Mercato Nuovo

Mercato Nuovo : The Michelin guide review

It was Cosimo I who, in the 16C, commissioned the building of the loggia of the so-called New Market, recognisable by its elegant Renaissance arcades. Today it houses a market with stalls selling souvenirs, embroidery work, lace, leather and pietre dure (hard stone) goods, as well as gilded and painted wooden wares and Florentine craft specialities. At the edge of the building, on the side looking towards the Arno, stands the fountain nicknamed Il Porcellino by Florentines in reference to the bronze boar, a copy of Pietro Tacca's early 17C sculpture.