Florence is hardly a hidden gem; the truth is, its look-at-me magnificence is so overtly dazzling, you would possibly really feel such as you’ve seen all of it earlier than you even get there. However for a extra genuine weekend break, one want solely cross the Ponte Vecchio to find an entire new facet to the Renaissance metropolis, one normally reserved for locals and people in-the-know.
Oltrarno, which accurately means ‘past the Arno’ is the artistic coronary heart of the town. Its artisanal legacy will be traced again to the Fifteenth century, when the Medici household, not content material with only one palace, moved to Palazzo Pitti. Their relocation drew a constellation of grasp craftsmen — from bookbinders and painters to metalworkers and glassblowers — who all arrange store on the town’s southside.
As we speak, you’ll discover their legacy nicely and actually alive, in back-street ateliers and paint-splattered workshops the place modern-day Florence continues to flex its artistic muscle tissue. Our insider’s information to Oltrarno will enable you to navigate the town’s coolest ‘hood like a local… catch you on the opposite facet.
WHERE TO GET BREAKFAST
Not like each different meal of the day, Italian breakfasts are normally brief and candy; suppose caffè al banco and a cornetto to go. In Florence, nevertheless, you possibly can swap the latter for an area specialty; the budio di riso, a type of rice-pudding cupcake. You’ll discover this served in most pasticcerie, together with the historic Pasticceria Gualtieri, a family-run bakery the place cream-filled muffins and flakey pastries make an ideal morning deal with. In any other case, old-school Pasticceria Buonamici is understood for its biscotti alle mandorle. In case you’re in no rush, La Citè is an offbeat cafe-cum-library the place you possibly can simply spend a few hours flipping by means of Italian novels over cake and cappuccinos.
STYLE AND SHOPPING
Castorina 1895
You’ll be hard-pressed to search out any chain shops in Oltrarno. The world’s legacy of expertise is keenly felt within the wealth of ateliers and impartial boutiques that line its cobbled streets, every peddling one-of-a-kind and custom-made treasures. Lovers of antiques ought to head to Through Maggio, the place you’ll discover the whole lot from Sixteenth-century armour and historic ceramics to prized mid-century finds like Gio Ponti armchairs and Enzo Mari sculptures. Gallori Turchi has a formidable assortment of the previous, and the latter will be present in abundance at Pianod. Certainly one of my private favorites within the space is Maurizio Salici on Through Santo Spirito — a cupboard of curiosities stuffed with picket puppets, sacred-heart icons, and a lot extra.
You’re positive to search out fittingly vintage outfits at Recollection by Albrici, a cavernous house — extra of a museum than a store — awash with pearls, sequins, silks and feathers. Right here you’ll discover a mixture of fashionable and classic: suppose Nineteen Eighties Fendi tea-dresses, Nineteenth-century velvet jackets, hand-embroided kimonos and Nineteen Forties winter coats. For extra stellar classic finds, go to C’est Stylish on Through Maggio or Celeste Classic in Piazza San Felice, the place, like me, it’s possible you’ll end up needing to be bodily faraway from a lime inexperienced, snakeskin Prada tote. As for footwear, Coronary heart to Coronary heart sells traditional velvet slippers (and wonderful linens); whereas cobbler-to-the-stars Stefano Bemer (now overseen by Tommaso Melani) has a studio in a deconsecrated chapel over in japanese Oltrarno.
To see the world’s craftsmen at work, pay a go to to Il Bronzetto, the place furnishings and equipment are hand-crafted in brass or bronze. Alternatively, Castorina 1895, is a wooden workshop the place you’ll discover artisans chiselling ornamental cherubs, ornate frames and cornices. And don’t miss the flea market in Piazza Santo Spirito, which takes place on the second Sunday of the month.
ARTS AND CULTURE
You possibly can’t miss the grandeur of the Pitti Palace, the previous residence of the highly effective Medici household, now a sprawling museum complicated that virtually calls for no less than a day to get round it. Its regal splendour spills into the magnificent Boboli Gardens, a sprawling inexperienced masterpiece excellent for a leisurely (if prolonged) stroll amongst sculptures, fountains and grottoes.
For a dose of artwork historical past, pop into the Brancacci Chapel within the Church of Santa Maria del Carmine. Right here, you’ll discover the seminal, recently-restored, Fifteenth-century frescoes by Masaccio and Masolino da Panicale –– an actual masterclass in Renaissance portray. After all, no artwork historical past tour of Oltrarno could be full and not using a go to to Basilica di Santo Spirito, the final church to be designed by Filippo Brunelleschi, the OG of Renaissance structure. Don’t be deceived by its flat, virtually austere exterior — inside, Brunelleschi’s signature mix of mathematical precision and harmonious proportions work collectively to masterfully direct the sunshine beneath its magnificent, hovering dome. As an adolescent, the younger Michelangelo made a crucifix for the Basilica — considered one of his very first works — which might nonetheless be seen right now, albeit at a distance.
When you’ve bought your glasses on, Piazzale Michelangelo attracts a crowd for its well-known city-gazing terrace, however for these keen to place in somewhat further legwork, make your method additional as much as San Miniato al Monte. Constructed between the eleventh and thirteenth centuries, this Romanesque church perches on one of many highest factors within the metropolis, providing what’s arguably essentially the most breathtaking, unobstructed view of Florence beneath.
