On the Hidden Streets of Florence

Hello everyone, dear friends. In today's post I want to tell you about the walk I took in Florence.

I started this walk of mine from a not-so-touristy area. The name of this place is Porta al Prato, which literally translates to Meadow gate. The structure standing here is a historic medieval gate that exactly grants entry into the city of Florence. Once upon a time, Florence was surrounded by a series of fortification structures, primarily walls and these kinds of tower gates. It is worth mentioning that in the Middle ages, these towers were much higher. Anyway let’s not dwell too much on historical details. The only thing I want to say about this area is that it is not very touristy. And that is exactly the purpose of today's post. To walk with you through streets that are not very touristy but are still incredibly interesting. Of course I will also talk about Florence's most popular tourist spots today and after this. I am doing this so people know what this super touristy city of Florence looks like at different times of the year, in different months.

I know how exhausted tourists sometimes get from that hustle and bustle of Florence, from its always buzzing, noisy and bustling crowded streets. Sometimes a person just wants to take a deep breath and walk through quiet and empty streets.

The name of the street I walked through was Il Prato. Since the Middle ages this was a large meadow with no buildings on it, where a pet market was set up once a week. If you think there is nothing to look at or do in the streets of Florence, you are very mistaken. For example, there is an unusual, massive wooden door here. What do you think could be hiding behind this giant door, which is about 3.5 stories high?

Behind this door lies an extraordinary medieval cart that Florentines affectionately call Brindellone. They call it Brindellone, The Wobbly One because when it is moved through the city, it constantly shakes due to its impressive size and immense height. This cart hits the streets of Florence only once a year, on Easter Sunday and takes part in a ceremony called Scoppio del Carro, meaning Explosion of the Cart. If you happen to be in Florence during the Easter holiday period, I definitely recommend seeing this unusual, fantastic cart and this fascinating ceremony with your own eyes. At all times other than Easter Sunday, this cart is hidden right here.

When walking through the medieval streets of Florence, you are actually walking in an openair museum. The historic center of Florence is under UNESCO protection as the world cultural and historical heritage of humanity. Therefore it should not be surprising that parks and gardens were not built for you there. However, when you go just a little bit outside the very center of the city, there is a normal human life featuring small squares, benches, parks and pharmacies, betting agencies where locals place bets and non-touristy bars where ordinary people drink coffee.

There are lovely streets here; you can take a mountain of photos directly for Instagram. By the way I am very lucky. When leaving the house, I hesitated thinking it would rain. But not only did it not rain, the sun even came out on top of it. I hope you missed me as much as I missed you. I am very, very happy to see everyone, especially my friends in the comments.

I continued on my way and headed towards Borgo Ognissanti street, which fluctuates between touristy and non-touristy and which I highly recommend walking.

This street is considered partly touristy. But in reality, there are not many tourists. It is mostly local people. Overall it is pleasant to walk here just to be able to see a few Florentines alongside the tourists in Florence. There are wonderful bakeries here, several side by side. You can even buy Cantucci, the traditional Tuscan biscuit as a suvenir. These are sweet cookies with different fillings such as almond or chocolate. In this bakery cantuccis with figs and walnuts are displayed, but there is one for every taste. Another traditional Florentine delicacy is schiacciata con l'uva, meaning bun with grapes.

I arrived at Ognissanti square. The square takes its name from the basilica of the same name located right here, whose facade you see on your screens right now. The most important element drawing travelers to this church is the tomb of Sandro Botticelli, one of the great painters of the Renaissance. You can reach Ognissanti square from the exact center in two ways: either you walk through Borgo Ognissanti street or you come from the river embankment. Therefore if you came here from the center along the embankment, I suggest you use Borgo Ognissanti street on the way back or do the exact opposite. First walk through the inner street and then you must definitely take a tour on one of Florence's embankments. The embankment is very suitable for such a situation, there are few people around. The view looks great from here.

