There did seem to be a bit of variety. It was nice that everyone in a family of four didn't have to agree on the same restaurant as it was like a mall food court. Drinks are ordered from a waitress from the one central bar. read more

Farmers market outside in the day time and restaurants that open until late inside. I was only able to visit late in the evening after a few all day tours. We found an assortment of stalls (and an Eataly store). Opted for a fast pasta place and tried a few stalls that offered fresh meats and cheese the next day. Truly something for everyone and since there are so many options, no long lines at any specific stall. Plus plenty of wine and beer for a long day of Tourist-ing. read more

I love it here everything is so great! Very hectic but fun and lively energy! Can get almost any type of food here ranging from Italian to sushi or dumplings! read more

Mercato Centrale - Food Court Near Me - Florence, FI

I love this market! The variety of foods that you can buy here is key. The ground floor is a market with many different vendors of fresh produce, as well as fresh seafood and some ready-to-eat options, such as baked goods and pastas. However, for tourists at least, the bulk of the action is going to be upstairs. Upstairs is a large area with options for wine, coffee, baked goods, pastas, pizzas, and even a couple of sit-down type restaurant options. Basically, you walk around and check out all the food stand options, then you buy what you like & seat yourself. There's even a small grocery store upstairs with dry pastas, sauces, cereals, and personal care items such as soaps/lotions/shampoos. There is also a cooking school. The upstairs restaurant market is pretty popular, so if you go during high season for tourists and especially at peak meal times, expect a wait with long lines. read more

A must!!! We came across this place because my suitcase broke and I needed a replacement. There are so many options and all look great. I order my steak and you mom's chicken ( pictures attached) from Carne E Delizie), my sister had the lasagna and we shared the fresh mozzarella cheese plate. Excellent food. read more

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Wonderful! We shopped around and enjoyed the local produce, wine and specialty products - I only wish we had more time to head to the kiosks upstairs! We ended up coming back the next day for a specialty truffle product tasting; for 15 euro, we received a huge platter of truffled cheeses, meats, sauces, and breads with a full glass of wine. Pretty exceptional. Many of the kiosks start shutting down an hour before the actual close time which is disappointing (although I'd probably do the same thing). Overall, a wonderful culinary experience in Florence! read more

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I love this place you have a lot options The food is good I eat pumpkin organic soup was amazing read more

Specifically Ballerini Hats! Roberto is very charismatic and knowledgeable about the hat business. Great guy to talk with. Love my quality Italian made hay! read more

Our hotel was really close to Mercato Centrale and we were super grateful as this place (food court) closes quite late in the evening so we were able to grab food even when most restaurants were closed. There were a lot of options and overall, the food court was a great place to go and grab some food with friends. Very relaxed vibe. Highly recommend. We returned in the day to check out the market. It was nice but not something to go out of your way for. It's still nice to check out the local vendors and such but the shining star is definitely the food court. The food court is open even when the markets on the ground floor close for the day. There's typically a guard there that will direct you to the elevators to the food court. It's a bit creepy at night when it seems like it's closed and you're taking the elevator up to a warehouse, but rest assured, food heaven awaits you! read more

Great food options! Little pricey but a huge selection and everything is pretty good quality definitely would recommend

Such an amazing place with fresh food and drinks. Smells amazing difficult to just choose 1 thing to eat. I suggest trying many different places. read more

I don't know how I didn't find this place when I was researching Florence for my trip. There is way too much to cover for this location, but there is just cheap (but tasty) food. I had the best gnocchi I've ever had in my life here! And I also had a cannoli with gelatto stuffed in it.....let me write that again. I had a cannoli, then they took strachiatele gelatto and stuffed it into the cannoli. It was by far one of the best things I've ever had in my life and my stomach already misses it. read more

Lunched 18 June 2017: Everything you always wanted to eat in Italy, then some more. The food court was incredible in it's depth and variety. There's even an Eataly there (not that you'd really want to go there) and there was a cooking school where one can book a table and get served a gourmet, multi-course meal by the aspiring chefs. We went upstairs to the MCF # 2 restaurant sit-down service as we didn't want to battle it out with the lunchtime crowd. Of sourse, we had to sample the Tuscan Tomahawk T-Bone and at 55 Euro per Kg, totally worth it. But if you are a steak fanatic and used to 45 day dry-aged, marbled Ribeye or Porterhouse like in Peter Luger or any other NY steakhouses, this is different: the meat is not as soft as it is a lot leaner. It's grilled, but if you don't eat it fast it will turn chewy. The appetizers were excellent: we had the beef Carpaccio, Octopus and a Caprese salad. a Bottel of excellent Cabernet rounds up a great lunch. read more

