A short walk between two Florentine piazzas

Through these old streets I wander dreamily; Around me Florence sweeps her busy tide of life.

William Leighton, composer

While Florence is a city of big-hitter sights (the Duomo, the Uffizi, the Accademia), it is also a city of winding streets and picturesque piazzas. A city of hidden gems, street art and welcoming bars and cafés. A city of churches, of monuments and markets. In short, it is Italy.

And as in any Italian city, the best way to explore is on foot, and slowly. On our recent visit, with only three days in which to see something of Florence and a wish to avoid the crowds for most of the time, we decided to pass on two of those three big-hitters, the Uffizi and Accademia, and instead focus on soaking up the atmosphere and visiting some of the less busy museums. And of course simply wandering ‘through these old streets’.

This will be a short walk, but it will neatly link two different piazzas with some interesting sights along the way.

Piazza di Santa Croce

We’ll start in the Piazza di Santa Croce. I’ve already shared some photos of this beautiful space in my post about the basilica which dominates its eastern side. Here are a few more:

The Piazza di Santa Croce, day and night

Interestingly, there was some filming going on here during our stay. We talked with someone from the production team who told us it was for a short film, Dinner with Dante. In it, the protagonist has weekly monologues in her mind with the statue of Dante in this piazza in an effort to come to terms with some trauma she experienced in WWII. On separate days we saw the actress as a young woman and then much older. I noted the scar on her cheek, presumably linked to that trauma.

Filming Dinner with Dante

The statue that is the focus of her monologues stands next to the basilica. It was erected in 1865 to celebrate the 600th anniversary of Dante’s birth. It was the work of the sculptor Enrico Pazzi, a native of Ravenna. Dante had been exiled from Florence, accused of corruption and financial wrongdoing, and ended his days in Ravenna, so there was some irony in a sculptor from the latter city creating a statue to commemorate him here. Florence and Ravenna had for many years disputed which city would be home to his remains; Ravenna won that battle, which is why the tomb here in the Basilica di Santa Croce is empty. But Florence has this rather magnificent statue.

Statue of Dante Alighieri [the appearance of a drone in one of these shots is linked to the filming]

Starting our walk

We leave the piazza via the Borgo Santa Croce in its southeast corner, near the exit from the Basilica. This is a quiet street on the whole, with a few elegant shops. One of these, Aquaflor, sells artisanal perfumes and soaps in a restored palace.

On the Borgo Santa Croce: florist’s shop and Aquaflor

I mention Aquaflor partly because just across the road was our accommodation, owned by the same family and just as lovely! I don’t normally plug hotels etc. here but these ‘Signature Rooms’ can definitely be recommended.

Signature Rooms, Borgo Santa Croce [spot the selfie!]

At the end of the street we reach busy via dei Benci and cross this to enter narrow via dei Neri. This is much busier, with lots of traditional shops selling schiacciata (a Tuscan flatbread sandwich) and other delicacies. At lunch time and in the evening the pavements are crowded with both locals and tourists enjoying these treats. My photos were taken much earlier in the day.

Via dei Neri, with a view towards the Palazzo Vecchio

Piazza della Signoria

Via dei Neri becomes via della Ninna which brings us to our next piazza, the Piazza della Signoria. This is the heart of the city and has been so since the 14th century. It is surrounded by historic buildings and home to several significant sculptures. Let’s explore …

Palazzo Vecchio

The Palazzo Vecchio is Florence’s town hall. It was built at the turn of the 14^th century and originally called the Palazzo della Signoria, after the Signoria of Florence (the republic’s ruling body), hence the name of the piazza. The building has had several other names during its long history, as the use of the building evolved: Palazzo del Popolo, Palazzo dei Priori, and Palazzo Ducale. It acquired its current name when the Medici duke’s residence crossed the Arno to the Palazzo Pitti. This then became, naturally, the old palace, the palazzo vecchio.

