Florence On Line

La Giostra is a busy restaurant on Borgo Pinti, well known in tourist circles but a bit ignored by Florentines (but then again what restaurant in the center isn't). We ate there recently, following are my impressions.

The crowd is a healthy mix of tourists and Italians, and the meal overall was fantastic. The room is a little tight (not uncommon in Florence) and got a little noisy from a fine dining standpoint, but there is a lot of "atmosphere" and the owner is an entertaining charachter who puts on quite a show, especially decanting your wine. He also took a minute to admonish the staff for some minor transgression that I caught some of - actually one of the oddest observations we had was the way the staff was dressed - completely haphazardly, with one of the waiters in a nearly sleeveless t-shirt, tatoos exposed, and plenty of other piercings and tattoos on display - if you are looking for uniformed service, I would have to say this isn't the place.

North of Lucca, in the area known as the Garfagnana, is the Grotta del Vento - one of the most accessible (and highly commercialized!) caves in Tuscany. As a day trip from Florence with kids, it is pushing the limit - we followed the directions on the official website, which had us getting off the main highway much earlier than Lucca, and it was slow and tedious going trying to stay on the correct roads. I would suggest you stay on the A11 until Lucca and then get on the SS12 heading north up the Serchio River Valley.

The trip is nearly two hours, but once you are past Lucca and start heading up the valley, it is really quite picturesque. You also pass the Devil's Bridge at Borgo a Mozzano which is an amazing example of medieval engineering. Either before or after a visit to the cave, you can also stop in Barga (barganews.com is a good website), a beautiful and ancient hill town with the ruins of a Roman aqueduct among it's sights.

The picture is of our daughter Alice in the cave.

July 26th, 2010:

The electric mini-buses that run in the city center had a radical change this year (2010) when more of the center was closed to traffic. The below map shows the updated routes: C1, C2, C3 & D (don't ask for the logic on that - "C" must mean center now... but why the bus on the other side is "D" and not "O", or why they didn't keep A, B, etc... who knows!).

You can also see the Tramvia Line 1 on this map.

The buses run Monday to Saturday, from 7 AM until 9 PM, every ten minutes, and 8:30 AM to 8:30 PM on holidays. I guess they don't run on Sundays - which I had not noticed before.

May 28 to 31st 2020 witnessed the first annual Florence Gelato Festival. It is slated to be an annual event. We had lots of great gelato, but the lines were long at times and the overall organization seemed a bit lacking. It did seem to be a big success however judging by the number of people eating ice cream. The "Gelato University" put on in Piazza Santissima Annunziata by industry giant Carpigiani was also packed for every lesson.

I had a chance to take a walk in a field in the hills around Florence up near Settignano this afternoon:

There are some new traffic lights up that let you know when it is okay to drive into the ZTL. The pictures below are from the entrance in front of the Biblioteca Nazionale (I am not how many ZTL entrances have these lights installed). The current mayor of Florence, Matteo Renzi, has announced new plans to make the whole ZTL situation simpler and more friendly to tourism. We'll see how that goes - for now the signs are a decent start.

Here is the location of the above sign:

View Biblioteca Nazionale ZTL Entrance in a larger map

Just some photos from around Florence on Saturday, March 13. The weather has turned for the better and there is a lot of sun in the forecast for this week too:

This beautiful church was built by the Russian community of Florence which played a signficant role in the development and history of the city. It is officially called the Orthodox Russian church of the Nativity of Christ and Saint Nicholas in Florence.

The church was built between 1899 and 1903 by the talented Russian architect Michail Préobraženskij. It has five onion-shaped domes and houses tall figures of Orthodox saints that stand among the colored mural paintings and byzantine icons.

It is possible to visit the church by appoitment. Call Padre Georgij Blatinskij at +39 055-490148 for more information.

The Basilica of San Miniato al Monte is one of the oldest churches in Florence and is frequently called the finest Romanesque basilica in all of Italy. The church as we know it today was started around 1018 and took over one hundred years to complete. St. Minias was possibly from Armenia and believed to have been martyred around 250 (he was beheaded during the anti-Christian persecutions of the Emperor Decius and was said to have picked up his head, crossed the Arno and walked up the hill of Mons Fiorentinus to his hermitage and buried on this hillside). The church is in a wonderful state of preservation and there are several important works inside, including a tabernacle attributed to Rossellino, the tomb of the Cardinal of Portugal with works by Rossellino, Della Robbia and others, frescoes by Agnolo Gaddi, and an amazing fresco cycle of the life of St. Benedict by Spinello Aretino, to name just some of them. Click here for more photos.