One other spot with stellar views is Villa Bardini, a palace turned cultural centre that hosts artwork exhibitions and occasions. Its fairy-tale backyard has a fruit orchard, sculpture path and a — frankly extreme — quantity of fountains; however then, Florentines aren’t precisely identified for his or her restraint, simply have a look at the Duomo. For contemporary-art fans, the Sixteenth-century hilltop fortress, Forte di Belvedere, hosts a few of the metropolis’s finest exhibitions every summer season, and Galleria Alessandro Bagnai is a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it house devoted to rising worldwide artists.
WHERE TO EAT
Trattoria la Casalinga
If there’s one dish Florence owns, it’s steak — hell, it’s even put its title to it. Yow will discover the town’s perfectly-pink signature dish, bistecca alla Fiorentina, cooked to perfection at Trattoria Sostanza, an off-the-cuff, loved-by-locals spot which has barely modified its menu because it first opened its doorways in 1869. Steak’s not the one meaty dish Florentines are keen on although — admittedly extra acquired tastes, tripe and offal are specialities, that are served all through the town at chioschi, or street-food stalls. In case you can abdomen it (pun supposed), seize a lampredotto panino at Trippaio Albergucci Mario, in Porta Romana sq..
Past conventional meaty dishes, Florence has quietly cultivated a thriving plant-based eating scene. 5 e Cinque is an intimate spot with a Lingurian-inspired menu elsewhere, Alla Vecchia Bettola is famend for its penne ‘alla Bettola’, a well-known home dish of creamy tomato penne cooked with vodka, which has been on the menu for the reason that Seventies (sorry Gigi Hadid, these guys bought there first). And Trattoria la Casalinga cooks up hearty Tuscan fare like ribollita, a chunky, white-bean soup or peposo dell’Impruneta, a conventional stew with beef ribs and pepper.
WHERE TO DRINK
Il Santino is a lesson in by no means judging a ebook by its cowl. Whereas this intimate little wine bar doesn’t seem like a lot from the surface, inside locals crowd the bar, chatting over glasses of pet-nat and Chianti Classico — many from small-batch producers — and conventional Tuscan crostini. Seize a seat out on the sidewalk for a people-watching pick-me-up. Followers of pure wines ought to make a beeline for Enoteca Spontanea, the place Sardegnian siblings Nicola and Irene elevate the tasting expertise with their boundless information of biodynamic and low-intervention vino. Le Volpi e l’uva, in the meantime, caters to extra classically tuned tastebuds, with a continually altering menu of all-Italian wines.
If grapes aren’t your factor, Archea Brewery is an impartial pub specialising in Italian craft beers. For cocktails, the speakeasy-style parlour Rasputin is hidden behind Piazza Santo Spirito and will take some detective work to succeed in, however when you like a barrel-aged Negroni as a lot as we do, it’s nicely well worth the effort. Piazza Santo Spirito occurs to be the beating coronary heart of Oltrarno, the place you’ll discover younger and previous gathered every night for aperitivo. Seize a Campari spritz from Pitta M’ingolli and be part of them— who is aware of — it’s possible you’ll nicely end up rubbing shoulders (or thighs) with Paul Mescal and his barely there shorts on the subsequent Gucci Cruise present.
For a glimpse of Oltrarno at its most vibrant, head to Caffe’ degli Artigiani, a no-frills nook bar spilling out into Piazza della Passera. The sq. itself is likely one of the metropolis’s smallest, but it surely’s additionally one of the vital characterful. It’s mentioned the piazza takes its title from an historic brothel that after occupied the house, however right now you’ll discover a full of life neighborhood sq., festooned with lights, the place locals collect for extra healthful enjoyable.
WHERE TO STAY
AdAstra
Calligrapher Betty Soldi and her accomplice, the designer Matteo Perduca, are the fashionable couple behind a few of Oltrarno’s most fascinating stays. These native Florentines created a gaggle of motels from a want to introduce extra boutique choices to the town. The result’s a trio of funky, design-led stays, every brimming with persona and bric-a-brac attraction.
Nestled inside a Sixteenth-century palazzo on Through Maggio, their first enterprise, SoprArno Suites has simply 13 colour-splashed rooms, every with a curated scattering of shabby-chic furnishings. In the meantime, Oltrarno Splendid (set in a barely newer, 18th-century dwelling on Through dei Serragli) shows a equally eager eye for element, mixing retouched frescoes, centuries-old wallpaper and flea-market finds collectively, making a light-hearted counterbalance to the constructing’s weighty previous.
Then there’s AdAstra, whose title is Latin for ‘to the celebs’; having hailed from a household of firework makers, Betty is aware of a factor or two about aiming excessive. Right here, mid-century Italian furnishings, parquet flooring and grand fireplaces sit beneath lofty, fresco-adorned ceilings — hardly shocking given the downstairs neighbour is the Marchese himself. However the jewel in AdAstra’s star-studded crown is the terrace, which appears over the extremely romantic Torrigiani Gardens, Europe’s largest personal walled backyard.
Equally romantic are the views from Resort Lungarno’s Arno-facing rooms and suites. Whereas waking up inside eyeshot of 1,000 years of historical past is already a luxurious, the expertise is elevated by the lodge’s high-spec interiors (the lodge is owned by the modern Ferragamo household, in any case), Michelin-starred restaurant and unimaginable artwork assortment. There aren’t many locations on the earth the place you possibly can sip a Negroni (one value writing dwelling about) whereas nestled between a Picasso and the Ponte Vecchio.
Guide your keep in Oltrarno, see our full assortment of motels in Florence or try our different neighbourhood guides — how does Rome sound?
