Piazzas of Santa Croce

The Piazza di San Pier Maggiore opens up around a trio of limestone arches that seem stranded in the middle of the street. These are the remnants of a church front designed by Matteo Nigetti in the seventeenth century. The rest of the…

The open gravel expanse of the Piazza dei Ciompi holds the memory of the fourteen-hundreds wool workers who rose up against the ruling elite. These laborers, known as the Ciompi, gathered here to demand political recognition and the right…

The Scuola del Cuoio occupies a former dormitory inside the Monastery of Santa Croce. Franciscan friars once slept in these high-ceilinged rooms, but after the Second World War, the space transitioned into a workshop for leather goods.…

The Basilica of Santa Croce is recognizable by the striking, jagged pattern of its white, green, and red marble facade. Franciscan friars started building this church in twelve ninety-four on a muddy marsh outside the city walls. While the…

The Piazza dei Cavalleggeri features a wide, paved expanse dominated by the prominent, plain stone facade of the Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale. This square takes its name from the Cavalleggeri, the grand ducal cavalry guards who once…

Piazza Mentana is defined by the heavy, rusticated stone facade of the Palazzo delle Poste, which occupies much of the square. It sits along the Arno River, tucked away from the main tourist paths. In eighteen sixty-seven, Italian…

Piazza dei Peruzzi is defined by the tight, jagged wedge of the Palazzo Peruzzi rising above the street level. In the fourteenth century, this cramped space served as the private stronghold for the Peruzzi family, one of the wealthiest…

The Palazzo Gondi dominates the square with its sharp, rusticated stone corner that seems to slice into the air. This building stands on the footprint of older family homes destroyed in the sixteen sixties to make way for the imposing…