Ciompi Square and its Loggia del Pesce are under restoration. But who were the “Ciompi”, and why the Loggia del Pesce definitely worths a visit?
Some of Florence’s gems are hidden off the beaten track.
One of them is the “Loggia del Pesce” – literally the fish lodge – now in Piazza dei Ciompi, not far from the Basilica di Santa Croce and Casa Buonarroti.
The Loggia del Pesce on the move!
It’s 1885: Florence is becoming a modern city, modern cities need city planning and apparently there is no place for the Fish Lodge: the building was dismantled like Lego blocks and it will be rebuild in Piazza dei Ciompi in 1955.
The “Revolt of the Ciompi” was a rebellion of the unrepresented labourers against the Guilds and their oligarchy in Florence between 1378 and 1382.
The relocated Loggia del Pesce became the center of a flea market but, between the troubles of the Ciompi and that of the relocation of the lodge, here we are again: in the last few weeks the flea market has been dismantled…
The good news? Now you can enjoy the beauty of the loggia in all its splendor: we hope it will stay put for a while… 😉
The relocation of the Flea Market
Currently the Flea Market has been relocated to Largo Pietro Annigoni: so you still can experience a place where you can find Italian (and not only Italian) oddities and antiques.
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Largo Pietro Annigoni is located on the north bank of the Arno river and it is not far from the Campo di Marte train station (on the railway line from Rome to Bologna and Milan) and the Sant’Ambrogio Market where you can find some interesting Florentine delicatessen and the “weird” side of the Tuscan cuisine.
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Vasari’s Loggia del Pesce
The Florentine Renaissance was an awesome age.
A bunch of geniuses and a lot of arts and beauty at the same time in the same place.
But if you think that the Renaissance was a planned, smooth process – well: think again…
Take the Loggia del Pesce: it is a 1567 project, commissioned by Cosimo I de’ Medici on Giorgio Vasari.
The wealth and glory of the Medici family was at its peak.
A wealth and glory to be shown with works such as the Vasari (the man, again…) Corridor, the Medici’s private passageway between Palazzo Vecchio and Palazzo Pitti.
The construction of the Vasari Corridor implied the relocation of the fish market, and then the Fish Lodge was built on the Lungarno degli Archibugeri.
In 1699 it had been expanded by Cosimo III. But the Fish Market will have to move again…
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