The foldout watercolored map for Piazza Santo Spirito.
The church of Santo Spirito ~ “After Brunelleschi’s death, several of his ideas for the basilica’s interior were also compromised. He had wanted the chapels to line the church without interruption, including along the front entrance wall. With the square module that forms the basis of his design, this would have meant four doors in place of the traditional three with which it was built. Brunelleschi had also planned for the exterior wall to express the curves of the chapels that line the church’s interior, creating an undulating surface instead of a flat plane. Perhaps the slightly bowed sills we can see under the windows are a small homage to the intended design. Despite this compromise of his original design, Brunelleschi’s genius is nonetheless present in the interior—in the harmony of its proportions and in the repetition of the architectural elements, which are delineated in grey pietra serena and strike a deliberate contrast with the white plaster walls. Only Giovanni Caccini’s elaborate baldacchino of pietra dura, added in 1599—yet another case of Brunelleschi’s (simpler) design being set aside—interrupts the flow of space in Santo Spirito. Standing under the dome, the canopied altar looks like a spaceship about to take off. Spending some time in the serene interior, among what writer Mary McCarthy called its ‘forest’ of columns, is for me an unparalleled architectural experience. I sit on a pew near the back, as the space fills me with awe. Before leaving, as a small contribution to this institution that has anchored my favorite piazza through so many centuries, I buy a taper to light for anyone who might need extra thoughts of goodwill going their way. Who knows if these candles make a difference, but repeated positive outcomes—whether due to fate or faith—encourage me to continue the ritual.”
Around the fountain ~ “After the bustle of the morning market and the relative quiet of the pausa that follows lunch, the piazza reawakens. People gather around the fountain as the late afternoon light filters through the trees: families with gelato, or breadcrumbs for the pigeons; a student with a sketchpad; couples with their guidebooks; others indulging in il dolce far niente. The father of one of my daughter’s classmates asks if I can keep an eye on his daughter while he runs up to their apartment to stir the carrots. Waiters and cooks from a restaurant join in on a casual soccer game. This is place becoming so much more than a location. Layered with history—with memory—the square provides the setting for so much life, energy, soul. As the seasons change, their beautiful rhythm turning too quickly into years, the simple plaster church façade watches over the piazza, acquiring its own sense of individuality as the years pass: Time working as Architect.”
An intimate neighborhood square~ “I am sitting in Piazza Santo Spirito, watching the piazza’s activity from one of the long stone benches. Tourists come and go, too restless to wait until the church reopens. Men and women rustle through today’s news; groups of locals chatter away, their hands adding as much to the conversation as their words. The steps leading up to the church are filled with people enjoying the position in the full sun; gradually the piazza returns to life as the afternoon pausa draws to a close. The picturesque Piazza Santo Spirito lies at the heart of the Oltrarno, and offers an ideal spot to escape long museum lines and streets thronged with visitors, sip a cappuccino on the terrace of a café, and imagine what mamma will be preparing for lunch as you browse the morning market. An air of intimacy fills the square, unlike the large treeless piazzas that front the major churches of Florence’s other quartieri, and the understated buildings surrounding the piazza perfectly complement the bold personality of the church’s façade at the northern end. Offset and at a slight angle from one another, the piazza and its church share a comfortable, informal relationship. Visitors don’t come here to see renowned art by the most famous of artists, or to witness the site of some gruesome drama in Florence’s history; what draws them to Piazza Santo Spirito is less impressive but equally satisfying. Character abounds on a human scale, from the daily market that merges charm with necessity to the inviting patio tables spilling out of the many restaurants and cafés. The piazza would have a very different character if Filippo Brunelleschi’s original design had been followed back in the fifteenth century. He wanted to reverse the orientation of the earlier church so that the piazza would open onto the Arno, impressing those arriving in Florence via the river. What notoriety Santo Spirito would have enjoyed as a riverfront church, instead of being tucked into the Oltrarno. The wealthy residents whose homes were to be demolished to make way for the piazza naturally objected to the idea, so Brunelleschi retained the building’s original south-facing position. Seeing the church façade soaking up the sun all day, the piazza in dappled sun, it’s hard to imagine it otherwise now.”
