SHOPPING IN FLORENCE

From Santa Maria Novella head back down Via de Fossi and reach Piazza Goldoni. Once here make a left up Via della Vigna Nuova. This is Florence’s shopping district. Up this street you will find designer brands such as Etro, Chopard or Mont Blanc. At the end of the street you will see the Gucci store on your left. Make the left and head down via Tornabuoni where you will find more shops. At the end of Via Tornabuoni is Piazza Santa Trinità, marked by a roman column. The homonymous church is worth a visit to appreciate Ghirlandaio’s Fresco: The Life of St Francis.  Head back from where you came from in Via Tornabuoni and make a left in Via degli Strozzi. You will find yourself in front of the enormous Palazzo Strozzi. 15 Buildings were demolished to make way for it, despite it only being three stories, each floor is as high as a building. Filippo Strozzi, the banker from which the palace takes its name, commissioned the building and was obsessed with creating the largest building in Florence, a quest which lead him to his death and left his heirs penniless.

moving on in Via degli Strozzi towards Piazza della Repubblica you will pass under the Roman Style Triumphal Arch built in the 1860s when Florence became the capital of the Nation. Piazza della Repubblica houses many interesting cafes such as Gilli, Paskowski and Le Giubbe Rosse. All antique landmark literary cafes.