Piazza Santa Croce is pretty much like any square in Florence—a nice bit of open space ringed with souvenir stores and leather shops, thronged with tourists, and anchored by a mighty building—in this case, Santa Croce church, filled with the tombs of famous Florentines (Michelangelo Galileo, Rossini, etc.) and counting some lovely Giotto frescoes among its artistic treasures.
The most unique feature of Piazza Santa Croce itself is the Palazzo Antellisi at no. 21 on the south side. This well-preserved, 16th-century patrician house with a protruding facade frescoed in 1620 by Giovanni di Ser Giovanni's is owned by a contessa who rents out a bunch of peachy apartments.
On the third week in June, the square is trasformed into a dirt-packed pitch for the playing of the violent, Renaisance-era, rugbylike forerunner to soccer, Calcio storico. » more
Piazza Santa Croce
24/7
Free
Bus: 23, C1, C3
Hop-on/hop-off: Santa Croce (A), Corso Tintori (C); Teatro Verdi (A)
Planning your day: Well it takes all of 3 minutes to walk through, but chances are you will.
Take a guided tour that visits Piazza Santa Croce with one of our partners:
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Piazza Santa Croce
Free
Free
Bus: C3, C1; 23; 13
Hop-on/hop-off: Santa Croce (A), Corso Tintori (C); Teatreo Verdi (A)