Santo Spirito in Florence

The piazza is surrounded by 15th century houses, among them the Palazzo Guadagni which was built at the beginning of the 1500s. Its characteristic upper loggia established a fashion and served as a model for a number of other aristocratic palazzi around Florence. The ground floor of this building served as Florence's first public library which opened in 1914. The most significant architecture on the piazza, however, is undoubtedly the basilica, built according to the design of Filippo Brunelleschi and completed at the end of the 15th century. The facade, however, was never finished and today it is a simple, plastered surface. The interior of the church is a treasure chest of important art works including a wooden crucifix by Michelangelo and works by Filippino Lippi, Sansovino, Orcagna, Giuliano da San Gallo.

At the centre of the piazza rises a fountain of pietra serena with a large octagonal basin and two smaller concentric basins raised by a central vertical element of marble.