For the past 1600 years, Piazza del Duomo has been the one of the centers of Florence's religious life. It is made up of Piazza del Duomo and Piazza San Giovanni. It is one of the most visited place in the Europe and the world. Around the piazza lies the Duomo of Firenze, Santa Maria del Fiore, Giotto's Campanile, the Florence Baptistery, the Loggia del Bigallo, the Opera del Duomo Museum, and the Arcivescovile and Canonici's palace. The west zone of this square is called San Giovanni square.

The square is saturated with visitors day and night snapping photos and admiring the beauty of the church. The front steps of the church become a meeting point for young people in the evening; this piazza never sleeps! In January 2010, the city of Florence forbid traffic in the piazza, making it strictly a pedestrian zone. This has led to a significant improvement in mobility and the piazza has become more lively than ever.

The Great Synagogue (Tempio Maggiore) was built between 1874 and 1882. The architects were Mariano Falcini, Professor Vincente Micheli, and Marco Treves who built the structure in the Spanish-Moresco style.

Layers of travertine and granite alternate create a striped effect on the facade. Old photographs show bold red and beige stripes, but the bold colors of the stone have faded over time, leaving a more mottled effect.

The overall form of the synagogue is the cruciform plan of Hagia Sophia. The corner towers are topped with horseshoe-arched towers themselves topped with onion domes in the Moorish Revival style. Three horseshoe arches form the main entrance and above them rise tiers of ajimez windows with their paired horseshoe arches sharing a single column.

Inside the building the walls are almost completely covered with colored designs in Moorish patterns. The interior mosaics and frescoes inside are by Giovanni Panti. Giacomo del Medico designed the great arch.

During World War II Fascist troops used the synagogue as a vehicle garage. In August 1944 retreating German troops worked with Italian Fascists to destroy the synagogue, but the Italian resistance managed to defuse most of the explosives. Only a limited amount of damage was done. The synagogue was restored after the war. It was restored again after damage by massive flooding in 1966.

The synagogue has been widely admired, and the 1892 Eutaw Place Temple of Temple Oheb Shalom in Baltimore, Maryland, represents a replica.

Santa Maria del Carmine is a church of the Carmelite Order. It is famous for its Brancacci Chapel which houses magnificent Renaissance frescoes by Masaccio and Masolino da Panicale, later finished by Filippino Lippi.

The church, dedicated to the Beatæ Virginis Mariæ de monte Carmelo, began to be built in 1268 as part of the Carmelite convent, which still exists today. Of the original edifice Some Romanesque-Gothic remains of the original structure can still be seen on the sides of the church. The complex was enlarged once in 1328 and again in 1464, when the capitular hall and the refectory were added.

Renovated again in 16th-17th centuries, the church was damaged by a fire in 1771 and rebuilt internally in 1782. The façade, like many other Florentine churches, remained unfinished. The fire did not touch the sacristy and fortunately many artworks survived, including the stories of St. Cecilia attributed to Lippo d'Andrea and the marble monument of Pier Soderini by Benedetto da Rovezzano. The vault of the nave has a trompe-l'oeil fresco by Domenico Stagi.

The Bracacci Chapel also survived the fire and was also restored due to the intervention of a Florentine noblewoman who firmly opposed the covering of the frescoes. The Chapel is home to famous frescoes by Masaccio and Masolino, considered the first masterworks of the Italian Renaissance. Masaccio's master, Masolino, commissioned by a wealthy merchant, Felice Brancacci, began work on the chapel in 1425 but the project was soon taken over by his pupil whose treatment of figures in space made the frescoes among the most important to have come out of the Early Renaissance. The scenes by Masaccio are the Expulsion from Paradise, The Tribute Money St Peter Healing a Lame-Man, and St Peter Raising Tabitha from the dead. The cycle was finished by Filippino Lippi

The Corsini Chapel of the church was built by the Corsini, probably the richest family in Florence during the 17th-18th centuries. The chapel is dedicated to St. Andrew Corsini, a Carmelite bishop of Fiesole who was canonized in 1629. The architect Pier Francesco Silvani choose a Baroque style for the chapel. The small dome was painted by Luca Giordano in 1682. The elaborated rococo ceiling is the work of one of the most important 18th century artists in the city, Giovanni Domenico Ferretti.

