Piazza della Passera: The Square of the Little Sparrow
Why is it significant?
You have arrived in one of the smallest squares in Florence: a little triangle of paving stones where several lanes meet, a few tables, a few scooters, washing above your head. No monument, no church, no plaque... and yet everyone in the Oltrarno knows its name, Piazza della Passera.
Key Facts
| Place | Piazza della Passera: The Square of the Little Sparrow |
|---|---|
| Address | Piazza della Passera, 50125 Firenze FI, Italy |
| Geo Coordinates | 43.76720, 11.25050 |
| Part of Walk | Florence Across the Arno: Oltrarno Artisans, Santo Spirito & San Frediano |
| Generated | Generated |
You have arrived in one of the smallest squares in Florence: a little triangle of paving stones where several lanes meet, a few tables, a few scooters, washing above your head. No monument, no church, no plaque... and yet everyone in the Oltrarno knows its name, Piazza della Passera.
Passera means a sparrow, a little hen sparrow. And the first story about it is a sad one. Legend says that during the Black Death of 1348, when Florence lost perhaps half of its people, the plague in this neighbourhood was blamed on a sick little bird that fell dead in the square. Neighbours gathered to bury it, as if burying the sickness itself.
The second story is the one Florentines tell with a grin. In the Renaissance, these lanes were full of public houses of a less respectable kind, and passera was also old slang for something rather intimate. The city's own street-name records are coy about it. Choose whichever version you like... the locals usually choose both.
What is certain is that this was, and still is, a quarter of hands. Gilders, frame makers, carvers, furniture restorers, bookbinders and leather workers have worked in these ground-floor rooms for centuries, supplying the palaces you saw on Via Maggio. After the great flood of November 1966, when the Arno filled these streets with mud and oil, the restorers of the Oltrarno became famous across the world, because there was so much to save.
Listen as you walk on. A hammer tapping, a sander humming, the smell of glue and varnish drifting out of a half-open door... the workshops do not advertise much, they never needed to. Now head west, cross Via Maggio, and follow the short Via de' Michelozzi: it opens onto the most relaxed square in Florence.