The Ponte Vecchio spans the Arno River with three segmented stone arches that support rows of projecting shops. Originally, butchers occupied these stalls because the river washed their waste away, keeping the city streets clean. In…
Oltrarno Artisans and Plazas
This walk takes you across the Arno River into Florence's bohemian and artisan-filled Oltrarno neighborhood. You will stroll past grand historic palaces, lively community squares, and quiet workshop side streets where woodcarvers and paper marblers still practice their ancient crafts.
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1. Ponte Vecchio
2. Giulio Giannini e Figlio
The storefront of Giulio Giannini e Figlio wears a hand-painted wooden sign and a display window filled with gilded leather journals, a style of bookbinding that has defined this address since eighteen fifty-six. Giulio Giannini originally…
3. Palazzo Pitti
The Palazzo Pitti dominates the Oltrarno with a rugged, fortress-like facade of massive, rough-hewn stone blocks that appear to grow directly out of the hillside. Luca Pitti commissioned the building in fourteen fifty-eight, intending to…
4. Piazza Santo Spirito
The facade of the Basilica di Santo Spirito faces the square with a plain, unfinished stone surface that hides its bright interior. Filippo Brunelleschi designed this church in the fourteen hundreds, intending for the exterior to be…
5. Castorina 1895
Castorina 1895 sits behind a dark wooden storefront where the scent of walnut shavings and beeswax hangs in the air. This workshop specializes in wood carving and the restoration of antique frames, skills passed through four generations of…
6. Cappella Brancacci
The Cappella Brancacci hides behind the plain stone facade of the Santa Maria del Carmine church. Inside, the walls display a cycle of frescoes that changed how artists understood light and human weight. Felice Brancacci commissioned the…
7. Ponte Santa Trinita
The Ponte Santa Trinita spans the Arno River with three distinct, elliptical arches that curve into elegant, flattened points. Bartolomeo Ammannati designed this bridge in the late sixteenth century, guided by sketches from Michelangelo.…