The convent of the church has suffered several times from numerous disasters, from the fire to the flooding of 1966. Most of the artworks are therefore damaged: these include the Bestowal of the Carmelite Rule by Filippo Lippi and the Last Supper by Alessandro Allori, and remains of works from other chapels by Pietro Nelli and Gherardo Starnina.

The Basilica of Santa Maria del Santo Spirito ("St. Mary of the Holy Spirit") is located in the Oltrarno quarter of Florence, facing the piazza with the same name. The basilica is a pre-eminent examples of Renaissance architecture.

The current church was constructed over the pre-existing ruins of a 13th century Augustinian convent which was destroyed by a fire in 1471. Filippo Brunelleschi began designs for the new building as early as 1428. After his death in 1446, the works were carried on by his followers, including Antonio Manetti, Giovanni da Gaiole, and Salvi d'Andrea; the latter was also responsible for the construction of the cupola.

Unlike San Lorenzo, where Brunelleschi's ideas were thwarted, here, his ideas were carried through with much fidelity, at least in the ground plan and up to the level of the arcades. The Latin cross plan is designed as to maximize the legibility of the grid. The contrast between nave and transept that caused such difficulty at S. Lorenzo was here also avoided. The side chapels, in the form of niches all the same size (forty in all), run along the entire perimeter of the space.

Brunelleschi's facade was never built and left blank. In 1489, a columned vestibule and octagonal sacristy, designed by Simone del Pollaiolo, known as Il Cronaca, and Giuliano da Sangallo respectively, were built to the left of the building. A door was opened up in a chapel to make the connection to the church.

A Baroque baldachin with polychrome marbles was added by Giovanni Battista Caccini and Gherardo Silvani over the high altar in 1601. The church remained undecorated until the 18th century, when the walls were plastered. The inner façade is by Salvi d'Andrea, and has still the original glass window with the Pentecost designed by Pietro Perugino. The bell tower was designed by Baccio d'Agnolo.

The church has 38 side chapels which contain a some beautiful masterpieces. The most significant is the Bini-Capponi Chapel, housing the St. Monica Establishing the Rule of the Augustinian Nuns painting by Francesco Botticini. The Corbinelli chapels contain works by Andrea Sansovino, Cosimo Rosselli and Donnino and Agnolo del Mazziere. In the chapels of the transept are frescoes by Filippino Lippi.

The sacristy was designed by Giuliano da Sangallo in 1489, and has an octagonal plan. It is home to a devotional painting of St. Fiacre curing the sick by Alessandro Allori commissioned by Christine of Lorraine, Grand Duke Ferdinando I de' Medici's wife.

Allegedly built where Saint Ambrose would have stayed when in Florence in 393, the church dates back to 998 as a chapel of a nunnery built in honour of the saint. It was rebuilt in the 19th century but still has an original open timber roof.

The church contains numerous frescos, altarpieces, and other artwork attributed to Andrea Orcagna, Agnolo Gaddi, Niccolò Gerini, Lorenzo di Bicci, Masaccio, Filippo Lippi, Sandro Botticelli, Alesso Baldovinetti, Mino da Fiesole, Cosimo Rosselli, Fra Bartolomeo, and many other artists.

Several important artists are buried in the church, including Francesco Granacci, an Italian painter of the Renaissance and lifelong friend of Michelangelo Buonarroti, the painter and sculptor Verrocchio, the architect Cronaca, and the sculptor Mino da Fiesole.

Santa Trinita is a Florentine church of the Vallumbrosan Order of monks founded in 1092 by a Florentine nobleman. The church is famous for its Sassetti Chapel, containing notable frescoes by Domenico Ghirlandaio that represent true masterpieces of 15th century art.

The current church was constructed over 11th century churches during 1258-1280. Multiple reconstructions occurred thereafter. The Mannerist façade (1593-1594) was designed by Bernardo Buontalenti. The relief over the central door of the Trinita was sculpted by Pietro Bernini and Giovanni Battista Caccini. The 17th century wooden doors were carved as a remembrance of Vallumbrosan saints.

