Piazza della Repubblica (Republic Square)

Piazza della Repubblica has (almost) always been the center of life for Florence and its citizens.

To one side, is the “Colonna dell’Abbondanza” or “Column of Abundance” that once marked where the cardo and decumanus maximi (the main north-south, and east-west roads of a city) crossed. This was the geographical center of Roman Florence, and the surrounding square was home to the Roman forum.

The Piazza remained the city’s practical center, even if not the exact physical center, into the middle ages when the local market was held there. It wasn’t until the market moved to the Mercato Novo (new market) and Cosimo I moved the Jewish Ghetto into one corner of the square, that it began to lose its civic importance.

The Piazza that we know today, came to be during the brief period of the Risanamento, between 1885 to 1895, which although it took the name of the cleansing, for Florence, it was really more of a gutting when many historic buildings, medieval towers and shops were razed to make way for grand squares and avenues celebrating the city’s grand, but short lived status, as capital of Italy. It was a time full of civic “improvements,” many regarded as the just measure to transform the city from its medieval history to a modern capital.

Perhaps the “Arcone” (Grand Arch) designed by Vincenzo Micheli, is the best example of the period, its architecture recalls the triumphal arches of Caesar, and it bears the inscription, “the ancient city center from centuries-old squalor returned to new life.” Statues of three female figures representing: Italy, Art and Science were placed atop the arch, however the Florentines sarcastically nicknamed these statues as three famous prostitutes: Starnotti, Cipischioni and Trattienghi.

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