Santa Maria Novella Quarter

Piazza Repubblica

Piazza della Repubblica is a great place to start the day off with an espresso and a pastry. It's a vast and impressive plaza, hugely popular with tourists, which has on it s few historic caffès - among them Donnini, Gilli, Giubbe Rosse and Pazzkowski – that were a veritable institution in the early 19th century, patronized by well-known writers, artists and intellectuals of the day. But impressive as this piazza is, it’s a little disheartening to remember that its construction (under the snobbish orders of Florence’s 19th-century bourgeoisie) annihilated some of the most atmospheric medieval quarters in town, including the site of the ancient Roman forum. Fortunately, public uproar staved off further destruction. The local town planners did not understand the protest, as the inscription on the arch above Via degli Strozzi testifies: “L’antico centro della citta da secolare squallore a vita nuova restituto” (The ancient center of town was given a new life after centuries of squalor).

The area to the south and east of Piazza Repubblica is crammed full of luxury shops and sumptuous palazzi. The latter were created by the wealthiest of bankers and businessmen from as early as the mid-13th century as a sign of their monetary power and, later, to show their favor with the Medici. Nearly impossible for one family to manage, these days their rooms are often rented out and ground floors occupied by many of the city’s first-class shops, banks and restaurants, making them hard to enter for solely sightseeing purposes. Fortunately on Via Porta Rossa (head south from the piazza down Via Pellicceria) you can find a palazzo museum, which not only takes you inside an early example of its type but also explains the fundamentals in its design and use.

Museo di Palazzo Davanzati (Davanzati Palace Museum, also known as Museo della Casa Fiorentina Antica, the Old Florentine House Museum)

The architecture of this mid-14th-century gem is amazing and its museum containing common household items from the 14th and 15th centuries offers a valuable insight into the way of life at that time. Each room is furnished in predominantly medieval style using genuine artifacts, and the architecture – siege-resistant doors, huge storerooms, floor hatches through which to bombard attackers – shows the lengths to which the rich felt they had to go to protect themselves from the marauding masses.

Carry on along Via Pellicceria to enter a warren of some of Florence’s best-preserved medieval streets marked by Via Porta Rossa in the north and the Arno in the south – linked by eight or so tiny chiassi (passages). By taking Chiasso delle Missure (right in front of you), you’ll reach Borgo Santi Apostoli, where a right leads you to Piazza del Limbo, so-called because it formerly hosted the city’s cemetery for unbaptized children. It is also the site of Chiesa di Santi Apostoli (pm only, free), an 11th-century church (considerably reworked in the 16th) well worth a quick peak for its magnificent terracotta tabernacle from the della Robbia school, one of few of its artworks to survive damage in the 1966 flood. From here, continue along Borgo Santi Apostoli to your next port of call on Piazza Santa Trinità.

Chiesa di Santa Trinità and Ponte Santa Trinità

An 11th-century church with a 16th-century pietra forte façade (the work of Buontalenti) and a 14th-century Gothic interior of cross-vaulting and pointed arches, this church has a little bit of everything. Inside, you’ll find some noteworthy frescoes by Simone Martini and Ghirlandaio, whose Scenes of the Life of St Francis on the right in the Sassetti Chapel offer a fascinating insight into the hectic everyday life found then on both Piazza di Trinità and Piazza della Signoria. The adjoining chapel also displays the miraculous crucifix taken from San Miniato al Monte.

Known predominantly for its glorious views over the Ponte Vecchio, Ponte Santa Trinità, which links the Santa Maria Novella quarter with the Oltrano, is itself considered one of Florence’s most beautiful bridges. Constructed by Ammannati (although its design is attributed to Michelangelo) to replace the original wooden edifice in 1557, the bridge you see today is a reconstruction of the original, which like almost all of Florence’s bridges was destroyed by the retreating Nazis in 1944. Before you head back, look out for Buontalenti’s mischievous gargoyle fountain on the other side of the Arno (across the road on the left).

From here it’s a pleasant stroll west along Lungarno Corsini, past the palazzo of the same name to arrive at Piazza d’Ognissanti.

Piazza d’Ognissanti

Chiesa di San Salvatore a Ognissanti

This 13th-century church stands in an area historically tied to the wool cloth trade, which bolstered Florence’s economy in medieval times. Its Baroque façade didn’t go down well with Florentines when it was added in the 17th century, but nonetheless remains one of the best examples of this then-erupting style. Inside, look for Chapel Vespucci (family member Amerigo giving his name to the continent he helped discover); it is decorated with frescoes by Ghirlandaio (Madonna della Misericordia over the second altar on the right) and Botticelli (St Augustine), whose tomb can also be found here. More Ghirlandaio works can be found in the Cenacle of Ghirlandaio (adjacent to the church, in the former monastery refectory, same opening hours, free), including his incredibly well-preserved Last Supper fresco.

Piazza Santa Maria Novella

From Borgo Ognissanti, a left up Via della Porcellana and a right down Via della Scala will take you to Piazza Santa Maria Novella, a rather languid square that houses one of Florence’s most famous churches.

Chiesa di Santa Maria Novella(Piazza Santa Maria Novella)

Begun in 1246 as the Florentine base of the Dominican faith, the first thing to strike you about Santa Maria Novella is its bright white and green marble façade added by Leon Battista Alberti in the 15th century. This is said to be Michelangelo’s favorite church. The Gothic interior – with its almost hypnotic pattern of black and white marble – houses a wealth of masterpieces including a Trinity (1427) by Masaccio (one of his last works), frescoes by Filippino Lippi and Ghirlandaio depicting The Life of St John the Baptist (Chapel Tornabuoni) and a commentary on Dante’s The Divine Comedy by Nardo di Cione (Chapel Filippo Strozzi). Two famous crucifixes are shown, the first by Giotto and the second by Brunelleschi. Legend has it that Brunelleschi created the crucifix after a challenge from his friend Donatello who was peeved at Brunelleschi’s criticisms of his own efforts. The entrance to the museum (included in the ticket price) is to the left of the church. Here, in the Green Cloister you’ll see the famous – albeit sadly damaged – fresco cycle of scenes from the Old Testament created between 1432 and 1448 by Uccello and apprentices. In the Spanish Chapel is Andrea Buonaiuto’s allegory, The Church Militant and Triumphant, part of a glorious fresco cycle celebrating the Dominican order.