Florence - Florence and Tuscany - page 155

31 Kitsch F3

32 Le Murate Caffè Letterario E4

33 Lion's Fountain B3

34 Monkey Bar E3

35 Moyo B4

36 Nano Caffè E3

37 Rex Caffé C2

38 Soul Kitchen B4

Entertainment

39 Full Up A3

40 Jazz Club C1

41 Teatro della Pergola B1

42 Twice Club C3

Shopping

43 Boutique Nadine B4

44 Mrs Macis C2

45 Vintage di Antonini Alessandra B3

Piazza di Santa Croce
MAP

PIAZZA

GOOGLE MAP

This square was initially cleared in the Middle Ages, primarily to allow hordes of the
faithful to gather when the church itself was full. In Savonarola's day, heretics were ex-
ecuted here.
Such an open space inevitably found other uses, and from the 14th century it was often
the colourful scene of jousts, festivals and calcio storico matches. Still played in this
square in the third week of June each year, calcio storico ( www.calciostorico.it ) is like a
combination of football and rugby with few rules (headbutting, punching, elbowing and
choking are allowed, but sucker-punching and kicks to the head are forbidden). Look for
the marble stone embedded in the wall below the gaily frescoed facade of Palazzo
dell'Antella MAP GOOGLE MAP , on the south side of the piazza; it marks the halfway line on
this, one of the oldest football pitches in the world.