Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Orsanmichele Church
In the ninth century, this loggia (covered courtyard) was a market used for selling grain
(stored upstairs). Later, it was enclosed to make a church.
Outside are dynamic, statue-filled niches, some with accompanying symbols from the
guilds that sponsored the art. Donatello's St. Mark and St. George (on the northeast and
northwest corners) step out boldly in the new Renaissance style.
The interior has a glorious Gothic tabernacle (1359) housing the painted wooden panel
thatdepicts MadonnadelleGrazie (1346).TheironbarsspanningthevaultsweretheItalian
GothicanswertotheFrenchGothicexternalbuttresses.Lookfortherectangularholesinthe
piers—these were once wheat chutes that connected to the upper floors. The museum up-
stairs (limited hours) displays most of the originals from the niches outside the building, by
Ghiberti, Donatello, Brunelleschi, and others.
Cost and Hours: Free, daily 10:00-17:00, museum also free but open only Mon, niche
sculptures always viewable from the outside. You can give the Madonna della Grazie a spe-
cial thanks if you're in town when an evening concert is held inside the Orsanmichele (tick-
ets sold on day of concert from door facing Via de' Calzaiuoli; also books Uffizi and Acca-
demia tickets, ticket window open daily 10:00-17:00).
Mercato Nuovo (a.k.a. the Straw Market)
This market loggia is how Orsanmichele looked before it became a church. Originally a silk
and straw market, Mercato Nuovo still functions as a rustic yet touristy market (at the inter-
section of Via Calimala and Via Porta Rossa). Prices are soft, but the San Lorenzo Market
(listed earlier) is much better for haggling. Notice the circled X in the center, marking the
spot where people hit after being hoisted up to the top and dropped as punishment for bank-
ruptcy. You'll also find Porcellino (a statue of a wild boar nicknamed “little pig”), which
peoplerubandgivecoinstoinordertoensuretheirreturntoFlorence.Thisnewcopy,while
only a few years old, already has a polished snout. At the back corner, a wagon sells tripe
(cow innards) sandwiches—a local favorite (daily 9:00-20:00).
Piazza della Repubblica and Nearby
This large square sits on the site of the original Roman Forum. Florence was a riverside gar-
risontownsetbelowtheoldertownofFiesole—essentiallyarectangularfortwiththesquare
markingtheintersectionofthetwomainroads(ViaCorsoandViaRoma).Thesquare'slone
column—nicknamed “the belly button of Florence”—once marked the intersection (the Ro-
man streets were about nine feet below the present street level). All that survives of Roman
Florence is this column and the city's street plan. Look at any map of Florence today, and
you'll see the ghost of Rome in its streets: a grid-plan city center surrounded by what was
the Roman wall. The Braille model of the city makes the design clear.
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