Florence's Authentic Neighbourhoods: A Local Guide

Florence is much more than its museums. The authentic neighbourhoods of Florence are those where the city breathes at its natural rhythm: where Florentines do their shopping at the local market, where trattorias serve ribollita without a menu translated into five languages, where craftspeople work the same trades handed down for centuries. Knowing these neighbourhoods means truly understanding the city.

Oltrarno: the artisans’ riverbank

The Oltrarno is Florence’s most authentic neighbourhood in the fullest sense of the word. It lies on the left bank of the Arno, separated from the historic centre by the medieval bridges, and this geographical position has kept it slightly apart from the major urban transformations for centuries.

The character of the Oltrarno is that of an artisan neighbourhood: furniture restorers, goldsmiths, luthiers, bookbinders, cobblers and tailors still work in the workshops that open onto the alleyways. Via dei Serragli, Via Romana, Via dell’Orto and Via Pisana are the main streets: just walking slowly you can find twenty artisan workshops in half an hour.

Florence’s authentic neighbourhoods also include the Oltrarno for its social life. Piazza Santo Spirito is the gathering point for residents, university students and artists: tranquil by day, lively in the evening with outdoor tables and music.

San Frediano: the popular character of Florence

San Frediano is the most working-class sub-area of the Oltrarno: the one with the most genuine character, least interested in tourism, still deeply tied to its identity as a Florentine working-class neighbourhood.

The history of San Frediano is linked to the Arno: textile and tanning industry workers settled here in the Middle Ages because they needed the river’s water. Today that manufacturing tradition has almost completely disappeared, but the neighbourhood still preserves a different soul from the others: neighbourhood bars, butchers, greengrocers, unpretentious trattorias with authentic cooking.

Borgo San Frediano, the neighbourhood’s main street, is still very much lived in by residents: a haberdasher, a hardware shop, a bakery, a fishmonger. Walking here early in the morning is a completely different experience from the historic centre.

Santo Spirito: art, market and piazza life

Piazza Santo Spirito is one of the social hearts of Florence’s authentic neighbourhoods. The eponymous basilica, designed by Brunelleschi in the fifteenth century, has one of Florence’s most austere and imposing facades: it lacks the marble facing of the Duomo, but for this very reason has a severe and fascinating character.

The Monday morning market in Piazza Santo Spirito sells quality goods: crafts, plants, vintage objects, seasonal fruit. On the second Sunday of the month the organic market takes place. The trattorias around the square serve Tuscan cuisine without concessions to mass tourism.

The Basilica of Santo Spirito

The Basilica of Santo Spirito is one of the masterpieces of Renaissance architecture: the interior, with its 40 chapels arranged along the nave and two side aisles, has a geometric perfection that never ceases to surprise. It is worth visiting for the architecture alone, regardless of the artworks it contains (including a Pietà by the young Michelangelo).

Santa Croce: the intellectuals’ neighbourhood

The Santa Croce neighbourhood lies in the eastern area of the historic centre, not far from the Arno. The main square, Piazza Santa Croce, is one of Florence’s largest and hosts the Calcio Storico Fiorentino in June. The Basilica of Santa Croce houses the tombs of Michelangelo, Galileo, Machiavelli and other great names in Italian history.

The Santa Croce neighbourhood is one of the most visited by tourists, but still preserves some authentic corners: the Piazza dei Ciompi market (antiques), the leather workshops around the square (the Santa Croce leatherworking tradition is ancient and still alive), and trattorias on the side streets.

The Scuola del Cuoio

The Scuola del Cuoio is located inside the Santa Croce convent: it is an artisan workshop open to visitors where leather is worked using traditional Florentine techniques. You can purchase handmade bags, wallets and belts made by apprentice craftspeople.

San Marco and the Accademia

The San Marco neighbourhood, around Piazza San Marco and the Galleria dell’Accademia, has a university character: the University of Florence has some of its main premises here. The Convent of San Marco, adjacent to the square, preserves Fra Angelico’s frescoes in each monk’s cell: it is one of Florence’s most beautiful and intimate museums, often overlooked in favour of the Uffizi.

Piazza San Marco in spring and summer is frequented by students and visitors waiting for the Accademia to open. The neighbourhood has more authentic bars and trattorias than the historic centre, frequented mainly by Florentines.

Tips for exploring the authentic neighbourhoods

The best way to get to know Florence’s authentic neighbourhoods is to walk without a precise destination, with a basic map and a willingness to stop wherever something catches your attention. The Oltrarno is well explored in a morning: starting from Ponte Vecchio, crossing Via Guicciardini, arriving at Piazza Pitti and then heading down towards Santo Spirito and San Frediano.

For the markets, early morning is the best time: the Mercato di Sant’Ambrogio opens at 7:00 and empties around noon. The covered Mercato Centrale is open until 2pm.

Where to stay

Homelink De’ Medici at Via Pisana 191 is located in the heart of the Oltrarno, the most authentic of Florence’s neighbourhoods: 5 minutes from Piazza Santo Spirito, immersed in neighbourhood life, far from the tourist crowds of the historic centre. Homelink Charlotte at Via Guido Monaco 19 is instead the ideal base for exploring the San Lorenzo and Santa Croce neighbourhoods.

Related property: Homelink De’ Medici Link: /de-medici/