Literally two steps away from All Saints Square lies a jewel of Florence. Located in the historic center of Florence, this is one of the rarest examples of Art Nouveau architecture. The name of the building directly goes as Casa-Galleria Vichi. Once upon a time, the first and second floors of the building were planned to be an art gallery and the upper floors were meant to be private apartments. Unfortunately no one lives in this house right now, there is no gallery either and as Google informs us, the building is permanently closed. A very, very great pity. I hope the Municipality of Florence finds a way to open this beautiful architectural masterpiece to visitors.

The street here is full of balconies, in an unusual way for Florence. These balconies were made back in the day for this: while ordinary people crowded the sidewalk to watch that cart I mentioned (Brindellone) passing through the city streets, noble families would watch this parade from these small balconies specially built for their residences.

I continued on my way and went towards the side of Via de' Tornabuoni (street of new vineyards).

If you love shopping and do not want to go to chain stores, I definitely recommend checking out this street because you can find very different and interesting things here. If you are interested in art and architecture rather than shopping, come here to look at Palazzo Rucellai, designed by Leon Battista Alberti. As I mentioned, this is one of the most important palaces in Florence. Also there is a wonderful loggia that currently houses the Giovanni Raspini jewelry store. I like both this loggia and Giovanni Raspini's designs very much.

Where else but in Florence could one walk on a street whose name is Purgatory Street. That is exactly where I went. Well, where do you think a street named Purgatory Street could lead? Of course, only to a street named Hell Street (Via dell'Inferno). The intersection of these two streets is literally an Instagrammable place. Meaning a location where a beautiful souvenir photo can be taken. But since I don't have an assistant, things don't work out well, I handle everything myself. It is really very enjoyable to get lost in these kinds of streets. This place despite being located right in the center of the city, is the real Florence purified from tourists. Traditional streets and not a single tourist on them. It would be a sin not to walk around here. Save their names on the map and definitely come. The name of this street is Volta Vecchia, meaning Old Arch. You can both take photos and breathe in the atmosphere of medieval Florence.

There is something I frequently say and always state to my friends. In Florence always try to turn down a wrong road, to get lost. Because you never know what surprises and what precious stones this city has prepared for you; Florence's pocket is full of surprises.

I came out onto the famous Piazza Santa Trinita. From here I moved towards Borgo Santi Apostoli street. This is a street you will always enjoy being in, just like Santa Trinita Square itself. The main reason I came here is actually just that I wanted to walk here by myself. The Church located here is actually dedicated to All Saints and is one of the oldest churches of the city of Florence. I passed through a few more side streets, then I toured the main attractions Ponte Vecchio (Old Bridge), Republic Square and Cathedral Square.

After Purgatory and Hell streets, it would be completely impossible not to pass through a street named Vicolo de' Chiasso del Bene. Some might say for this place that there is trash, it's dirty. By the way I had mentioned before that special officers collect the papers left on the streets. But according to me this is a very interesting and atmospheric walking route.

When we come to the end of the street, we see that all the structures here are new, belonging to the 1950s. These are reflections of Hitler's army's presence in Florence. German troops had destroyed this historic center of Florence. Maybe not the most picturesque street, but depending on where you look at it, it's not bad either.

I came to the square where Hotel Continental is located, which is also dedicated to this family. It has a tower here that contrasts with the 1950s architecture. According to rumors, this tower was built around the 1000s and is one of Florence's oldest structures preserved to this day. If you want to touch the deep Middle ages completely for free, you can do so near Hotel Continental.

Passing through Vicolo holiday dell'Oro street, which has an optimistic name I came out directly onto the oldest bridge, Ponte Vecchio to the Arno River embankment. Here the situation in terms of tourist density is now very different. Of course, it's not like in the middle of summer, but you cannot hope to walk entirely alone on the Old bridge either. The street I passed through connects Cathedral Square and the Old bridge, meaning the two most important attractions of the city. Also by detouring slightly from here, you can go out to Piazza della Signoria and greet David. I just did this now. I waved to David from a distance today. You cannot get close to the bronze wild boar statue (Il Porcellino) either due to the crowd, I said a distant Hello buddy to him too.

Something unexpected happened for everyone, most of all for me: my phone's charge ran out. So I started taking photos with my second phone. Thank you very much for reading. I wish you a wonderful morning, day, evening, a good work week or a great weekend. See you.