Santa Maria Novella district

The western gateway

Santa Maria Novella is where most visitors to Florence begin: the train station of the same name deposits passengers into what was historically the Dominican quarter of the city, centred on the great church. The neighbourhood is bounded by the station to the north, the river to the south, and stretches west towards the Cascine park and east towards the Duomo district.

It has a dual personality. The streets immediately around the station are functional and slightly scruffy, with budget hotels, currency exchange offices and takeaway food outlets. One block west, Via de’ Tornabuoni is among the most expensive shopping streets in Europe. The church and its piazza are genuinely one of the finest things in Florence.

Basilica di Santa Maria Novella

The Dominican church of Santa Maria Novella was begun in 1246 and finished in the early 15th century. The marble facade — green and white geometric patterns in Romanesque and early Renaissance style — was completed by Leon Battista Alberti between 1456 and 1470, one of the earliest Renaissance facades in Florence. The sundial and astronomical instruments embedded in the facade were added by Ignazio Danti in 1572.

Key works inside:

Masaccio’s Trinity (1427): In the left nave, this fresco is one of the most significant works in the history of Western painting. Masaccio was the first artist to deploy mathematical perspective in a fresco — the barrel vault he painted recedes into the wall with geometrical precision, creating a trompe l’oeil three-dimensional space. When it was unveiled, Florentines believed a hole had been cut in the wall. The skeleton at the base carries a memento mori inscription.

Ghirlandaio’s choir frescoes (1485-1490): The apse is covered in Ghirlandaio’s cycle of the lives of the Virgin and John the Baptist — Renaissance Florence’s wealthiest citizens depicted as witnesses to biblical events, in contemporary dress. Michelangelo trained briefly in Ghirlandaio’s workshop before these were painted; some scholars see early Michelangelesque figures here.

The Spanish Chapel: The chapter house of the monastery, now called the Cappella degli Spagnoli (Spanish Chapel) because it was used by the Spanish court of Eleonora di Toledo. Andrea di Bonaiuto’s 14th-century fresco cycle covers every wall and the ceiling with theological allegory — complex and rewarding to read slowly.

Strozzi Chapel: frescoes by Filippino Lippi in the apse, and Nardo di Cione’s Hell on the left wall (contemporary with Dante’s Inferno).

Entry: €7.50. Open Monday-Thursday 9am-5:30pm, Friday 11am-5:30pm, Saturday 9am-5:30pm, Sunday 1pm-5:30pm (hours adjusted for services). Closed Tuesdays and major holidays.

Officina Profumo-Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella

The world’s oldest pharmacy — still operational — is located at Via della Scala 16, just 300 metres from the station. Founded by Dominican monks in 1221 as a dispensary for herbs grown in the monastery garden, it became a full pharmacy in the 17th century. The Medici were customers. It still operates today as a luxury perfume and cosmetics house.

The interior is spectacular: vaulted rooms with frescoed ceilings, 19th-century wooden display cabinets, and a dedicated chapel-turned-showroom. The products — rose water, potpourri, herbal liqueurs, face creams, soaps — are all still made using historical recipes adapted for modern production. Prices reflect heritage positioning rather than mass production: a small bottle of rose water costs €15-25; perfumes run €80-200+.

Entry to the rooms is free; it’s a functioning shop. Worth at least 20 minutes of browsing. Hours: Monday-Saturday 9am-8pm, Sunday 10am-6pm.

Via de’ Tornabuoni and the luxury shopping axis

Via de’ Tornabuoni has been Florence’s prestige shopping street since the Strozzi and Rucellai palaces defined the neighbourhood in the 15th century. Today it houses the Italian and international luxury brands: Gucci (born in Florence in 1921), Salvatore Ferragamo (with its own museum at Via de’ Tornabuoni 2 — free entry), Bulgari, Bottega Veneta, Cartier.

The Palazzo Strozzi at the south end of Via della Vigna Nuova (which intersects Tornabuoni) is the most intact Renaissance palace exterior in Florence — private, severe, and ringed by iron torch-holders and lantern brackets from the original construction. The interior hosts major temporary art exhibitions, usually of international significance. Check the current programme at palazzostrozzi.org.

Ferragamo Museum: The Palazzo Spini Feroni at Piazza Santa Trinita contains the Salvatore Ferragamo Museum — two floors of the shoe designer’s archive, including shoes made for Hollywood celebrities in the 1930s-1950s. Free entry, open daily.

Ponte Santa Trinita

Two bridges west of Ponte Vecchio, the Ponte Santa Trinita is a Renaissance bridge designed by Bartolomeo Ammannati (the same architect behind the unloved Neptune fountain). It was destroyed by the retreating German army in 1944 and rebuilt stone by stone — the statues of the seasons at the four corners were assembled from pieces recovered from the Arno. The bridge offers one of the clearest views of Ponte Vecchio from a riverside vantage.

Around the station: practical notes

SMN station has luggage storage at Deposito Bagagli (platform 16, €7-10 per bag per day). There are coin-operated lockers on platform 16 and a 24-hour pharmacy (Farmacia Comunale) in the main hall.

The Piazza dell’Unità Italiana in front of the station is a useful bus hub for connections to the Cascine (park with a weekly antiques market on Tuesdays), the stadium, and suburban destinations.

Cascine Park: Florence’s main public park, 3 kilometres along the Arno west of the centre. Popular with locals for jogging, cycling, and weekend leisure. Every Tuesday morning, the park hosts a large market (Mercato delle Cascine) selling clothing, food and household goods at very local prices.

Where to eat and drink

The immediate vicinity of SMN station has the city’s worst restaurant density in terms of value. Walk south or east:

• Buca dell’Orafo (Lungarno Acciaiuoli 28): Near Ponte Vecchio, traditional Florentine food at fair prices, river views.
• Il Latini (Via dei Palchetti 6): Five-minute walk from the station; communal tables, set menu, boisterous. Queues form early.
• Caffè Amerini (Via della Vigna Nuova 63r): Unpretentious bar with good lunch specials; a local alternative to the tourist cafés.

For the broader Florence food picture, see the guide to eating in Florence.