Sant'Ambrogio: the market and the local's east

Stops along the way

Things to notice.

1. 01

   1

   Piazza Ghiberti

   The square the market spills into — vans, crates, a working forecourt rather than a set piece. Come before ten, when the produce stalls outside are still being built and nobody is performing for anyone. Walk straight through to the iron shed.

   01

   Piazza Ghiberti

   The square the market spills into — vans, crates, a working forecourt rather than a set piece. Come before ten, when the produce stalls outside are still being built and nobody is performing for anyone. Walk straight through to the iron shed.

   ◉Street View
2. 02

   2

   Mercato di Sant'Ambrogio

   The covered market inside the cast-iron hall: vegetables and flowers in the open colonnade, butchers and cheese under the roof. This is where Florentines actually shop. Buy fruit by pointing, not touching — the stallholder picks, that's the rule.

   02

   Mercato di Sant'Ambrogio

   The covered market inside the cast-iron hall: vegetables and flowers in the open colonnade, butchers and cheese under the roof. This is where Florentines actually shop. Buy fruit by pointing, not touching — the stallholder picks, that's the rule.

   ◉Street View
3. 03

   3

   Il trippaio di Sant'Ambrogio

   The *trippaio* (tripe stall) by the market: *lampredotto* (the cow's fourth stomach, simmered and stuffed in a bun, dipped in its own broth) and *trippa alla fiorentina*. Eat it standing at the counter. The queue is locals on a break, not tourists.

   03

   Il trippaio di Sant'Ambrogio

   The *trippaio* (tripe stall) by the market: *lampredotto* (the cow's fourth stomach, simmered and stuffed in a bun, dipped in its own broth) and *trippa alla fiorentina*. Eat it standing at the counter. The queue is locals on a break, not tourists.

   ◉Street View
4. 04

   4

   Cibrèo cluster, Via dei Macci

   Fabio Picchi's *Cibrèo* empire on one corner — the proper restaurant, the cheaper *trattoria* (the Cibreino), the café across the road. You don't have to book the dear one; a coffee at the café gives you the whole atmosphere for the price of a coffee.

   04

   Cibrèo cluster, Via dei Macci

   Fabio Picchi's *Cibrèo* empire on one corner — the proper restaurant, the cheaper *trattoria* (the Cibreino), the café across the road. You don't have to book the dear one; a coffee at the café gives you the whole atmosphere for the price of a coffee.

   ◉Street View
5. 05

   5

   Piazza dei Ciompi

   Named for the wool-carders who revolted in 1378 — Florence's medieval workers' uprising. The old flea market has thinned, but the square keeps the lived-in feel and Vasari's Loggia del Pesce stands at one end. A bench, a pause, then on.

   05

   Piazza dei Ciompi

   Named for the wool-carders who revolted in 1378 — Florence's medieval workers' uprising. The old flea market has thinned, but the square keeps the lived-in feel and Vasari's Loggia del Pesce stands at one end. A bench, a pause, then on.

   ◉Street View
6. 06

   6

   Sant'Ambrogio church

   The plain-fronted church that named the quarter, with a Mino da Fiesole tabernacle and Cosimo Rosselli's procession fresco inside. Free, usually empty, two minutes from the noise of the market. End here; the bus back into the centre is on the square.

   06

   Sant'Ambrogio church

   The plain-fronted church that named the quarter, with a Mino da Fiesole tabernacle and Cosimo Rosselli's procession fresco inside. Free, usually empty, two minutes from the noise of the market. End here; the bus back into the centre is on the square.

   ◉Street View