Palazzo Torrigiani Del Nero, Oltrarno, Firenze

Florence is filled with many other churches stuffed with some of the finest art in the world: San Miniato al Monte, San Lorenzo, Santa Maria Novella, Santa Trinita, the Brancacci Chapel at Santa Maria della Carmine, Santa Croce, Santo Spirito and more.

Palazzo Torrigiani Del Nero

The Palazzo Torrigiani Del Nero is a Renaissance-style palace located at Piazza de' Mozzi 5, down the street where the Ponte alle Grazie enters the Oltrarno in Florence, Tuscany, Italy. Another Palazzo Torrigiani stands alongside, the smaller Palazzo Nasi. Both palaces also once belonged to the Nasi. On the same square, stands Palazzo Mozzi, home to Museum Bardini.

The general area prior to the mid 14th-century, belonged to the Bardi, Benci, Banchi, and Nasi. The latter between 1460 and 1469 consolidated their holdings into one palace. Giorgio Vasari indicated that the palace was begun under the direction of the architect Baccio d'Agnolo, and completed by his son, Domenico.

Older prints of the palace note that the upper floors were part of an open loggia overlooking the River. In 1552, the palace was sold to the Del Nero family. In 1816, the palace was inherited by the Torrigiani.

Palazzo Torrigiani del Nero, facciata[1]

The rusticated stone portals, window arches, and corner pilasters, as well as the brackets of the first floor windows are characteristic of the Mannerist architecture of Baccio. The aesthetics of the building were altered with the creation of fourth floor with smoothed stone blocks, and the sealing of the third floor loggia to make further rooms. The river facade has an awkward positioning of windows relative to the other sides. The former gardens extended east along the riverbank; they were mostly sold off, and now house an Evangelical Lutheran church on Via de'Bardi, built in 1901 [2].

Oltrarno and San Niccolò

Oltrarno, (or beyond the Arno), is one of Florence’s most authentic neighbourhoods. Oltrarno’s three historic quarters, San Niccolò, Santo Spirito, and San Frediano, are hip and trendy neighbourhoods, hidden away from the tourist crush. The bars and terraces that are mainly visited by the working locals in the morning and at noon, are populated by young people in the evening. In this district you will also find the only city beach of Firenze, la spiaggia sull'Arno, where you can sunbathe in the summer. River Urban Beach Terrazza Marasco is a great place to enjoy a relaxing, open-air sunset along the river banks.

From there you can walk up from Porto San Niccolò along the Viale Giuseppe Poggi, or climbing the stairs of Scalea del Monte alle Croci.
A pleasant walk in the heart of the left bank of the Arno river, takes you from the Ponte Vecchio all the way up to Piazzale Michelangelo.

Walking in Florence | Strolling through San Niccollò, from Ponte Vecchio to Piazzale Michelangelo