Central Market Square

This lively square, lined with bars, trattorias and restaurants, is dominated by the elegant San Lorenzo food market, also known as the Mercato Centrale, one of Florence’s main markets. Its construction, along with the almost identical Sant’Ambrogio market, was approved when Florence was capital (1865–1871). It followed the redevelopment of the historic centre, which removed the old market from what is now Piazza della Repubblica. Several blocks near the Basilica of San Lorenzo were demolished, creating the square in front and making room for the large, elegant cast-iron structure designed by Giuseppe Mengoni, also architect of Milan’s Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II. Marked by large upper-storey windows and surrounded by a loggia of ten classical arches on each side, supported by slender pietra serena columns, the market opened in 1874 with the International Horticultural Exhibition. On the ground floor, more than a hundred businesses occupy designated areas: butchers, delicatessens, bakers, fishmongers, fruit and vegetable stalls and prepared-food counters. Small internal streets separate them, creating a lively miniature town of shops. Small trattorias also serve a range of traditional dishes. The recently fitted-out upper floor is striking: a covered square of over 3,200 square metres combines the market’s traditional character with food and wine offerings rooted in food culture. Alongside a restaurant, pizzeria and café, twelve artisan food businesses produce, select, prepare, serve and sell products under shared quality standards. A wide range of related services and activities surrounds them. Nearby is the San Lorenzo street market, named after the basilica, selling mainly clothing, leather goods, small objects and souvenirs.