The marble frontispiece above the entrance dates from 1528. In the centre is the Jesuit symbol, , flanked by two gilded lions. The Latin text, ‘Rex Regum et Dominus Dominantium’ (‘King of Kings and Lord of Lords’), was added in 1851.

David and Hercules

Michelangelo’s David originally stood by the entrance, from when it was completed in 1504 to when it was moved to the Accademia in 1873. The replica that stands on the spot today dates from 1910. Although this isn’t the original there is something special about seeing him in the place for which he was intended.

Replica of Michelangelo’s David

On the other side of the entrance stands Bandinelli’s Hercules and Cacus, finished in 1534. A long article about the rather checkered history of its creation in Wikipedia suggests that Hercules is ‘the symbol of physical strength, which juxtaposed nicely with David as a symbol of spiritual strength, both symbols desired by the Medici’.

Hercules and Cacus by Bandinelli

Tucked behind Hercules on the wall of the Palazzo Vecchio is a rather special piece of ‘graffiti’ known as the Importuno di Michelangelo (‘The Nuisance by Michelangelo’). The story goes that the artist was bored or irritated by someone he met here, so scratched the man’s face on the wall. More likely though it was carved with the permission of the city authorities.

Inside the Palazzo Vecchio

Although the palazzo serves as the city’s town hall, parts are open to the public. There is an entrance fee for the museum on the upper floors but the ground floor can be explored for free, which is what we did.

The first courtyard is particularly impressive. In the centre is a fountain; the Putto with Dolphin on top of the basin is a copy of the original by Andrea del Verrocchio (1476) which is displayed in the museum upstairs. The walls are decorated with frescoes depicting cities in Austria, painted to mark the 1565 wedding of Francesco I de’ Medici to Archduchess Johanna of Austria. The ceilings were also richly painted and the columns, originally plain and smooth, were decorated with stucco at the same time. The sculpture of Samson and Philistine was carved by Pierino da Vinci, nephew of Leonardo da Vinci.

Courtyard of the Palazzo Vecchio

Loggia dei Lanzi

On the south side of the Piazza della Signoria is a raised terrace known as the Loggia dei Lanzi. This serves as an open-air sculpture gallery of antique and Renaissance art which anyone can admire for free without the cost and hassle of a museum visit.

My favourite piece here was Perseus, a bronze statue by Benvenuto Cellini which was commissioned by Cosimo I de’ Medici and placed here in 1554. It depicts the mythical Greek hero brandishing his sword in his right hand and holding up the Medusa’s head in the left. It is rather graphic in its realism; blood is gushing from the head and the neck of the dead Medusa.

Perseus with the head of Medusa

Fountain of Neptune

The last sight I want to show you in the Piazza della Signoria is the Fountain of Neptune. Like the frescoes in the courtyard of the Palazzo Vecchio, this was commissioned by Cosimo I de’ Medici to celebrate the marriage of Francesco de’ Medici I to Grand Duchess Joanna of Austria. It also marked Cosimo’s gift of clean water to the city. It was created by Bartolomeo Ammannati to a design by Baccio Bandinelli. The huge figure of Neptune was modelled on Cosimo and is surrounded by satyrs, tritons, fauns, dolphins and more. Unusually he rides a chariot drawn by four horses. Two are in the usual white marble but two are of a recently discovered coloured marble, mischio.

The Fountain of Neptune

From this piazza at the heart of Florence we have options. We can follow the crowds to the Ponte Vecchio, or into the Uffizi. We can climb the tower of the Palazzo Vecchio, the Torre d’Arnolfo. We can follow one of several streets leading north to the Duomo. Or we can explore the streets leading off the piazza …

But I will leave you to choose and will finish at this point. And I’ll share this post with Jo for her Monday Walk, hoping she’ll overlook the lateness and the lack of cake!

• This article is also featured on GPSmyCity. To download this article for offline reading or create a self-guided walking tour to visit the attractions highlighted in this article, go to Walking Tours and Articles in Florence.

I visited Florence in October/November 2025