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This is a super fun place in the historic San Lorenzo market. The base floor is a normal farmers market/grocery store only open during the day that offers vegetables and meat (and more) for sale. Upstairs is a great place to come for locals and tourists alike to mingle, have some great food and lively conversation. Similar to a giant food court, but with the best Italian foods, wine, beer, spirits, and desserts. (They frequently advertise how healthy chocolate is, what's not to love?) We came multiple times and enjoyed the sheer variety of just about anything you want. They even had burgers and fries (cheffed up but great) if you're missing the US. If you're not and want to try local cuisine you can check out a lampradetto sandwich. It's cow stomach soaked in tomato sauce. Delicious and satisfying for the adventurous sort. Big nope from the hubs. There's an arancini and cannoli cart and even a cooking school. You can also check out the information booth for tickets to attractions and sporting events. I'd say it's a must-do while in Firenze. Outside, the cheap vendors hawk their leather goods, silk scarfs and ties, and tourist souvenirs. You can definitely negotiate some good prices, and the leather smelled like real leather and seems to have good stitching and quality so it's a great place to check out if you're on a budget too. read more

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This two-story marketplace and food court is awesome! It's open until midnight daily (the food court at least). The ground floor is a marketplace with numerous vendors selling fresh produce, meat, cheeses, etc. There are also a couple of prepared food vendors downstairs - including some baked goods and a place with savory foods including risotto and fried seafood. The top floor is accessible by stairs at the center of the market or an outdoor escalator. It is a food court with a lot of Italian variety. There are options for wine, coffee, pizzas, pastas, baked goods, salumi/prosciutto/cheeses, etc. It's fun to walk around and check everything out before making your purchases. Thankfully February is low season so we didn't experience the insane waits and lines that people have written about at other times of year. read more

I enjoyed this place very much on a rainy day while passing time. There were so many different food choices and we got to taste a Firenze delicacy. We started off with gelato to whet the palate, of course. Then off to a lampredotto which is tripe and bread. All I can say is WOW! The tripe was so soft and the texture does not remind me of tripe. It tasted like pasta with marinara sauce, which was baffling, but in a good way. It was my favorite dish in Firenze and I wanted another serving. read more

Mercato Centrale - Lampredotto - Food Court Near Me - Florence, FI

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THIS PLACE WAS AMAZING. We liked it so much, we came back later on in the day to do it all over again. My only complaint is that I wish we would have come sooner to experience more of what it had to offer. But it's a must while you're in town. The first floor is a huge market space full of fresh produce, seafood and other local goods. We unfortunately didn't get to walk through, but got to peek inside since it was closed on Sundays. The second floor is a gourmet food court full of pizzas, sandwiches, baked goods, gelatos, coffee, beer, wine and more. I loved the buzz from both locals and tourists that came to eat and enjoy the offerings from each vendor, and I also liked that you could grab a little bit of everything without breaking the bank. Another plus, it's open late, so you can hang out for quite a bit after exploring the city, and they have free wi-fi so you can post all those pics you snapped to your social media accounts as well. Seating comes in the form of communal tables, and we struck up some great conversations with fellow Americans and people that were living nearby. It's a little bit quieter during the day, but at night, it comes alive with people there to hang out, eat, drink and do a little shopping. I can't say enough great things about this place! read more

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Oh my goodness truffle pasta! Let me get to the point, skip walking around the first floor area and head straight to the second floor and get their creamy truffle pasta. This was our first stop as soon as we arrived in Florence. Came here supposedly for Lampredotto but actually enjoyed that immensely that I couldn't care about anything else. The central market building is surrounded by cheap Italian leather bag stalls and the first floor is actually a market. There are food stalls on the first floor for traditional Florentine cuisine open for lunch til 3pm and the second floor is open til midnight. I must admit the setup looked quite like an Eataly and it must be. There's a small Eataly store at the corner and a cooking school near it. There's stations for pasta, pizza, Lampredotto, wine, gelato and other things. Once you sit down, someone will come up to you to get your beverage order. Not bad price wise. 20€ for a truffle pasta, I definitely do not mind. Oh did I tell you I hate truffles? Yes. I used to. I am a changed woman. *licks plate* read more

