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FLORENCE

What are the best Florence neighbourhoods for international residents?

Whether you're moving to Florence for the first time or are looking for a new place in the city, here are the five best 'quartieri' to call home.

Published: 16 December 2022 16:54 CET
Updated: 8 October 2023 07:00 CEST
A view of Palazzo Vecchio in Florence
Florence is the third-most popular Italian destination for native English speakers after Rome and Milan. Photo by Vincenzo PINTO / AFP

Given the city’s famous architecture, cuisine and rich cultural scene, it’s no wonder that Florence is one of the most popular Italian cities among foreigners. 

As many as 133,400 foreign nationals live in Tuscany’s capital, making up around 31 percent of the total local population. 

Florence is the third-most popular destination for native English speakers after Rome and Milan, with plenty of US and UK nationals living by the Arno.

But like most other major cities in Italy, Florence is a very diverse place and some of its neighbourhoods may be more suited to foreign nationals than others.

READ ALSO: Ten things to expect when you move to Tuscany

So, in no particular order, here are the city’s top five quartieri for foreign residents to consider.

Campo di Marte

Located about two miles east of the city centre, the Campo di Marte neighbourhood is one of Florence’s most tranquil residential areas. 

Granted, the quartiere might lack the appeal of the city centre’s Renaissance architecture, but Campo di Marte’s liberty-style buildings are still very, very far from your ordinary suburban condos. 

The area also offers plenty of sport and entertainment options as it is home to both the Artemio Franchi stadium, where the local Fiorentina football team plays, and the Nelson Mandela Forum, which regularly hosts some of Italy’s biggest music events. 

Florence's Artemio Franchi stadium

The Artemio Franchi stadium is one of many local attractions in the Campo di Marte area. The Photo by Alberto PIZZOLI / AFP

The neighbourhood is also suited to those who love being surrounded by nature as it is dotted by a number of parks and green areas, including the Niccolò Galli Garden and the Villa Il Ventaglio Park. 

Finally, housing in Campo di Marte is generally far more affordable than it is in areas closer to the city centre, with the average asking price standing at 4,115 euros per square metre.

San Marco

San Marco is a residential neighbourhood sitting just north of Florence’s city centre. 

Unlike Campo di Marte, its architecture is fully in line with that of the city’s centro storico and, as such, is graced by a number of gorgeous Renaissance buildings. 

The iconic Basilica di San Marco and the square stretching out in front of it are the beating heart of the area as they are residents’ favourite gathering place. 

That said, the beauty of the above church and of many other local landmarks also means that a good number of tourists populate the quartiere during the day. 

READ ALSO: Thirteen dialect words you need to know in Florence

This can sometimes result in crowded streets and chaotic road traffic, which can make it hard for residents to move around. 

At any rate, many foreign nationals choose to reside in the San Marco neighbourhood because housing is comparatively accessible for both renters and buyers and a sizeable community of expats, especially foreign students studying at the local University of Florence, already lives in the area.  

San Frediano

San Frediano is a very small neighbourhood located in the so-called ‘Diladdarno’, that is the southern bank of river Arno, which runs right through Florence. 

With its narrow streets and hidden squares, San Frediano is one of the city’s most picturesque areas. 

River Arno in Florence

San Frediano is a picturesque neighbourhood located on the southern bank of river Arno. Photo by Tiziana FABI / AFP

The quartiere is dotted by historic artisan workshops and old-school trattorias and cafès, which are guaranteed to remind residents of times long gone. 

Though it has no shortage of architectural and artistic wonders, San Frediano doesn’t generally figure in the plans of most international visitors, which makes it a very quiet and liveable area. 

While local property prices have increased over the past few years, housing is still more affordable than in most nearby areas, with the average asking price hovering around 3,500 euros per square metre. 

Santo Spirito

Located just east of San Frediano, Santo Spirito is by far the chicest area south of the Arno. 

The neighbourhood, which radiates out of the iconic Santo Spirito Square, has a peculiar bohemian feel to it, with very characteristic family-run shops and flea markets lining its streets. 

Santo Spirito is also the right fit for those looking to regularly indulge in some fine dining as it is home to some very classy eateries and bars. 

And, if you do end up overeating, you can alway burn off some calories by taking a walk in the nearby Boboli Gardens, one of Italy’s most beautiful public parks.

Boboli Gardens in Florence

The Boboli Gardens, which border the popular Santo Spirito neighbourhood, are one of Florence’s many gems. Photo by Andreas SOLARO / AFP

Finally, the area is very popular among foreign nationals but local property prices aren’t exactly for everyone as the asking price is around 4,900 euros per square metre on average but it can be as high as 9,600 euros on some streets.

