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San Lorenzo & San Marco

Market and Medici quarter north of the Duomo

San Lorenzo and San Marco north of the Duomo are the market and Medici quarter, home to the Mercato Centrale, the Medici Chapels and Michelangelo's David in the Accademia.

The bare sandstone facade of the Basilica of San Lorenzo with the Medici dome to the right and a busy square full of tourists.

Market and Medici

North of the Duomo lies the busy quarter around San Lorenzo, the Medici's parish and burial church. Here stands their first city palace, the Palazzo Medici Riccardi with Gozzoli's Chapel of the Magi, and the Medici Chapels, their lavish mausoleum. A well-known street market spreads out around the basilica, and the Mercato Centrale food hall feeds locals and travellers alike with Tuscan food.

David and cloisters

A little further north, around Piazza San Marco, you'll find the Accademia Gallery with Michelangelo's David and the Museo di San Marco with Fra Angelico's frescoes. The university and the market keep this quarter lively and grounded in everyday life.

Conveniently located

Thanks to its proximity to the Duomo and the main railway station, the quarter is well connected and makes a practical, lively base, with food and sights alike right on your doorstep.

Around San Lorenzo & San Marco

The bare sandstone facade of the Basilica di San Lorenzo with the Medici dome to the right and a busy square full of visitors.

Basilica di San Lorenzo

The Basilica di San Lorenzo was the Medici family's parish and burial church, with Brunelleschi's Renaissance architecture, Donatello's bronze pulpits and Michelangelo's Biblioteca Laurenziana.

Looking up into the dome of the Cappella dei Principi

Medici Chapels

The Medici family's mausoleum behind San Lorenzo combines the opulent Chapel of the Princes with Michelangelo's New Sacristy and its famous Times of Day allegories.

Close-up of Michelangelo's David statue in the Galleria dell'Accademia, showing the head and shoulders in detail.

Galleria dell'Accademia

The Accademia Gallery holds the original of Michelangelo's David, five metres carved from a single block of Carrara marble, flanked by the unfinished Prigioni and Tuscan panel painting.

The cast-iron hall of the Mercato Centrale above the rooftops

Mercato Centrale

The Mercato Centrale near San Lorenzo, a cast-iron hall from 1874, combines a fresh-produce market downstairs with a food court of over twenty stalls upstairs.

The rusticated façade of Palazzo Medici Riccardi on Via Cavour

Palazzo Medici Riccardi

The first great Medici city palace, built from 1444 by Michelozzo. Famous for Benozzo Gozzoli's radiant fresco cycle of the Magi and Luca Giordano's Baroque Hall of Mirrors.