Florence: Mercato Santo Spirito

Well we’re finally home from Florence and we had the most amazing time!

I feel like I’ve experienced a time-warp: it seems like so long since I went about my normal day-to-day life but at the same time the holiday seems like a quick blur right about now.

Of course my next few posts will be about my trip, starting with one of my favourite experiences, the monthly Santo Spirito Mercato (market).

Santo Spirito market

On the second Sunday of every month, a mercato takes place in Florence’s Piazza di Santo Spirito.

A real hotch-potch of wares, you can browse fashion and jewellery (including vintage and handmade pieces), homewares, food and one-off items such as war medals, vintage flags and even antique sporting equipment.

Wearing: French Connection cotton top, Hobbs linen skirt, Next patent leather sandals, Ray Ban sunglasses via very.co.uk, Argento wishbone necklace, rings bought in Florence.

The vintage fashion stalls were absolute treasure troves: Prada, Fendi, Gucci, Versace (of course), Dior, Ray Ban… I loved this handmade midi strawberry print skirt – how SS11?!

I really wish I’d bought this leather card holder – the monogram is of my initials!

I could have spent a small fortune on handbags alone, however I stuck within a more realistic budget and bought myself this turquoise ring (exactly what I’ve been looking for recently) for only €10.

I also browsed this soap and fragrance stall and purchased some gorgeous green apple-scented soaps. You could also mix your own perfume from a choice of popular notes.

Homewares on offer included everything from furniture to art to household accessories like lamps and mirrors. This amazingly bright armoire was my favourite interiors item!

It’s a completely amazing market, as you can hopefully see. I could have spent a fortune – and all day there, although a hour and a half was enough for Chris!

Whilst this particular market is only on once a month, there are stalls in Piazza di Santo Spirito daily, selling mainly food, and they usually pack up around 1pm.

There was also a fantastic food market last Sunday, the third of the month, although I’m not sure about the regularity of it. Morsels available included olive oils (including one at €70 for a bottle, wowzers), Italian meats and cheeses, pastries, sandwiches, chutneys/pickles, honey and preserves. There were also a couple of other stalls such as a woodwork stall and a man selling beautiful leather belts, and there was even a family selling kittens – I’ll never know how they didn’t end up in my suitcase!

Mercato Centrale

Florentine markets also include Mercato Centrale, also known as Mercato de San Lorenzo, which is located around Via dell’Ariento (between the train station, Santa Maria Novella, and the Duomo). Selling mainly leather goods such as handbags and belts, be sure to haggle to get the best deals: I was a virgin haggler but was considering purchasing a bag and I easily managed to get the seller to drop to €100 from €145 (I didn’t buy it in the end). All in all though it’s not the best of markets, especially when compared to that at Santo Spirito.