The church has approximately 20 chapels, each of which contain a significant amount of artwork. The most famous are the Sassetti and the Bartolini-Salimbeni chapels which contain frescoes by Domenico Ghirlandaio and the Quattrocento artist Lorenzo Monaco, respectively. Francesco Sassetti had been a manager of the Medici bank. The Ghirlandaio frescoes use as backgrounds the then contemporary Florentine city views.

The Column of Justice in the Piazza Trinita, outside of where the church stands, originates from the Baths of Caracalla of ancient Rome, and was a gift to Cosimo Medici from Pope Pius IV.

The Church of Ognissanti (All-Saints Church) is a Franciscan church founded by the lay order of the Umiliati, a Benedictine order particularly skilled in manufacturing wool.

It was completed during the 1250s, but almost completely rebuilt on the Baroque designs of Bartolomeo Pettirossi, in 1627. Ognissanti was among the first examples of Baroque architecture to be built in Florence.

The Umiliati developed a strong positive relationship with the Florentine people. Many works of art, dedicated by various Florentines, began to accumulate in their once very simple church. Giotto's celebrated Madonna and Child with angels, now in the Uffizi, was painted for the high altar in 1310. During the 16th century, the Franciscan order assumed control of the church in 1571 from the Umiliati and brought works of their own, including precious relics such as the robe Saint Francis of Assisi wore.

Famous works inside the church include quattrocento frescoes in the nave chapels, by Ghirlandaio and Botticelli (who is buried in the church) and Madonna della Misericordia, also by Ghirlandaio. Perhaps the greatest of Ognissanti's frescoes is Ghirlandaio's Last Supper in the refectory between the two cloisters, a work with which Leonardo was intimately familiar. Over the door to the sacristy is a crucifix in wood by Veit Stoss.

This church was built in 1250 by the seven original members of the Servite order. In 1252, a painting of the Annunciation, which had been begun by one of the monks but abandoned in despair because he did not feel he could create a beautiful enough image, was supposedly completed by an angel while he slept. This painting was placed in the church and became extremely venerated.

The facade of the church was added in 1601 by the architect Giovanni Battista Caccini, in imitation of Brunelleschi's facade of the Foundling Hospital, which defines the eastern side of the piazza Santissima Annunziata, where the basilica lies. The building across from the Foundling Hospital, designed by Antonio da Sangallo the Elder, was also given a Brunelleschian facade in the 1520s.

In 1817, Leopold, the last Grand Duke of Tuscany, was married to Maria Anna Carolina of Saxony inside of the basilica.

One of the most beautiful architectural examples in Florence and a great source of Florentine civic pride, the church and museum of Orsanmichele is a rewarding stop in any itinerary of Florence.

Orsanmichele is known for the sculptures of saints placed in the niches or tabernacles on all four sides of the church by the various guilds of Florence. Executed between 1340 and 1602, they form a timeline of gothic and renaissance art that is perhaps unrivaled in one location. The first sculpture, of St. Stephen by Andrea Pisano, was executed in 1340 - 150 years before Columbus discovered America - the last, St. Luke by Giambologna - was completed over 260 years later.

Orsanmichele's unique history as a site that has dramatically changed function over the centuries is very interesting. It is speculated that in Roman times there was a building here dedicated to the worship of Isis. Later, in the 9th century it was used by the Lombards as an oratory dedicated to St. Michael. By order of the Comune in the early 13th century it became a market where wheat was sold, eventually under a brick and wooden awning constructed by Arnolfo di Cambio. During this period the first "Madonna of the Graces" painting was done on a pillar of that structure, which was soon followed by miraculous events. Eventually destroyed by a fire in 1304, it was followed in 1337 by a more robust structure that was erected by either some or all of the following from a design, according to Vasrai, of Taddeo Gaddi: Francesco Talenti, Simone Talenti, Neri di Fioravante, Benci di Cione and (the most recent favorite of current scholarship) Andrea Pisano. This time made of brick and stone to better withstand fires, the new building had an open loggia on the ground floor similar to the one at the nearby Mercato Nuovo (known to many tourists as the "Straw Market") for the selling of wheat, while the upper was designed to serve as the granary. Two of the piers are hollow and were used to move the grain between floors; the slots through which the grain passed are still visible. In 1347 Bernardo Daddi's "Madonna and Child with Angels" was commissioned to replace the original "Madonna of the Graces".

