This chapter is dedicated to the central nerve of the city, the two markets: the Mercato di San Lorenzo and the Mercato di Sant’Ambrogio, designed and realized by the famous architect, Giuseppe Mengoni, between 1873 and 1874.

Inside the Sant’Ambrogio market, you’ll find exceptional restaurants and traditional “osterie” and in the morning (especially on Saturdays), fresh fruit and vegetable stalls. You’ll also find delicious bread and fresh mozzarella. The meat here is also delicious; the market boasts some of the city’s best butchers. And be sure not to miss a chance to try a tasty, typical Florentine soup. 

In San Lorenzo, you’ll find a market with two very different floors: the old market on the first and the new market on the second, a hip spot bustling with life. On the first floor, you’ll find vegetable sellers and butchers: local Florentines offering traditional delicacies. Immersed in colors, tastes and smells, you’ll get lost between the old stalls, among the “beccai” as they were once called, the old name for butchers.  Pick up a “fiorentina” steak, but the real kind and eat it quickly while its hot.