The church facade ~ “I have often wondered if there’s a good solution to ‘finishing’ Santo Spirito’s façade. After centuries in an unadorned state (save for the painted architectural details from the eighteenth century, long since obscured), it’s difficult to visualize an alternative. Santo Spirito’s ideal form seems to be così—just as it is—continuing to be one of those topics that provokes an ongoing dialogue among both locals and visitors. A project organized by artist Mario Mariotti in the early 1980s provided a chance for citizens to partake in this dialogue. Art assumed its natural role as part of the community when the artist invited people from all walks of life to use the the church façade’s outline as the basis for designs that were projected onto the actual façade during summer nights filled with music, dancing, poetry and theatre. The results ranged from whimsical to clever and political, and the original drawings can still be seen on the walls of Caffè Ricchi. Santo Spirito’s façade expresses itself in many forms throughout the neighborhood: embroidered on the linen curtain of a trattoria, printed on the paper sacks and menus of local businesses, interpreted on artists’ canvases, as a point of reference in student projects.” The blank façade continues to inspire, most recently in the form of computer-generated images by architecture students from the local university; their designs were shown in a slideshow in the piazza one night last summer and can be found on flickr.http://www.flickr.com/photos/25413290@N03/2517745347/shapeimage_8_link_0
Top photo: The church seen from Palazzo Pitti. Below: Praying to Santa Rita, the church’s patron saint.
The fountain that lies at the center of the square.
What to do ~ - Enjoy a morning cappuccino, an evening aperitivo or a meal on one of the many pleasant restaurant patios. - Experience the serene Renaissance interior of the church of Santo Spirito, one of Brunelleschi’s many masterpieces. - Pop into Caffè Ricchi to check out the original Santo Spirito façade designs from a community project held in the early 1980s. - Go to market: Pick up produce or everyday goods at the morning market (Mon ~ Sat); search for treasures at the flea market on the 2nd Sunday of the month; or browse the Fierucolina on the 3rd Sunday for organic and eco-conscious products.
~ Piazza Santo Spirito ~
above: The church front. right: Some of the façade drawings in Caffè Ricchi
Click here for selected excerpts from the Piazza del Duomo chapter.The_Piazzas_of_Florence_In_the_spotlight_Piazza_del_Duomo.htmlshapeimage_14_link_0
Click here for selected excerpts from the Piazza Pitti chapter.The_Piazzas_of_Florence_In_the_spotlight_Piazza_Pitti.htmlshapeimage_15_link_0
Shopping in Piazza Santo Spirito ~ “Gathering our daily bread—and produce, dairy and meat—has become a big part of our lives since we started living in Florence, and we are lucky to be able to buy just about everything we need in Piazza Santo Spirito. The process not only contributes to the obvious need to nourish us: shopping for food also helps us feel more connected in our new home. On previous trips I remember making a point of frequenting the same shops and restaurants because I enjoyed the friendly rapport that develops when shopkeepers recognize you. It seemed you often only needed to return a second time to receive an enthusiastic welcome. By the time we reach the apartment after visiting the market and other shops along our way, not only have we gathered enough food to get us through the next couple of days, but also ideas on how to prepare it, a number of smiles, and a glow from being called Bella. So, while buying food involves more stops now, I recognize the distinct value added by these small interactions that contribute immeasurably to our sense of feeling at home here. I used to resent those ‘non toccare’ signs that prohibit customers from touching or choosing their own produce, but now I appreciate that the shopkeepers are choosing the best for me. The whole experience adds up to be the luxury equivalent of shopping: at these tiny family-run establishments, someone else does the work, takes care of some of the decisions—and I feel looked after.
Click here for more from my Santo Spirito chapter on “Florence from the Heart,” a website dedicated to articles written by locals in love with this city.http://www.florencefromtheheart.com/article.php?d=2009-02-20&t=dailylife&p=2shapeimage_20_link_0
When it comes to shopping—with the exception of books—I enjoy the process of buying food most. It’s something we always need, there’s no question of size or whether it flatters the figure, it never goes out of style and takes up a minimum of space in our small apartment. I have something nice to unwrap when I get home, and there remain before me endless possibilities. After returning from Santo Spirito’s morning market, I arrange the vegetables that will go into soup for tonight’s dinner. Each time I enter the kitchen my eye is drawn to the orange flesh of the pumpkin, the papery purple skins of red onions, the feathery tops of the fennel and the leafy cavolo nero, a cabbage so dark that it’s called ‘black’. In a brown wicker basket I compose a still life with the sunset colors of pomegranates, persimmons and new apples, then select a dark-green and raw-sienna bowl whose colors, if mixed together, would create the same mottled hue of the dusky golden grapes now cascading over the edge. Although I often only have time to arrange the produce quickly, in my mind I am capturing these simple shows of beauty with a paintbrush or pencil. Of course, food is also a medium in its own right, offering the opportunity to express creativity for fleeting moments of time—as a weekday dinner, a long lunch, or a gorgeous dessert.”
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