While Orsanmichele continued to function as a commercial site for some time, pilgrims inspired by the story of the miraculous appearance of the Madonna there began visiting the site in increasing numbers, especially in the uncertain times after the Black Plague struck in 1348. As the legend of the new "Madonna of the Graces" grew, a tabernacle was commissioned to protect it. This masterpiece by Andrea Orcagna was completed in 1359. Both the painting and the tabernacle provide excellent examples of the aesthetics of the late medieval period.

Eventually it was decided to relocate the grain market and to rededicate the building as an oratory. To this end, the open loggia was closed up around 1380. The stained glass windows added around this time are some of the oldest in Florence, and illustrate the miracles of the Madonna of Orsanmichele. In 1410 Ghiberti constructed the two doors that are still used today.

Piazza Santa Maria Novella was originally intended in the thirteenth century to hold the overflow of worshippers to the Santa Maria Novella church. Beginning in the late fourteenth century it was also used to hold the Palio dei Cocchi chariot races hosted by Cosimo I. The two obelisks were added in 1608 to serve as turning posts in the race. Across the piazza from the church is the fifteenth century Loggia di San Paolo, from which the grand duke viewed the race. Today it houses the Alinari National Museum of Photography (Museo Nazionale Alinari della Fotografia).

In the nineteenth century, several important foreign literary and political figures chose this piazza as their headquarters in Florence. A plaque to the American poet Longfellow appears on the wall of the Hotel Minerva while the writer Henry James wrote his novel Roderick James in a house on the corner of the Via della Scala. On the Via delle Belle Donne is the balcony from which Garibaldi made his famous declaration "Roma o morte!"

Authentic gelato is to be had at L'Angolo del Gelato, on the corner of the Via della Scala, where the specialties of the house include a very rare crema di arachidi, or peanut butter gelato.

There are many more hotels in the area, along with the newly renovated Hotel L'Orologio, which is right on the piazza.

Piazza Santa Trìnita is named after the church of Santa Trìnita on the northwest side of the somewhat triangular square. At the center of the piazza stands the "Column of Justice", a massive granite column from the east section of the Baths of Caracalla in Rome. It was the gift of Pope Pius IV in 1560 for Cosimo I, the first Grand Duke of Florence. In 1581 the Justice statue by Tadda was added to the top of the column, and the bronze cloak was added even later.

Once an isolated area outside of the city walls, the piazza became part of the city center in 1175 after the founding of the church and convent of Vallombrosa.

The piazza is known for having three sides, but four architectural styles. During the late 14th century noble families began building mansions on the square, and it remains one of the finest examples of living architectural history in all of Florence. Three particularly famous mansions exemplify patrician architectural styles over the centuries. The 14th century Palazzo Spini is now home of the Ferragamo store and museum and a fine example of medieval architecture in Florence (although heavily restored). The 15th century Palazzo Buondelmonti is an typical late medieval/early Florentine Renaissance palazzo with a loggia on the top floor and a façade by Baccio d'Agnolo, while Palazzo Bartolini Salimbeni is a pure late Renaissance example, also by d'Agnolo. Now considered a masterpiece, at the time it was called the "Roman" style and not popular with contemporary Florentines who felt the classical shapes and square windows were out of place. The church of Santa Trìnita itself has a Mannerist façade added in the very late 16th century by Buontalenti.

The square today marks the beginning of the famous via Tournabuoni, the most luxurious and chic shopping street in Florence.

Piazza dei Ciompi, named for the "Ciompi" or wool carders of Florence (and their eponymous revolt in 1378), occupies a working class corner of Florence north of Piazza Santa Croce and close to Piazza Sant'Ambrogio. This area was particularly hard hit in the flood of 1966 - look for plaques well up the walls of the palazzos around the square to see how high the water was.

A graceful 16th century construction, the Loggia del Pesce by Giorgio Vasari, now stands at the north end of the Piazza. The loggia was formerly located in Piazza della Repubblica and was moved here when the old market was razed during the reunification period. Next to the loggia on the NE corner is a flower vendor.

