Florence By Area >> City Centre West
Historic Streets and Piazzas |
Until 1890, when the present square was laid out, this had been the site of the Mercato Vecchio (Old Market) and before that of the ancient Roman forum. A single column from the old market still stands on the square, topped by an 18th century statue of Abundance.
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Dominating the western side of the square is a triumphal ach built in 1895 to celebrate the fact that Florence was then the capital of Itlay. The demolition of the Old Market was intended as the first step in a wholesale remodelling of Florence, but leading member of the English community led an international campaign opposing this grand scheme, which would have led to the destruction of almost every historic building in the city centre. Fortunately, the campaign was successful and the demolition halted.
The square, popular with both tourists and locals, is lined with pavement cafes, such as the very smart Gilli or the Giubbe Rosse, so called because of the red jackets of the waiters. In the early part of this century, the Giubbe Rosse was the haunt of writers and artists, including those of Italy's avant-garde Futurist movement. Rinascente, one of Florence's department stores, is on the eastern side of the square. |
Around Piazza della Repubblica
Underlying the street plan of modern Florence is the far older pattern of the ancient Roman city founded on the banks of the Arno. Nowhere is more evident than in the rectilinear grid of narrow streets in the western half of the city centre. Here the streets lead north from the river Arno to the Piazza della Republicca, once the site of the forum, the main square of the ancient Roman city. It later became the city's main food market until the city authorities decided to tidy it up in the 1860's, building the triumphal arch the now stands in today's café-filled square.
Key Sights:
Piazza della Repubblica
The Roman style triumphal arch celebrates Florence's stint as Italy's capital (1865-71).
Ponte Vecchio
Giotto's pupil, Taddeo Gaddi, designed this medieval bridge in 1345. It is the oldest- and most popular- of Florence's bridges and retains many of its original features.
Santa Trinità
Ghirlandaio's frescoes, The Life of St. Francis (1483), depict scenes that took place in this area. Here, a child is restored to life, after falling from the Palazzo Spini-Ferroni.
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Noble Palazzi line this busy square. To the south is the Palazzo Spini-Ferroni, originally built in 1290 but much rebuilt in the 19th century; today the ground floor houses the famous boutique of Salvatore Ferragamo, specialising in shoes and leather goods. To the north, on the corner with Via delle Terme, is the Palazzo Bartolini-Salimbeni. Built during 1520-29, it is one of the city's best examples of High Renaissance architecture. In between the two palazzi is a column of oriental granite originally from the Baths of Caracalla in Rome and given to Cosimo I by Pope Pius IV in 1560. The figure of Justice on top was made in 1581.
Just south of the square is the Ponte Santa Trinità, considered the most beautiful bridge in Florence. It affords fine views of the surrounding hills and especially of the Ponte Vecchio. It was originally built in wood in 1252, and then rebuilt by Ammannati in 1567 as a monument to Cosimo I's defeat of Siena. |
Michelangelo is credited with the elegant design, based on an intriguing elliptical curve echoing those on the famous Medici tombs. The statues of the Four Seasons at each end were added in 1608 for Cosimo II's marriage to Maria of Austria. The bridge was restored after it was blown up by the Germans in 1944, and the statues were dredged up from the river bed. Look west from here to the golden-yellow Palazzo Corsini (1648-56), with statues on the roof balustrade. It is one of the best examples of Baroque architecture in Florence.
Via dei Fossi and the nearby streets contain some of the most absorbing shops in Florence, many of them specialising in antiques and works of art and statuary, and in classic Florentine products. Bottega Artigiana del Libro stocks handmade marbled papers, albums, notebooks and carnival masks. Fallani Best has Art Nouveau and Art Deco furnishings and sculpture, and Antonio Frilli specialises in marble sculpture- original Art Nouveau works and copies of famous Renaissance pieces. Neri also sells top-quality antiques and G Lisio, makes hand-woven tapestries and rich Renaissance-style fabrics. Attached to the convent of the same name, the frescoed Farmacia di Santa Maria Novella dates to the 16th century and sells toiletries and liqueurs made by Dominican monks.
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Via de' Tornabuoni is the most elegant shopping street in Florence, lined with boutiques such as Salvatore Ferragamo, Roberto Cavalli, Gucci, Prada for men, Prada for women, Armani, Bulgari and Cartier. The Ferragamo Museum focuses on the firm's efforts in shoe-making. The medieval tower at the end of the street, now a hotel, used to be a private club for local aristocrats. |
Reflecting its associations with wealthy Renaissance Florentines, such as the Rucellai, Via della Vigna Nuova has a number of fashionable clothes shops. Nearly all the major Italian designers can be found here, as well as several smaller shops selling quality silks, cashmeres and lingerie.
Among the top fashion houses doing business along Via della Vigna Nuova are Pucci, La Perla, Dolce & Gabbana and Versus-Versace.
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