The Best-Kept Secrets of Florence
![Duomo: Santa Maria del Fiore - Florence. Italy](https://cdn-v2.theculturetrip.com/20x11/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/shutterstock_385882315-duomosanta-maria-del-fiore.webp)
Florence is known as the city with the orange dome created by Brunelleschi, the river with Ponte Vecchio, and the home of Dante Alighieri. Behind these famous sites and the prevalent Renaissance architecture, however, is a completely different layer of Florence; hidden corridors, ancient churches, pop art and rose gardens to name a few of the finds. Check out our list of the nine best-kept secrets of Florence.
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The ancient church of Santa Reparata under the Cathedral
As late as during the 1960s and 1970s, the excavations conducted under the Florentine iconic Brunelleschi’s Cathedral Santa Maria del Fiore revealed the ruins of an original ancient church Santa Reparata, dating back to the times when Florence was a Roman colony. This (very well hidden) site shows you Florence before its dominant Renaissance era. The church’s patron, a young martyr from the 3rd century A.D., remains one of Florence’s patron saints to this day.
Cathedral Santa Maria del Fiore, Piazza San Giovanni
![Mosaic floor of ancient church Santa Reparata in crypt of Duomo Cattedrale Santa Maria del Fiore](https://cdn-v2.theculturetrip.com/10x/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/shutterstock_540231427-vvoe.webp)
1. Piazzale Michelangelo
Architectural Landmark
![1. Piazzale Michelangelo](https://cdn-v2.theculturetrip.com/10x/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/shutterstock_445466320-view-over-florence-from-piazzale-michelangelo.webp)
2. The Church of Santa Margherita de’ Cerchi
Church, Cathedral
![Ancient Via Santa Margherita on which the Chiesa di Santa Margherita dei Cerchi](https://cdn-v2.theculturetrip.com/10x/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/shutterstock_455241898-liudmila-ermolenko.webp)
For fans of Italian literature and especially the great Dante Alighieri, this church will be the most interesting site in the whole of Florence (alongside Dante’s house, of course). Tiny and hidden between huge buildings, the Church of Santa Margherita de’ Cerchi dates back to the 11th century. It is here that Dante met his true love Beatrice. Although Beatrice’s family and nanny are buried in the church, she was probably buried somewhere else with her husband’s relatives. The Santa Margherita de’ Cerchi church is where one of the greatest love stories described in literature began.
3. Antiques at the flea market on Piazza dei Ciompi
Market
![Summer market of old vintage objects](https://cdn-v2.theculturetrip.com/10x/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/shutterstock_521921797-summer-market-of-old-vintage-objects.webp)
Loggia del Bigallo
Loggia del Bigallo stands just next to the cathedral Santa Maria del Fiore, and therefore many tourists pass by it every day – but not many stop to admire it or to wonder what it was used for. This Gothic building from the 14th century was the venue for the Compagnia della Misericordia and served as a shelter for abandoned children and people whose houses were destroyed by the plague. Nowadays, the loggia has quite a different purpose – it hosts a collection of frescos, such as ‘Madonna of the Misericordia’ by Bernardo Daddi.
Loggia del Bigallo, Piazza del Duomo, Firenze, Italy
![Museum of Bigallo in Loggia del Bigallo on Piazza San Giovanni in morning. The Loggia of Bigallo was built in 1352-1358 for Compagnia della Misericordia](https://cdn-v2.theculturetrip.com/10x/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/shutterstock_540001720museum-of-bigallo-in-loggia-del-bigallo-on-piazza-san-giovanni-in-morning.webp)