round wall of the apse is decorated with the Blessing of God the Father painted in 1506 by the Pistoian artist Bernardino del Signoraccio.\u000a\u000aGiovanni Pisano's first pulpit, in S Andrea, Pistoia, was begun ca. 1298, partly executed in Pisa and finished in 1301, the date of the inscription, which describes the sculptor as the 'son of Nicola, and blessed with higher skill'. The church probably dates as early as the 8th century; it was extended in the mid 12th century. The portal depicts the 'Voyage of the Magi', a rare theme whose use here derives from the fact that the church was located on the Via Francigena, by which pilgrims reached Rome from France.