An elevated view of the Piazza della Repubblica, the site of the former Roman Forum, in the centro storico of Florence, Tuscany, Italy. Susequently, it housed a market. In the 16th century, it was the site of the Jewish Ghetto, as enforced by Cosimo 1.
The current Piazza dates from the late 19th century, when not only the market hovels, but a lot of interesting medieval buildings were destroyed to make way for much-maligned ‘gentrification’ known as Risanamento (‘making healthy) but mocked as sventramento (‘ruining’) when Florence was being ‘modernised’ while it was very briefly (1865–70) capital of Italy. A range of eclectic ‘palaces’ was built around the much-widened piazza.
Nowadays, the buildings surrounding the square comprise palaces, restaurants and hotels. The lively piazza itself hosts a carousel and many street performers and artists can be found there, especially in the evenings.
The Triumphal Arch (‘Arcone’) on the west side of the square bears an inscription which indicates the intentions of those who were responsible for the piazza:
L’ANTICO CENTRO DELLA CITTÀ
DA SECOLARE SQUALLORE
A VITA NUOVA RESTITUITO
(The ancient centre of the city restored from age-old squalor to new life)
This image is copyright © Liz Leyden, all rights strictly as agreed in writing with the author or her agent.
It is for sale as wall art or as various home or personal accessories at Pixels.com.
My original photo, on which this image is based, is available to purchast as a stock photo from iStock.
