San Frediano: the borgo behind the gate
Masaccio's chapel, a medieval city gate, and the Oltrarno's least polished, best-drinking street. This is a Claude-drafted route awaiting the editor's walk.

1. Porta San Frediano
Start at the tall 14th-century gate in the old walls, its original wooden doors still hanging. Stand under the arch and look up at the unfinished top — the tower was lopped short and never finished. This is where the borgo begins, and it sets the tone: working, blunt, unbothered.

2. Borgo San Frediano
Walk the length of the street the gate is named for. It's the unvarnished Oltrarno — bottegas, a few bakeries, bars that fill at *aperitivo* with locals rather than tour groups. Come mid-to-late afternoon and let it wake up around you.

3. Santa Maria del Carmine
The barn-plain brick facade hides the reason everyone comes: the Brancacci Chapel inside. Masaccio painted the *Tribute Money* and the *Expulsion* here in the 1420s and more or less invented Renaissance space and grief on these walls. Booking is usually required and numbers are capped — sort it before you arrive.

4. Piazza del Carmine
The wide, slightly scruffy square in front of the church — part car park, part breathing room, ringed with places to sit. After the intensity of the chapel, this is where you let it settle. No need to rush off.

5. Via dell'Orto
Cut through the back lanes toward the river. *Via dell'Orto* and its neighbours are the quiet residential grain of San Frediano — washing, scooters, the odd workshop. Wander; nothing here is signposted because nothing here is for you, which is the charm.

6. Ponte alla Carraia
End at the river crossing where the borgo meets the Arno. The view back along the Lungarno toward Ponte Vecchio is the reward, especially as the light goes. Buses run along the embankment, or walk on into the centre over the bridge.

San Frediano: the borgo behind the gate