OLTRARNO (itinerary 2) in Florence
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Oltrarno Itineraries 1 | Oltrarno Itineraries 3
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DOWNLOAD Oltrarno.pdf (1797 kb)
Oltrarno Itineraries 1 | Oltrarno Itineraries 3
back to itineraries in Florence
Oltrarno Itineraries 1 | Oltrarno Itineraries 3
back to itineraries in Florence
Quarter of Santo Spirito From Porta Romana
to Ponte Santa Trinita Antico Gonfalone della Ferza The itinerary takes you through the old streets of the Gonfaloni of the Oltrarno on either side of the Porta Romana - Piazza Frescobaldi axis. The Gonfalone della Ferza covered a spacious area within the city walls between Porta Romana and Forte Belvedere, Costa San Giorgio, Via Guicciardini, Sdrucciolo de' Pitti, Piazza Santo Spirito, Via delle Caldaie, Via della Chiesa and Via dei Serragli up to Piazza della Calza. The original Porta Romana was known as the Gate of San Pier Gottolino after a 14th-century church, torn down in 1545. The gate is truly imposing as are the adjacent sheer defensive walls with towers at intervals. The walls continue in the direction of the Belvedere Fort and separate the Boboli Gardens from the countryside where Poggi laid out the Viale dei Colli in the 19th century. The former stables of the kings of Italy now house the Istituto d'Arte di Porta Serragli and Via Romana. within which is the Gipsoteca, one of the most important collections of plaster sculpture in Italy. The rather odd statue by Michelangelo Pistoletto known as "Dietro-front" ("About-face") has been set up outside the gate. Inside the walls, in Piazza della Calza, note the forking of the two arteries headed towards the city center: Via dei Serragli and Via Romana. Visitors to Florence were once welcomed by a fresco Giovanni da San Giovanni had painted on the house facing Porta Romana in the 17th century. It has now been replaced by a modern work by Mario Romoli. |
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On the side of Via dei Serragli is the small church
of San Giusto della Calza and the convent,
once known as of the Ingesuati, with the Cenacolo or
refectory frescoed in 1514 by Franciabigio. Take Via
Romana, still rather lively with business and artisan
activities, to the church of Serumido, on the site
of San Pier Gattolino, named after a generous artisan
who helpe rebuild it at the end of the 16th century.
Next to it is the airy neo-classical loggia of the
charming English garden, once Corsi, now Scarselli.
Further on, still on the left side, is the "House
of Annalena" (widow of Baldaccio, the
condottiere who won the famous battle of Anghiari for
Florence) with apartments in the former convent premises.
A nursery of ornamental plants is another important artisan
activity in the area. Next comes the picturesque Via
Santa Maria where the Romana, within which is the Gipsoteca,
one of the most important collections of plaster sculpture
in Italy. The rather odd statue by Michelangelo Pisto-letto
known as "Dietro-front" ("About-face") has been set
up outside the gate. Inside the walls, in Piazza della
Calza, note the forking of the two arteries headed
towards the city center: Via dei Quarter of Santo Spirito
From Porta Romana to Ponte Santa Trinita Antico Gonfalone
della Ferza Teatro Goldoni, now restored
and once more open to the public, was built in neo-classic
style in the early 19th century. Turn into Via delle
Caldaie to reach Piazza Santo
Spirito, crossing Via del Campuccio
and Via della Chiesa. This long transversal artery
of the Oltrarno is full of workshops and various artisan
activities. The corner between Via delle Caldaie and
Piazza Santo Spirito is known as "Canto dei Dati" after
the family which distinguished itself for flourishing
commercial activities and religious works. |
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 The most striking thing on the opposite
corner between Piazza Santo Spirito and Via Mazzetta is
the finely balanced mass of the aristocratic Palazzo Guadagni
with its sober facade and high loggia, designed by Cronaca
for the Dei family early in the 16th century. After walking
along a short stretch of this street, turn left for Borgo
Tegolaio, a name (tegola=tile) which tells us that this
was where the kilns for Florentine "tiles" were once located.
