You can spend the beginning, middle, and end of your day here. You can have your morning coffee here. You can visit the market here. You can enter the iconic church here. You can eat a plate of pasta here. You can drink the night away here. You can sit at a bar, in a restaurant, by a fountain, on church steps here. You can buy antiques, medicine, or cigarettes here. You can do anything or nothing in Florence’s Piazza Santo Spirito.  

Piazza Santo Spirito is a place where everyone fits in–tourists and locals, American study abroad students and Italian octogenarians, the calm and the crazy–though this menagerie is a recent phenomenon. Once a hub for artists, writers, and intellectuals, it was a square known for its alternative character; only in the last ten years or so has it become a hotspot for tourists and the city’s international community too. 

It’s easy to stumble into Santo Spirito multiple times a day–sometimes by accident, sometimes on purpose. Before noon, it’s a sleepy square–more akin to those in small, diffident towns than in bustling metropolitan cities. The piazza takes its time in the morning, yawning and stretching itself awake as the market opens and waiters set tables along its edges. 

And so the day at Piazza Santo Spirito begins. 

Some sit at Bar Ricchi, Volume, or Pitta M’Ingoli for breakfasts of a perfect pastry (a cremino is always a good choice), washed down with a coffee. Others buy their groceries from the haphazardly constructed market stalls, or unearth treasures from the piles of second-hand clothes at a few euros a pop. Enthusiastic tourists head into the Church of Santo Spirito, designed by the Filippo Brunelleschi in the 15th century and whose unadorned facade belies treasures like a wooden crucifix by Michelangelo within. Placid locals lean against the fountain at the piazza’s heart, enjoying a cigarette while the morning rays stream into the surrounding air.  

At lunchtime, the pace of the piazza begins to quicken. Coffee cups that have been sitting on empty tables for hours are now whisked away to seat new customers who eagerly await plates piled high with Tuscan delicacies. The aroma of truffle gnocchi and the sound of high-spirited conversation emanate from Osteria Santo Spirito, a student favorite, on the far side of the piazza. Just around the corner, others munch on the superlative arista at Trattoria La Casalinga. Others forgo restaurants and sit on the piazza’s benches to munch on sandwiches from Gustapanino or I’Raddi di Santo Spirito. Drinking commences at this hour and wine glasses can be found next to plates of pasta and antipasti. From now on, people will be dipping in and out of the square for drinks–in the late afternoon, in the early evening, or even past bed-time.

After lunch, the piazza experiences another lull as satisfied diners disperse to other  corners of the city in search of further cultural and edible delights. The market stalls are taken down, their vendors off to recharge before another early start the following  morning. But when the first glimmer of evening light coats the city in its warm, orange glow, the Piazza Santo Spirito fills up once more. The savvy Florentines have booked ahead at the splendid loggia Palazzo Guadagni for aperitivo with one of the best views of the city. Others sit below at the bars, content to have grabbed one of few empty tables at a hotspot like Pop or Volume (a great aperitivo snack platter is to be had at the latter). The drinks never stop flowing–tray after tray of glasses, usually filled to the brim with Aperol Spritz, are brought out onto the square. The drink’s bright orange liquid perfectly matches the intensifying hues of the sunset.  

Finally, the sun disappears, but the buzz in the piazza does not. Fueled by good  food and drinks, the throngs enjoy the evening with electric fervor. Someone usually strums a guitar, and others sing along; a boombox reverberates along the stone of the fountain; beautiful singles exchange furtive and flirty glances across tables. Twenty somethings grab pizzas to go from the nearby Gustapizza and eat on the church steps, while the few remaining diners polish off the last of their dinners before quickly joining the crowd of drinkers. Suddenly, the entire piazza has turned into one gigantic bar, happily chaotic and kinetic, a far cry from the lethargic ambience of the morning hours. As you sit, stand, or perch with your drinks and your friends, you’ll recognize the faces of those who have also visited and re-visited the square throughout the day. Piazza Santo Spirito is a magnet.

It’s impossible to be the last one in Piazza Santo Spirito. Even when you’re desperate for sleep, the piazza is wide awake. It’s quite normal to head to bed–perhaps snagging an order of curly fries from Royal Chicken to soak up your stomach on the way–while the square is still in full swing. When you wake up the next day and head back for your morning coffee, the peaceful languor of the piazza will have returned. Santo Spirito is still tired from the previous night’s jubilant antics.