Santa Croce

Located just east of the city centre, on the northern bank of the Arno, this neighbourhood gets its name from the gorgeous Basilica di Santa Croce. 

But the Basilica isn’t the only local attraction, not by a long shot. A wealth of museums and galleries are located in the area, making Santa Croce one of the best neighbourhoods for art-loving international residents. 

The Santa Croce quartiere may also be appealing to people with interests other than art as it offers a good number of entertainment options, including calcio storico (historic football) matches over the summer.

Santa Croce is also home to the popular Sant’Ambrogio Market, which is ideal for those keen on fresh, locally-sourced groceries. 

As in the case of Santo Spirito, property prices are fairly high, though some more affordable housing remains available in some parts of the neighbourhood.

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MOVING TO ITALY

Readers recommend: Eight books you must read to understand Italy

After we published our own recommendations of some of the best books to read for those considering a move to Italy, The Local's readers weighed in with suggestions of your own.

Published: 25 April 2024 17:24 CEST
Readers recommend: Eight books you must read to understand Italy

In our previous guide to some of the best books to read before moving to Italy, we asked our readers to get in touch with your recommendations.

A number of you responded with your favourite reads about Italy; here’s what you suggested:

Ciao Bella – Six Take Italy

An anonymous reader describes this as “a delightful book about an Australian radio presenter who takes her husband and four children Bologna for a year which turns into two years (one being Covid).”

Kate Langbroek’s comic memoir “had me laughing and crying,” they write.

A Small Place in Italy

An apt choice for those considering their own rural Italian renovation project, Sam Cross recommends this book by British writer Eric Newby about buying, remodelling and moving into a cottage in the Tuscan countryside.

Cross also recommends Newby’s earlier work, ‘Love and War in the Appennines’, about his time as a British prisoner of war captured in Italy by the Germans in WWII.

READ ALSO: Eight of the best books to read before moving to Italy

Here, the author tells of his escape assisted by local partisans, “including a girl, Wanda, who became his future wife. A beautiful story,” says Cross.

The Italians

The Italians is written by veteran Italy correspondent John Hooper, who formerly wrote for the Guardian and is now the Economist’s Italy and Vatican reporter.

From politics to family traditions and the Mafia, the book tackles a range of aspects of Italian history and culture without getting lost in the weeds.

Simone in Rome describes it as “the best single volume on Italian customs and culture there is”.

READ ALSO: Nine things to expect if you move to rural Italy

Venice

It may be more than six decades old, but Jan Morris’s Venice is still considered one of the definitive English-language works on the lagoon city.

Book, Venice, library

A woman reads a book in Venice’s famous Acqua Alta library. Photo by Clay Banks on Unsplash

Though a work of non-fiction, the book has been compared to Waugh’s Brideshead Revisited for its nostalgic, evocative tone.

“A personal view, beautifully written,” recommends reader Mary Austern.

Thin Paths

Described as a mix of travel book and memoir, Thin Paths is written by Julia Blackburn, who moved with her husband into a small house in the hills of Liguria in 1999.

Despite arriving with no Italian, over time she befriended her elderly neighbours, who took her into their confidence and shared stories of the village’s history under the control of a tyrannical landowner and the outbreak of World War II.

“Write it down for us,” they told her, “because otherwise it will all be lost.”

READ ALSO: Six things foreigners should expect if they live in Rome

In Other Words

If you’re currently learning Italian, consider Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jhumpa Lahiri’s In Other Words / In Altre Parole, which discusses the writer’s journey towards mastery of Italian through full immersion.

Reader Brett says, “The book is written in both Italian and English, presented on opposite pages, so it’s also a nice learning tool!”

Lahiri has since written Racconti Romani, or Roman Tales, a series of short stories set in and around Rome riffing off Alberto Moravia’s 1954 short story collection of the same name.

A Rosie Life in Italy

Ginger Hamilton says she would “highly recommend the ‘A Rosie Life in Italy’ series by Rosie Meleady.”

It’s “the delightfully written true story of an Irish couple’s move to Italy, purchase of a home, the process of rehabbing it, and their life near Lago di Trasimeno.”

The Dark Heart of Italy

Reader William describes The Dark Heart of Italy by Tobias Jones as an “excellent” book.

The product of a three-year journey across the Italy, Jones takes on the darker side of Italian culture, from organised crime to excessive bureaucracy.

Though it was published in 2003, Dark Heart stands the test of time: “twenty-odd years old but the essential truth of it hasn’t changed,” William writes.

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