The square is also home to the "mercantino" or flea market - small sheds selling antiques, art, old books, and various oddities. The market is perpetually scheduled to be moved to a new location... On the last Sunday of each month there is a larger flea market with many more vendors displaying their goods on tables in the streets surrounding the square.

Across the street on the south side of the piazza is a small park and children's playground maintained by local pensioners. There is a public restroom available here when the gate is unlocked.

To enjoy the square and a drink, sit outside at Plaz on via Pietrapiana 36r, just across from the loggia.

Piazza Demidoff is dedicated to the family of the Russian ambassador Nicholas Demidoff, who lived in a palace overlooking the square.

In the square lies a monument to Demidoff commissioned in 1828 by his sons Anatoly and Peter. They ordered the sculptor Lorenzo Bartolini to create a marble statue representing their father surrounded by four allegorical groups representing virtues. Work on the monument was carried out between 1830 and 1849 and only finally completed in 1871 by a student of Bartolini, following the death of the artist. Originally the monument was to be placed in the Villa di San Donato, but later it was given to the City of Florence.

The opening of the Arno river connects Piazza Demidoff to a scenic route on the Viale dei Colli Serristori.

Constructed in 1865, this piazza takes the form of a square garden that takes its spatial inspiration from English squares. Up until the First World War the garden was closed by a gate and only owners of the residences surrounding the square had keys to enter. The politician and writer Massimo d'Azeglio died a year before the city council decided to name the square after him in 1866.

The garden in the square is home to a number of pathways and flower beds. Especially impressive are the many hackberry and sycamores trees, as well as the small pool at the center of of the piazza. Since the 1990s there has been a progressive removal of diseased trees that have been deemed unsafe because of their age. Additionally, the square contains a playground, a carousel and a small soccer field. At the center of the park, just before Florence became the (former) capital of Italy, a theatre was built and named after Umberto I. The construction was destroyed by a fire in 1889 and never rebuilt.

The buildings surrounding the square date from the 18th and 19th century. The Villino Uzielli, constructed by the architect Paolo Emilio Andrée, was the home of the Polish writer Stefan Żeromski, the author of the patriotic poem Ash Wednesday.

On one side of the garden lies a small monument in memory of three partisans who died on June 7, 1944: Enrico Bocci, Italo Piccagli and Luigi Morandi. They were all decorated with a gold medal for valor and were killed by fascists who discovered the group in one of the buildings of the square.

Piazza Santa Croce is one of the largest and most famous squares of central Florence. The Basilica of Santa Croce, the largest Franciscan church in the world, overlooks the piazza. The basilica's most notable features are its sixteen chapels, many of them decorated with frescoes by Giotto and his pupils, and its tombs and cenotaphs. It is the burial place of some illustrious Italians, such as Michelangelo Buonarroti, Niccolò Machiavelli, Enrico Fermi, Galileo Galilei, Ugo Foscolo, Guglielmo Marconi, Luigi Cherubini, Leon Battista Alberti, Vittorio Alfieri, Gioacchino Rossini, Lorenzo Ghiberti, Lorenzo Bartolini, Pier Antonio Micheli, Bartolomeo Cristofori, and Giovanni Gentile. For this reason it also known as the Temple of the Italian Glories (Tempio dell'Itale Glorie). In front of the Basilica there is famous marble statue made by Enrico Pazzi decidated to Dante Alighieri, and formerly places in the middle of the piazza.

Aside from the basilica, several important palazzos are on the square. Palazzo Cocchi-Serristori, on the opposite end from the basilica, is the 15th century (with earlier foundations) masterpiece of Giuliano da Sangallo, the personal architect of Lorenzo il Magnifico (with later work also attributed to Baccio d'Agnolo and Simone del Pollaiuolo). Today it houses the headquarters of the First Quarter neighborhood of Florence. In front of the Palazzo there is a baroque fountain originally attributed to Pietro Maria Bardi, constructed in 1673. It was later restored (circa 1816) by Giuseppe Manetti.

On the south side of the square lies the Palazzo dell'Antella (or Antellesi), a long building with a facade decorated with amazing (yet mostly destroyed) frescos by Giovanni da San Giovanni, and with windows of odd sizes (supposedly so that when seen from the steps of the church they all appear to be the same size). Today the ground floor of the Palazzo house shops and restaurants, while the upper floors are run by the Piccolomini family as short term tourist rentals.