Now the prevalent activity is woodworking. In 15th-century
Florence there were a good number of workshops which produced
and decorated wedding chests, and many artists and architects
were also wood carvers. Even now in Borgo Tegolaio and vicinity,
the artisans both restore antiques and create fine period
pieces. Continuing along Via del Presto di San Martino,
on one side is the view of the right flank of the Basilica
of Santo Spirito and on the other one can run across some
of the artisans most skilled in restoring wood and copper
repoussé.
In the treeshaded Piazza Santo Spirito, where "proud Florence
forgets its pride", the immense mass of the Augustinian church of Santo Spirito rises
up. Originally dating to the middle of the 13th century,
it was enlarged in the 14th and then rebuilt on a design
by Brunelleschi in the second half of the 15th century.
A number of artists have turned their hand to imagining
what the bare plastered 18th-century facade with its interesting
silhouette could look like and their creations decorate
the premises of a café in the square. |
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The inside of the church is majestic, with unbroken arcading
in pietra serena moving all around the nave and aisles,
the arms of the transept and the apse, with the high altar
as its fulcrum. Brunelleschi designed it around 1444 but
those who continued the work did not always follow his
highly innovative plans. The perimetral space is articulated
by 38 semi-circular chapels which contain a real picture
gallery in their altar paintings and sculptures, mostly
dating to the 15th and 16th centuries. The dome was designed
by Brunelleschi and realized by Salvi d'Andrea. Below it
is the marble enclosure of the high altar, a Baroque work
by Giovanni Caccini, a fine piece but not in harmony with
the 15th-century architecture. Of considerable interest
is the Vestibule with the barrel vault and the Sacristy
designed by Giuliano da Sangallo. Back out in the piazza,
off to one side of the church facade, is Baccio d'Agnolo's
bell tower, a tall robust senti- Piazza S. Spirito (P.
Nenci) nel of the Oltrarno. In the trussed-timber 14th-century
refectory is a fragment of a "Last Supper" by Andrea Orcagna.
It is also the headquarters of the Museo della Fondazione
Romano. There are numerous refreshment locales in the piazza
as well as artisan workshops specialized in the shaping
of hats. From Via Sant'Agostino we move along Via Maffia
towards Via dei Serragli up to Via Santo Spirito. In the
17th century the monumental Palazzo Pecori-Rinuccini
was built on the corner with Via
dei Serragli. Inside there are works by
Ticciati and Zocchi, a delightful 18th-century "boudoir" and
a charming early 19th-century theater. |
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 Ponte Santa Trinita |
Francesco Ferrucci, hero of the last
Florentine Republic who died "da forte" in Gavinana, was
born in one of the buildings on the other side of the street.
This street was a favorite with Russian, German and especially
English diplomats, artists and intellectuals. Next to palazzi
belong to the Machiavelli, Vettori, Manetti, Pitti-Bocciolini
families, we find Palazzo Frescobaldi, which boasts of having
its "coretto" or private balcony facing onto the interior
of the church of Santo Spirito. Workshops and shops of
various kinds, mostly dealing in antiques, line the street.
A visitor with a bit more time on his hands might like
to nose around in the artisan workshops where they make
leather boxes, or where small silversmiths and wood decorators
ply their trade. Nor should the enchanting lightfilled
garden that stretches out behind the Frescobaldi and Manetti
palazzi, next to the apse and bell tower of Santo Spirito,
be missed. At the end of the itinerary, in Piazza Frescobaldi,
we once more meet up with the customary images of the Medici
grand-dukes in the 17th-century decorative facade of the Palazzo delle Missione,
which became headquarters of the Ministry of the Navy in
the nineteenth century. At the entrance to the bridge built
in 1557 by Ammannati, the statues of "Autumn" by Caccini
and of "Winter" by Landini are still the originals. In
1570 Lapini judged Michelangelo's
bridge to be "lovely, vague and indefinite". It was destroyed
in 1944 and rebuilt in 1958 and can be seen in all its
original beauty of line. |
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Oltrarno Itineraries 1 | Oltrarno Itineraries 3
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