The grandiose interior of Florence's Mercato Centrale. (Photo by Warburg)For great picnic pickings—not to mention photo ops—head to Florence's 19th-century covered food market, snuggled behind the outdoor stalls of the San Lorenzo leather market.
It looks a bit like a old grandiose train station inside, all dingy glass and steel struts, but actually was purpose-designed to be a market in 1870–74 by the same guy who did Milan's famous Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II: Giuseppe Mengoni.
The Mercato Centrale is also home to one of Florence's great old-school dining opportunities: Da Nerbone, a corner stall that since 1874 has done a brisk business of feeding hungry market patrons a few basic dishes—most popularly, a panino con bollito—a boiled meat sandwich that's bagnato, dipped quickly into the bubbling vat before being handed over. » more
The Mercato Centrale is open Monday to Friday 7am to 2pm, Saturday 7am to 2pm and 4 to 7:30pm.
The entire block bordered by Via dell'Ariento, Via Sant'Antonino, Via Panicale, and Piazza del Mercato Centrale
tel. +39 055-239-9798
www.mercatocentrale.it
Mon-Fri 7am–2pm
Sat 7am–2pm, 4pm–7pm
Free admission
Bus: 81; C1
Hop-on/hop-off: Indipendenza (A)
Planning your day: If you plan to pop in, be sure to do it in the morning, since the market closes at 2pm. If all you want is a picture or two, you can be in and out in 5 or 10 minutes. Stick around to shop (or grab lunch at Da Nerbone), and figure on 45 minutes..
Have some lunch—or at least a snack—at the Da Nerbone stall.
Take a guided tour of Mercato Centrale (with or without a cooking class afterwards) with one of our partners:
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The entire block bordered by Via dell'Ariento, Via Sant'Antonino, Via Panicale, and Piazza del Mercato Centrale
tel. +39 055-239-9798
www.mercatocentrale.it
Mon-Fri 7am–2pm
Sat 7am–2pm, 4pm–7pm
Free admission
Bus: 81; C1
Hop-on/hop-off: Indipendenza (C)
This article was written by Reid Bramblett and was last updated in June 2014.
All information was accurate at the time.
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