The large rectangular shape of the square makes it a perfect place to host events, in particular the famous game of Calcio Fiorentino played every spring between the teams of the four "neighborhoods" of Florence. In 2006, Roberto Benigni recited Dante's Divine Comedy beside the Dante statue on the steps of the basilica. Almost every week a different themed market or festival takes place in the square - the annual Christmas market and the newer chocolate festival are just two examples of the many kinds of activities to discover in the piazza. It is also home to the Florence Marathon in the fall and the Half Marathon in the spring.

During the day the piazza is filled with people young and old admiring the basilica and enjoying the bustle of the square, while at night it becomes a meeting place for Florentines and tourists and a center for nightlife. The steps of the basilica and the benches of the piazza become saturated with young people talking and drinking beer, while the nearby bars add their overflow to the revelers. For coffee or aperitivo check out the chic bar Oibo (southeast corner), or for a delicious and romantic candle lit dinner, inside or out during the warmer months, try the Ristorante Boccadama.

Piazza San Marco was built in the first half of the 15th century when Cosimo the Elder commissioned Michelozzo to build a church and a monastery for Dominican monks from the convent of San Domenico in Fiesole. The square was the site of dramatic clashes between the followers of Ferraran monks and their opponents.

At the entrance of Via Battisti is a palace that houses the central offices of the Rector of the University of Florence. The opposite corner houses the Academy of Fine Arts. In the center of the square lies the statue of General Manfredo Fanti, a famous Italian general during the era of Italian unification. On another corner of the square lies the Monastery of St. Catherine. Another notable landmark on the piazza is the Farmacia di San Marco near via Cavour, once run by the Dominicans, who were considered expert in medicinal preparations. The former insignia of the preparations for sale is still visible on the wall of the pharmacy.

Today the piazza is a transportation hub and meeting point for university students from the University of Florence and the art academy. Numerous cafes line the streets of the piazza, including the Gran Caffè San Marco, a famous literary meeting place for philosophers, artists, painters, professors and students.

Piazza Savonarola is large rectangular square that was built in the 19th century. The piazza was dedicated to a Ferrarese friar and a statue for him was built in the square by Enrico Pazzi Ravenna, the same sculptor who built the statue of Dante in Piazza Santa Croce. He sculpted the statue in 1872 and until 1921 it was located in the Salone dei Cinquecento in Palazzo Vecchio before being transferred to the piazza. The statue is characterized by the profound expression of the monk who is holding a golden cross.

The surrounding garden of the piazza is paved and surrounded by six large flower beds that cover an area of 3177 square meters; there are pines, linden, cedar, cypress and high horse-chestnut trees, as well as some pink flowers. The street lamps are made of cast iron from the late 19th century, and were originally used with gas lighting before being converted to electric lighting.

Today the square is characterized by a certain homogeneity in the style of the buildings surrounding it and it is a pleasant corner of the city. There are some buildings of considerable merit, such as the Galleria Rinaldo Carnielo, now a museum, which is an example of Art Nouveau. This whole area, up to Piazzale Donatello, was still popular in the 19th century for the studios of many artists.

The northwest side of the piazza is occupied by the church and monestary of San Francesco. The structure, built to house the Carmelite nuns "evicted" from the convent of Santa Maria Maddalena de 'Pazzi, dates from 1887. In 1928 the structure was passed on to Franciscan monks, who sbsequently renamed the church to its current name.

Opposite the church stands the Florentine headquarters at Syracuse University. At the corner of via Leonardo da Vinci and is a 19th century palace which houses the Italian Department of the University of Florence, which has numerous frescoes on its ceilings.

The plaza is a crossroads for the many transport lines that connect the urban areas of Campo di Marte, Coverciano and Settignano with the center of Florence. Since the end of 1999 work has been underway for the building of an underground parking lot. This construction led to a more general plan for the redevelopment of the square, including new irrigation, the renovation of benches of stone and brick, repaving, tree planting, eradication of hedgerows, and the construction of a public toilet.

The garden of the square is perfect for spending a lazy afternoon and in the evening the square becomes a meeting place for young people.