GO CITYBREAK:The artistic traditions and rebellion of the Renaissance lives on in Piazza Santo Spirito – and long may it continue to do so, writes
JOSHUA BULLOCK
BRUNELLESCHI, the architect of Florence’s Duomo, was allowed the free rein he never achieved elsewhere to design the church that gives Piazza Santo Spirito its name. The facade that towers over the square was never made and has been left blank to this day. It stands like a blank sail of canvas over the comings and goings of a unique community of artists, artisans, hobos and aristocrats which continues to uphold the artistic traditions and decadence of the Renaissance.
When the Medici transferred their court to the severe Pitti Palace, the south bank of Florence became the centre of court and the nearby streets around Santo Spirito were bought up by courtiers and the well-connected merchants that followed. Pillared palazzos with airy courtyards and five storeys of arched windows were built and are immaculately preserved and occupied to this day. If you walk the area in the quiet hours of the morning with your eyes held above street level, you can trick yourself into centuries past.
And it’s not just the architecture, many of Santo Spirito’s colourful characters today would not have looked out of place in Medici Florence. Mario, a tiny local tramp with a ravaged red potato nose and a curious likeness to Michelangelo stumbles between tables and sleeps in the shade of the trees that line the Piazza. A north African known as Jimmy with impeccably pressed linen trousers is wined and dined by a succession of larger, older women each evening in the excellent Osteria Santo Spirito – an acceptable sacrifice for incomparable truffle gnocchi.
The square’s waifs and strays make excellent if unreliable studies for the local portrait schools. The “Red Indian” – a leather-coat wearing hobo of indeterminate age and race – can sit beatifically still for hours under his shock of snow-white hair, as long as his benders coincide with the artist’s schedule.
When city life gets too much for Mario and the Red Indian, they take their dogs and what little they have and join other tramps heading into the hills around Florence to live rough in the woods. There, other bohemian communes shelter and host wild parties for Santo Spirito regulars escaping Florence’s stifling summer heat.
Then there are the artisans. The south bank of the Arno has been a traditional home to Florence’s craftsmen and the area’s cheaper rents and remove from the bustle of the Duomo and Uffizi continue to preserve the city’s tradition of couture and other handiwork.
In Santo Spirito, curious pastiches of ancient guilds gather in the evenings for drinks and music and parade their creations. Gigi, an ex-ballet dancer invents instruments such as guitars in the shape of violins and leads alfresco jams on the church steps. Andrea the jeweller has made belt buckles for celebrities such as Bono.
There are a number of cobblers who parade the square in exquisite leather spats. In the 1990s they made such an impression on actor Daniel Day Lewis that he apprenticed for the master shoemaker Stefano Bemer a few streets away.
JUST AS RAMPANT Medici heirs used Florence as their playground centuries ago, so too does the inimitable Francesco Conforti. Scion of an venerable Florentine family of silk and cloth merchants (the city’s original trade and most powerful guild or “Arte”), Conforti plays host to sumptuous parties in his Tuscan villa and is renowned for driving his golf buggy laden with late-night revellers at speed through the city to the Cavalli Club: a deconsecrated 15th-century church decorated by Mammon.
An excellent self-publicist and film-producer, Conforti can be found in tartan plus fours putting up posters of his latest project in the piazza. A recent homage to the famous 1970s Florentine film Amici Miei saw him use several hundred locals to re-enact the famous funeral scene of the original in Santo Spirito. “It’s an ode to Florence,” said Conforti, “to my neighbourhood which doesn’t need to be presented but lived and experienced by all; in this area, it’s still possible to experience the essence of times past.”
Only an Italian word can match the very Italian eccentricity of Santo Spirito characters such as Conforti – sprezzatura, which means roughly a studied and stylish carelessness.
While Santo Spirito and its eclectic inhabitants flirt with success, they never suffer it to the extent that commerciality takes over. The flavour of the place has always been bohemian and good-naturedly rebellious.
One morning during my last visit, I stumbled into a large Communist rally taking place in the square. A dozen defiant Fascists met them and were then driven from the square with howls of derision and not a punch thrown.
It seems odd that for a truly authentic celebration of traditional Florentine community, day-trippers have only to cross the Ponte Vecchio and keep walking for five minutes. Long may they not. Some nights, a series of images is projected onto the blank facade of the church turning its contours into a snake, an armchair, a train tunnel. Santo Spirito is a magical place that is many things to many odd and wonderful people. Long may it remain so.
Santo Spirito where to . . .
Stay
* Palazzo Guadagni, Piazza Santo Spirito 9, 00-39-055-2658376, palazzoguadagni.com. This is a refined three-star hotel set in a 16th-century Renaissance palace in the heart of Florence’s Oltrarno. It boasts a wonderful roof garden and bar, overlooking Piazza Santo Spirito. Stay in simple traditionally decorated rooms with air con for the hot summer nights. Staff are obliging and welcoming and the hotel offers incomparable value for three-star prices. Double rooms from €130.
* Hotel Annalena, Via Romana 34, 00-39-055-222402, annalenahotel.com. Just a two-minute walk from the Palazzo Pitti, Ponte Vecchio and the tranquil Boboli gardens, but far enough away from the frenetic crowds that you can recharge in calm surroundings. All rooms boast antique furniture and period touches. Several superior rooms have arcaded balconies and there are charming paintings and sculptures throughout this unique hotel. Double rooms from €100.
* Hotel Silla, Via De Renai 5, 00-39-055-2342888, hotelsilla.it. Three-star accommodation in an elegant 17th-century villa in the centre of the San Niccolo neighbourhood. It is only 10 minutes’ walk from the Uffizi gallery. There is a large terrace lined with shady trees, giving stunning views over the River Arno, where guests can have a fantastic breakfast of fresh fruits, cold cuts and cheeses. Its 36 spacious, clean rooms are decorated in classic Florentine style. Excellent location and value. Double rooms from €120.
Eat
* Il Santo Bevitore, Via di Santo Spirito 64, 00-39-055-211264, ilsantobevitore.com. This establishment offers a very classy but reasonably-priced restaurant experience in dark vaulted rooms lined with shelf upon shelf of Tuscan wine. Diners can wait in a sister bar two doors down and have a drink and some charcuterie while they wait for a table if its too busy. Make sure to book because the quality and atmosphere of dining here make it a popular chic hangout. Try the quail pici pasta as a starter or main with biscotti for pudding.
* Gusta Osteria, Piazza Santo Spirito, 00-39-055-285033. The pasta at this family-run restaurant is generous and delicious – choose either the cavatelli with meat ragu or ravioli, they are both tear-jerkingly good. The restaurant’s alfresco setting on the piazza is impeccable and you can watch the chef make homemade pasta in an open kitchen. Gusta Osteria offers a warm, welcoming atmosphere and top-notch food at great prices.
* Osteria Santo Spirito, Piazza Santo Spirito, 00-39-055-2382383, osteriasantospirito.it. At this Oltrarno favourite, try either the gnocchi with cheese and truffle oil, the risotto with chicken and Parmesan or the spaghetti with garlic, basil and cherry tomatoes. The Osteria offers great value and service, while the outdoor seating draws on the comings and goings of the Piazza for its wonderful atmosphere.
Get there
Ryanair (ryanair.com) flies from Dublin to Pisa. Terravision buses leave Pisa airport regularly and arrive 70 minutes later at Santa Maria Novella train station in the heart of Florence. Adult return is €16. Pisa airport and Santa Maria Novella in Florence are connected by six trains a day, journey time is an hour. A single costs about €6, requiring a change at Pisa central station.