Place · Italy
The history of Florence, one place at a time
Assembled from 3 dug tiles · 23 sourced records · last reviewed 23 August 2026
Florence gathers around Piazza della Signoria and its cathedral: seat of a medieval republic, site of a friar's execution, ground where Medici dukes raised bronze monuments, and a Duomo built directly over the city's first cathedral. Republic gave way to Medici rule, and each layer left its mark.
These are the individual spots Strata has dug in Florence — not a guide to the town, but a record of what happened on particular ground.
Digs in Florence
A friar's ashes were thrown into the Arno herea friar burned where you stand Girolamo Savonarola
1–1594 A cathedral was built directly over Florence's first one
A cathedral built over a buried cathedral Siege of Florence
300–1530 A columned façade stands where a republic was overthrown
bronze duke watches Piazza della Signoria Palazzo delle Farine
1545–1594
Florence in layers
The octagonal Baptistery of San Giovanni, dedicated to the city's patron saint, was where Florentine infants were baptized in mass ceremonies on Holy Saturday and Pentecost. Florence Baptistery
1st century AD; excavated from 1876
Excavations begun in 1876 and resumed into the 2000s revealed a 1st-century Roman theatre lying directly under the Palazzo Vecchio and Palazzo Gondi, its auditorium once facing this square. Wikipedia — Roman Theatre of Florence
before 1296
Santa Reparata, Florence's earlier cathedral, once stood directly under the floor of the present Duomo, right where you're standing. Santa Reparata, Florence
405 AD
Florence was besieged in 405 AD as part of the barbarian invasions unraveling the Western Roman Empire. Siege of Florence
5th or 6th century AD
Around sixty skeletons, tightly packed and including children wedged among adults, were unearthed near the Uffizi from a fifth or sixth-century plague burial. The Local Italy
from 1115
The Florentine Republic, which originated in 1115 after the Florentines rebelled against the Margraviate of Tuscany, made this square its lasting political centre for centuries. Wikipedia — Republic of Florence
1296–1436
Florence Cathedral was begun in 1296 in the Gothic style and not finished until 1436, when Brunelleschi's dome finally capped it. Florence Cathedral
1299
Built as the Palazzo della Signoria, the seat of Florence's ruling body since the medieval republic, the fortress-like town hall rises 53 metres away and has carried the city's power under many names — Palazzo del Popolo, Palazzo Ducale, Palazzo Vecchio. Wikipedia — Palazzo Vecchio
1419–1420s
Baldassare Cossa, deposed as Antipope John XXIII, was given an elaborate marble-and-bronze tomb by Donatello after his death in 1419, one of the last papal tombs built outside Rome. Tomb of Antipope John XXIII
1436
Inside the cathedral, a 1436 fresco by Paolo Uccello commemorates John Hawkwood, an English soldier-for-hire hired out as Florentine propaganda after his death. Funerary Monument to Sir John Hawkwood
1456
Andrea del Castagno painted a matching fresco of the condottiero Niccolò da Tolentino on the cathedral's left wall in 1456. Equestrian Monument of Niccolò da Tolentino
7 February 1497
On 7 February 1497, a year before his own execution on the same ground, Savonarola's followers piled up and burned books, paintings, mirrors and fine clothing in the piazza, destroying works by Boccaccio, Fra Bartolomeo and Lorenzo di Credi. The Conversation
23 May 1498
On 23 May 1498 the Dominican friar Girolamo Savonarola and two companions, Domenico da Pescia and Silvestro Maruffi, were hanged and then burned at the stake in Piazza della Signoria, a spot marked today by the plaque bearing his name at your feet. National Gallery, London
1525–1534
Baccio Bandinelli's Hercules and Cacus, finished in 1534 beside the Palazzo Vecchio entrance, was commissioned as a political counterpart to Michelangelo's David and provoked bitter rivalry between the sculptors. Wikipedia — Hercules and Cacus
