Piazza della Repubblica is one of the most famous public squares in Florence and a popular tourist attraction, near to streets filled with luxury shops. This panorama was taken in May 2010.

Piazza della Repubblica - Florence visitor guide showing a virtual tour of 'Piazza della Repubblica' linked to an interactive map with local and travel information. 360° panoramas from Tuscany.

Piazza della Repubblica (Republic Square) in the heart of Florence. This famous square is a popular tourist attraction, found just south of on via Romana, a little north of Ponte Vecchio

Use of the area now forming Piazza della Repubblica dates back to Roman times, when the square was a forum. In the middle is a tall column that marks the intersection of two important Roman roads, and on the south side foundations of a thermae complex have been found. During the Medieval period the square was part of the Piazza del Mercato Vecchio and the Ghetto of Florence.

The current layout of Piazza della Repubblica is the result of extensive city planning during the short period when Florence was the capital of a newly unified Italy between 1885 and 1895. The buildings forming Florence Ghetto in the Mercato were demolished in 1888. When the square was first opened the various grand palaces surrounding it had not yet been completed. An equestrian statue of Vittorio Emanuele II was unveiled here in 1890, but removed in 1932 and replaced with the current Colonna dell'Abbondanza in 1956.

Around the square grew many department stores containing luxury goods for the wealthy. These shops remain around the square today. The palaces built on Piazza della Repubblica have been converted into luxury hotels; both the Savoy Hotel, Albergo Olimpia Snc Hotel are on the square and many other hotels are nearby.

On the western side is a massive triumphal arch, called the 'Arcone', designed by Micheli and inspired by courtly Florentine Renaissance architecture. On the arch is an inscription which translates to read 'The ancient centre of the city / restored from age-old squalor / to new life'.

The square is lined with restaurants and caffès, the most famous of which are Caffè Gilli, Paszkowski, Caffè Giubbe Rosse, and Caffè Gambrinus, popular with scholars artists. The square is also often full of street-artists and impromptu exhibitions.

Bus: Repubblica (C1, C2), Orsanmichele - Nautica (C1, C2)
Train: Firenze SMN Station
Walk: Piazza Della Indipendenza is about 800m from Firenze SMN Station and 300m from Florence Cathedral.