Mercato delle Pulci di Piazza dei Ciompi (Oltrarno Antique Dealers)
While the famous San Lorenzo market sells leather bags to tourists, the antique dealers clustered around Via Maggio and the monthly Flea Market in Piazza Santo Spirito cater to Florentines who actually furnish their apartments from them. Via Maggio in particular is one of the great antique streets of Italy — a kilometre of 16th-century palaces whose ground floors have been turned into treasure-fil
Via Maggio: The Antique Street
Running from Ponte Santa Trinita deep into Oltrarno, Via Maggio is lined with around 30 serious antique dealers selling everything from Florentine cassone wedding chests to Art Deco silverware, 18th-century maps of Tuscany and vintage Murano glass.
You do not need to buy to enjoy it — the shops are open-fronted and browsing is welcomed. The dealers are knowledgeable and often speak English; asking about provenance is a conversation starter, not an imposition.
Piazza Santo Spirito Monthly Antique Market
On the second Sunday of each month, Piazza Santo Spirito transforms into a proper antique and vintage market with around 50 stalls selling furniture, prints, ceramics, jewellery and curios. It runs 09:00–19:00 and attracts a mix of dealers, collectors and curious locals.
Prices are negotiable, especially after midday. Arrive early for the best finds — a framed 19th-century botanical print or a set of hand-painted majolica plates make far better souvenirs than anything sold near the Duomo.
What to Look For
Florentine specialities to hunt for: scagliola (inlaid plaster panels imitating pietra dura stone), leather-bound antique books, hand-marbled paper from the workshops on Borgo San Jacopo, and silver filigree jewellery.
For marbled paper specifically, Il Papiro on Piazza del Duomo is the famous name, but the small workshop Giulio Giannini e Figlio on Piazza Pitti has been making it since 1856 and sells directly from the studio.
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