1529–1530
Imperial and papal forces laid siege to Florence in 1529–1530, ending the last Florentine Republic and restoring Medici rule. Siege of Florence
1545–1554
Benvenuto Cellini's bronze Perseus with the Head of Medusa, unveiled in the piazza on 27 April 1554 before Michelangelo and other rivals, stands under the Loggia dei Lanzi 48 metres from here. Wikipedia — Perseus with the Head of Medusa
1545–1554, unveiled 27 April 1554
Benvenuto Cellini's bronze of Perseus, unveiled in 1554 alongside Michelangelo's David in the piazza a short walk south, stands under the arches of the Loggia dei Lanzi. Wikipedia
from 1550
Built from 1550 for Giovanni Uguccioni, this palace on the square is uniquely fronted with columns and has been attributed, without certainty, to Raphael or Michelangelo among others. Wikipedia — Palazzo Uguccioni
from 1550
Palazzo Uguccioni, built from 1550 for Giovanni Uguccioni in a design whose authorship has been claimed for Raphael, Michelangelo and Palladio alike, still bears the single arcaded façade unique in the city. Wikipedia
1560–1574
Cosimo I de' Medici commissioned the Fountain of Neptune in 1559 to mark his gift of clean water to Florence, and it was later rededicated to celebrate his son Francesco's marriage; it stands 26 metres from where you are. Wikipedia — Fountain of Neptune, Florence
1560–1574
Cosimo I commissioned the Fountain of Neptune in 1559 to mark the arrival of clean water to the city, and it was later rededicated to celebrate his son Francesco's marriage to Joanna of Austria, a short walk southwest across the piazza. Wikipedia
1587–1594
Giambologna's bronze equestrian statue of Cosimo I de' Medici, cast between 1587 and 1594, was erected in the piazza to fix the Medici dynasty permanently into its centre. Wikipedia — Equestrian Monument of Cosimo I
1587–1594
Giambologna's bronze equestrian statue of Cosimo I de' Medici, cast between 1587 and 1594, stands almost underfoot at the edge of Piazza della Signoria. Wikipedia / OSM Historic
Questions about Florence
What is Florence known for historically?
Florence is known for Piazza della Signoria, seat of the Florentine Republic from 1299 (Palazzo Vecchio) and, from 1115, the square around which the Republic took shape. It later became a stage for Medici power, holding Giambologna's bronze Cosimo I on horseback from 1594 and Cellini's Perseus, unveiled in 1554.
What happened at Piazza della Signoria in 1498?
On 23 May 1498 the Dominican friar Girolamo Savonarola and two companions were hanged and burned there, on ground marked today by a bronze plaque, and their ashes were swept into the Arno to prevent any shrine forming. A year earlier, on 7 February 1497, the same square had held his Bonfire of the Vanities.
What is the Palazzo Uguccioni known for?
Palazzo Uguccioni, raised from 1550 for Giovanni Uguccioni at the corner of Via dei Calzaiuoli and Via delle Farine, carries the only columned façade in Florence. Its design has long been disputed among Raphael, Michelangelo and Palladio, and it overlooks Piazza della Signoria.
What lies beneath Florence Cathedral?
Santa Reparata, the city's first cathedral, lies buried beneath the floor of the Duomo, which rose over it between 1296 and 1436. Nearby, the Baptistery holds the tomb of a deposed antipope, buried in the 1419–1420s.
What happened during the siege of Florence?
The siege of 1529–1530 ended the Florentine Republic and restored Medici rule, fought in streets to the southwest of the cathedral. An earlier siege had struck the city in 405 AD, in the age of Rome's fall.
What monuments stand in Piazza della Signoria?
The square holds Cellini's bronze Perseus with the Head of Medusa (1545–1554), Bandinelli's Hercules and Cacus (1525–1534), Ammannati's Fountain of Neptune (1560–1574), and Giambologna's equestrian statue of Cosimo I (1587–1594), alongside Palazzo Vecchio, the Republic's seat from 1299.