Piazza del Mercato Centrale

The square is dominated by the elegant mass of the San Lorenzo agri-food market, also known as the Central Market, one of the main markets in Florence. 

Its construction was deliberate, together with the almost twin one of Sant'Ambrogio, at the time of Florence Capital of Italy (1865-1871); and it was a consequence of the renovation of the historic center, which led to the disappearance of the Mercato Vecchio in the Piazza Repubblica area.
Near the Basilica of San Lorenzo, various blocks were demolished - also creating the square in front - to make room for the new large and elegant cast iron structure, built to a design by Giuseppe Mengoni (the same architect of the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan). Marked by the large windows on the upper floor, and surrounded on the outside by a loggia of 10 classical arches on each side with slender pietra serena columns, the market was inaugurated in 1874 with the International Horticultural Exhibition.
On the ground floor there is space, divided according to specific areas, over one hundred commercial businesses (butchers, grocers, bakers, fishmongers, fruit and vegetable and delicatessen stalls) which, separated from each other by internal streets, give the idea of ​​a city of shops with lively and pulsating atmosphere. There are also small trattorias where it is possible to taste a whole series of typical dishes.

The recent layout of the first floor of the Central Market is really impressive: a large "covered square", of over 3,200 meters, in which an ideal integration has been achieved between the traditional nature of the Market and a food and wine offer based on culture of food. Here - in addition to a restaurant, a pizzeria and a café - twelve workshops of "artisans of taste" have found a home, with their ability to produce, select, prepare, serve and sell products according to a shared quality specification. Around this universe, a rich range of services and collateral activities are offered to the public.

Around the Central Market there is the "Mercatino" of San Lorenzo, an open-air which takes its name from the Basilica of the same name. They mainly sell clothing, leather goods, objects and souvenirs.