A Half-Day Walking Tour of Florence’s Oltrarno District

Walking around Italy Firenze Oltrarno — A Half-Day Walking Tour of Florence’s Oltrarno District

Cross the Ponte Vecchio and a charming landscape unfolds: modest galleries, design shops, antiques dealers, and cafés, one after another. Oltrarno, meaning ‘across the Arno,’ is a neighborhood on the south side of the city center. For travelers who think of Florence only in terms of luxury brands and the Duomo, it offers a way to travel that adds something special to the memory. Here is how we spent a half-day in Oltrarno.

Words & Photos Parc Jinmyoung
In collaboration with * Booking.com
* For this trip, we traveled with Booking.com’s Connected Trip, which offers an integrated travel experience covering everything from flights to accommodations, transportation, and activities. The heart of the service is the seamless link between reservations, itinerary, and payment in the Booking.com app. Like a personal travel guide, it also suggests tailored travel offerings based on your past trips, current location, and interests, which is impressive. If you need to change a booking or have a question, you can handle it right inside the app.

The Start of an Oltrarno Journey, Santo Spirito

Filippo Brunelleschi, the Renaissance architect who completed the magnificent dome of the Florence Duomo, left another masterpiece in the city: the Basilica di Santo Spirito. Counted among Oltrarno’s signature sights alongside Pitti Palace and Piazzale Michelangelo, the church was Brunelleschi’s last building in his lifetime. Construction began in 1444, and it was completed in 1487, two years after Brunelleschi’s death. Unlike Florence’s other churches with their showy exteriors, such as the Duomo, the Basilica of Santa Maria Novella, and the Medici Chapels (Cappelle Medicee), Santo Spirito impresses with a clean, beige-toned façade. When the shadows of the buildings around the square in front of the church fall across its exterior, they create ever-changing patterns on the blank-page façade. This façade, which perfectly embodies Renaissance proportion, was left unfinished; after Brunelleschi’s death, his disciples, including Antonio Manetti and Giovanni da Gaiole, are said to have completed the church.
Inside the church, which is made up of 38 chapels, you can enjoy discovering hidden Renaissance masterpieces as if touring a museum. Notable works include Filippino Lippi’s ‘Madonna and Child with Saints,’ in which the expressions and postures of each figure around the Madonna and Child are rendered with such delicacy that they seem alive, and Andrea del Sarto’s ‘Holy Trinity and Saints,’ with its superb balance and sense of volume. The highlight among the works in the church is without doubt Michelangelo’s crucifix. The story goes that Michelangelo, then 17 and studying anatomy, donated the work to Santo Spirito in gratitude for being allowed to dissect corpses there. Sculpted with remarkable realism and precision, it is kept in the sacristy.

Admission: Free (€2 for the Michelangelo work)

Address: Piazza Santo Spirito, 30

Hours: Mon–Sat 10:00am–1:00pm & 3:00pm–6:00pm, Sun 11:30am–1:30pm & 3:00pm–6:00pm, closed Wednesdays

The Essence of Italian Wood-Fired Pizza, Gustapizza

When lunchtime arrives, the mood in the square where Santo Spirito stands begins to change as the restaurants and cafés lining it open one by one. Gustapizza is one of the best-loved eateries on Piazza Santo Spirito, with a line of waiting customers forming even before opening time. Pizza in Italy rarely disappoints, but Gustapizza is famous for a crust that is crisp outside and tender inside, with the aroma of the firewood fully present, and for ingredients whose flavors each come through distinctly. You can enjoy a variety of wood-fired pizzas, from the classic Margherita to the spicy Calabrese, which suits Korean tastes perfectly, and even the vegan Gusta Pizza. If the terrace seats with Santo Spirito as the backdrop are full, it’s also a good idea to take a pizza to go and find a spot in the square.

Price: Margherita €7, Gusta Pizza €12

Address: Via Maggio, 46r

Hours: Tue–Sun 11:30am–11:30pm, closed Mondays

A Gift Shop of Florentine Artists, L’ippogrifo Stampe d’Arte (Hippogriff Print Workshop)

If you’re looking for a souvenir that will let you remember your Florence trip for a long time, knock on the door of L’ippogrifo Stampe d’Arte, a small gallery and shop. Since 1977, the Raffaelli family has run this workshop producing traditional Italian etchings (a printmaking technique in which a metal plate is coated with wax or resin, scratched with a sharp tool, and then bitten with an acid solution to engrave the image). It sells postcards and pictures showing Florence’s iconic scenes, including Santo Spirito, the Ponte Vecchio, and the Duomo. When you open the door, the friendly dog Oni and Gianni Raffaelli, deep in his work, give you a warm welcome. The Raffaellis, the couple who run the workshop, create their prints and watercolors from inspiration drawn from the Florentine artists they meet on their walk to work each morning and from the small everyday moments of the city. Having spent their entire lives here, the couple infuse their works with an affectionate gaze, and the results make perfect special souvenirs of a Florence trip.

Address: Via Santo Spirito, 5/r

Hours: Mon & Tue 10:00am–1:00pm, Wed 10:00am–6:00pm, Thu 10:00am–5:00pm

Authentic Homemade Cooking on the Street, Pitti Express

About a five-minute walk from Pitti Palace, Pitti Express is a café known for outstanding value, with generous portions at reasonable prices. Alongside familiar Italian dishes such as lasagna and pasta, you can try carefully made homemade dishes like crostini (a kind of Italian appetizer of toasted bread topped with cheese, meat, vegetables, and other toppings). With a wine list of Tuscan wines, it is also an ideal place to experience the pairing of Tuscan cuisine. The brothers who run the restaurant cook from traditional Tuscan recipes handed down through their family, and you can taste the care in a single bite. The lasagna that melts in your mouth and the tiramisu are the signature dishes, each with a warm, deep flavor. If you want to experience Tuscany’s local character and depth of flavor, we highly recommend a visit.

Price: Lasagna €8, glass of wine €4

Address: Via Romana, 54/r

Hours: Wed–Mon 11:00am–8:00pm, closed every Tuesday