Pistoia is a city and comune in the Italian region of Tuscany, the capital of a province of the same name, located about 30 kilometres west and north of Florence and is crossed by the Ombrone Pistoiese, a tributary of the River Arno. It is a typical Italian medieval city, it attracts many tourists in the summer; the city is famous throughout Europe for its plant nurseries. Pistoria was a centre of Gallic and Etruscan settlements before becoming a Roman colony in the 6th century BC, along the important road Via Cassia: in 62 BC the demagogue Catiline and his fellow conspirators were slain nearby. From the 5th century the city was a bishopric, during the Lombardic kingdom it was a royal city and had several privileges. Pistoia's most splendid age began in 1177 when it proclaimed itself a free commune: in the following years it became an important political centre, erecting walls and several public and religious buildings. In 1254 the Ghibelline town of Pistoia was conquered by the Guelph Florence.

In the Inferno of Dante, we encounter a violent member of the Black faction of Pistoia, Vanni Fucci, tangled up in a knot of snakes while cursing God, who states: beast and Pistoia my worthy lair. Pistoia remained a Florentine holding except for a brief period in the 14th century, when a former abbott, Ormanno Tedici, became Lord of the city; this did not last long. The town was annexed to Florence in 1530. One of the most famous families of the city was that of the Rospigliosi, owners of agricultural estates and wool merchants. In 1786 a famous Jansenist episcopal synod was convened in Pistoia. According to one theory, Pistoia lent its name to the pistol, which started to be manufactured in Pistoia during the 16th century, but today, it is notable for the extensive plant nurseries spreading around it. Pistoia is famous for its flower markets, as is the nearby Pescia. Pistoia borders with the municipalities of Agliana, Alto Reno Terme, Lizzano in Belvedere, Montale, Sambuca Pistoiese, San Marcello Piteglio and Serravalle Pistoiese.

Although not visited as much as other cities in Tuscany, Pistoia presents a well-preserved and charming medieval city inside the old walls. The large Piazza del Duomo, dominated by the cathedral, is lined with other medieval buildings, such as the Palazzo del Comune and the Palazzo del Podestà: it is the setting of the Giostra dell'Orso, when the best horsemen of the city's traditional quarters tilt with lances at a target held up by a dummy shaped like a bear; the original Cathedral of San Zeno burned down in 1108, but was rebuilt during the 12th century, received incremental improvements until the 17th century. The façade has a prominent Romanesque style, while the interior received heavy Baroque additions which were removed during the 1960s, its outstanding feature is the Altar of St James, an exemplar of the silversmith's craft begun in 1287 but not finished until the 15th century. Its various sections contain the total weighing nearly a ton; the Romanesque belfry, standing at some 67 metres, was erected over an ancient Lombard tower.

In the square is the 14th-century Baptistry, in Gothic style, with white and green striped marble revetment characteristic of the Tuscan Gothic. The Palazzo dei Vescovi, is characterized by a Gothic loggiato on the first floor, it is known from 1091 as a fortified noble residence. In the 12th century it received a more decorated appearance, with mullioned windows and frescoes, of which traces remain, it was modified in the mid-12th century and in the 13th century. In the 14th century, the Chapel of St. Nicholas was decorated with stories of the namesake saint and other martyrs; the Tower of Catilina is from the High Middle Ages, stands 30 metres high. Basilica of Our Lady of Humility, finished by Giorgio Vasari with a 59-metre high cupola; the original project was by Giuliano da Sangallo. The dome was commissioned by Cosimo I de' Medici to Vasari, the lantern completed in 1568 and the church consecrated in 1582. In the apse is a painting by Bernardino del Signoraccio. Santissima Annunziata, Baroque former church known for its Chiostro dei Morti.

San Bartolomeo in Pantano. San Giovanni Battista. Damaged during World War II bombardments, it is now used as an exhibition center. San Giovanni Battista al Tempio, owned for a while by the Knights Templar and by the Hospitaller Knights. San Benedetto, it houses an Annunciation by Giovanni di Bartolomeo Cristiani, a St Benedict with the Redeemer by Florentine painter, in the cloister Histories of the Order of the Knights of St Benedict by Giovan Battista Vanni. San Domenico. San Francesco. Franciscan church has an unfinished façade with bichrome marble decoration, it has frescoes with Histories of St. Fra

In Cornish Folklore, the Owlman, sometimes referred to as the Cornish Owlman, or the Owlman of Mawnan, is an owl-like creature said to have been seen in 1976 in the village of Mawnan, Cornwall, UK. The Owlman is sometimes compared to Mothman; the story originated when Tony "Doc" Shiels claimed to have investigated a report of two young girls on holiday in Mawnan who saw a large winged creature hovering above the tower of St Mawnan and St Stephen's Church, Mawnan on April 17, 1976. According to most versions of the story, the girls, identified as June and Vicky Melling, were so frightened by the sight of a large "feathered bird-man" that their father Don cut short their family holiday after hearing their tale. According to Sheils, one of the girls provided him with a drawing of the creature, which he dubbed "Owlman"; the story was subsequently related in a pamphlet entitled Morgawr: The Monster of Falmouth Bay by Anthony Mawnan-Peller, which circulated throughout Cornwall in 1976. According to Shiels, "Owlman" was reported again on 3 July by two 14-year-old girls identified as Sally Chapman and Barbara Perry, who were aware of the "Owlman" tale.

According to the story, the two girls were camping when they were confronted by "a big owl with pointed ears, as big as a man" with glowing eyes and black, pincer-like claws. Sporadic claims of "Owlman" sightings in the vicinity of the church circulated in 1978, 1979, 1989, 1995, according to legend, a "loud, owl-like sound" could be heard at night in the Mullion church yard during the year 2000. According to author Joe Nickell, church towers are common nesting places for barn owls, which were the source of the sightings. Author and Fortean TV presenter Reverend Lionel Fanthorpe identifies the sighting of a Eurasian eagle-owl as a source of the legend. Occult historian Gareth Medway suggested that the whole thing may have been a hoax by Shiels, who had a reputation for hoaxing. Medway noted that witnesses claiming encounters with the legendary monster "were either Doc Shiels, or friends of Doc Shiels, or relatives of Doc Shiels, or reported their sightings to Doc Shiels, or else wrote letters describing what they had seen to newspapers and were never interviewed by anyone."

"The Owlman Feeds at Midnight" is an episode in Season 1 of the children's TV show The Secret Saturdays. The plot of the episode involves a town terrorised by an Owlman. A cult worshipping the Owlman in a rural Cornish village is the central focus of the 2014 play Owlman by Emily Brownell and Exploding Fish Improv; the Owlman is depicted in the Scottish independent horror film Lord of Tears. In this film, The Owlman represents the Semitic god Muloch. Eurasian eagle-owl Morgawr Mothman Spring Heeled Jack Bord, Janet. Alien Animals. Granada. Downes, Jonathan; the Owlman and Others. Corby: Domra Publications. P. 239. ISBN 0-9524417-6-4. McEwan, Graham J.. Mystery Animals of Britain and Ireland. London: Robert Hale. P. 224. ISBN 0-7090-2801-6

Hochzeitssuppe is a clear German soup based on chicken broth, fortified with chicken meat, small meatballs, asparagus heads and savoury egg custard garnish. Sometimes raisins are added as well. Hochzeitssuppe is eaten in Northern Germany and Southern Germany by the bride and groom and guests, traditionally after the wedding ceremony, it is served as the starter on the menu at the wedding reception, it is eaten in other regions of Germany, because the Brautsuppe served to all the guests used to be an element of every wedding. A variation is the Westfälische Hochzeitssuppe, a broth, traditionally prepared from beef; this forms the entree on wedding menus, followed by the cold meat from which the broth had been prepared, served with remoulade, silverskin onions and pickled gherkins as a second course. There are numerous recipes for Hochzeitssuppe in regional cookbooks. At retail outlets there are varieties of instant soups that go by this name. Wedding soup Ciorbă de perişoare Smyrna meatballs List of German soups List of soups Yuvarlak Tabriz meatballs Analı kızlı soup Sulu köfte