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This is a must for farmers' market aficionados amongst which my wife and I count ourselves. We are addicted to our own Minneapolis Farmers' Market and have visited markets all over Europe and the USA. The Mercato Centrale Firenze distinguishes itself with an excellent food court on the second floor. The first floor consists primarily of grocery vendors. At the time of year we visited (October) these were mostly butcher shops and cheese and cured meat mongers although I expect that there are more veggies during season. The second floor consists of individual food vendors - really small take out restaurants- selling a variety of foods. This in no way resembles a food court in the USA with a their usual insipid chains. Each vendor here appears to be a small individual business similar to food trucks in the USA. There is a large dining area with lots of seating and most of the people working behind the counters spoke excellent English. The majority of the food items were Tuscan specialities but there were dim sum, hamburgers, and sushi. There were also a couple of bars selling wine and beer. So you can have a regular meal at the Market. I opted for a selection of deep fried tripe, rabbit, and chicken and a variety of veggies including onions, eggplant, zucchini, etc. Sort of an Italian tempura. It was very good although everything tasted more or less the same. There were many other options which looked delicious but I can only eat so much. Outside the market building are many vendors selling mostly leather goods. Inside the market there is also a cooking school and we watched the students prepare fresh pasta. We arrived at about 10:30 am and there weren't many people there but at noon it filled up in a hurry. The market is very clean and not smelly which is sometimes not the case. I would highly recommend a visit to The Mercato Centrale Firenze as an antidote to the impossible lines and crowds at the popular tourist sites. read more

Mercato Centrale - A happy shopper at the Mercado Centrale Firenze - Food Court Near Me - Florence, FI

I don't even know how to put into words how amazing this food market is. We came here twice during our visit to Florence, and it was definitely one of our favorite parts of the trip. Mercato Centrale Firenze is the perfect place to go if you want to try several different things without overstuffing yourself. This gourmet food court is beautifully laid out, clean, and has no shortages of tables. Everything I tried was wonderful: a wood-fire pizza with basil and fresh buffalo mozzarella (so fresh and delicious), a pesto pasta with potatoes (honestly one of the best pasta of the trip), squid ink and ragu risotto balls. My personal favorite vendor is the small Sicilian stand right next to the stairs. The girl who works there is so friendly and offers the BEST freshly piped cannolis. I also had the lemon granita and some risotto balls from here, all delicious! Make sure to visit this gem if you are in Florence, you won't regret it!! read more

Mercato Centrale - Pasta with pesto and potatoes. YUM. - Food Court Near Me - Florence, FI

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Cute food hall in Florence. It has a lot of food options on the second floor. It's clean and quick. Thankfully not too crowded. Got the pizza. It was good! There are plenty of options, sandwiches, pasta, dumplings, etc. also has two bars! Toilets are free and clean! read more

Mercato Centrale - Napoli pizza - Food Court Near Me - Florence, FI

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I stopped by Mercato Centrale multiple times during my stay in Florence. My husband and I tried a variety of food from lampradetto sandwiches to pizza and cannoli. Some of the food was delicious and very affordable, while other dishes were too pricey for the amount and quality. We also enjoyed shopping at Eataly and the market on the first level. I recommend stopping by Marconcini for wine and liquor. You can sample multiple types of wine and alcohol. We ended up buying 3 bottles of wine based off of what we sampled. I wish I could go back for the cannoli and shop for more food and wine! The cannolis are sold at a cart, and they get piped fresh when you order--so delicious! read more

After all my travels, I've realized my favorite (and dare I say BEST) way to explore a new city is through their street/food markets. Mercato Centrale is no exception! This market spans multiple blocks, with the outdoor featuring mostly leather goods (jackets, bags, belts), luggage and various apparel. The inside of the market is basically a food lovers/chefs heaven. Not only can you find colorful, fresh produce and meats, but you can also enjoy freshly prepared porcetta sandwiches, pasta, pizza and wine from Porky's or one of the other restaurants. Beware though, the lines can get crazy! But that's how good the food is. And because of the crowds, it tends to be difficult to get acknowledged so you have to be aggressive and get there early :)) It's dog friendly so bring your pups if you have them. And most of the vendors accept cash only. read more

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A few quick tips for the turisticos: 1. For more unique gifts rather than the generic magnets and ugly shirts, there are small spice packets (€3 - 5) for recreating your favorite Italiano dish back home. There's also the usual dry pastas, olive oils, sweets, and other packable edibles. 2. The popular pasta takeout counter in the southern end of the market has cramped tables for dining - the only sit-down area other than the steps outside. 3. Fresh fruit. Because pasta, pasta, pasta and gelato, gelato, gelato for vacation will make you fat, fat, fat. Be healthy once in awhile. 4. Made-to-order sandwiches (€5 - 10). Pick your meat and cheese from endless selection and enjoy with a beer or glass of wine while browsing. read more

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This is an absolutely awesome Market in the City Center of Florence ("Mercato Centrale")!!! We found everything to be as fresh as it could possibly be. When exploring all of the various shops within the market you will be overwhelmed with the sensory experience of the colors, the aromas, the hustle and bustle, and the opportunity to sample delicious tastes from the local vendors. Everyone we spoke with was very friendly and welcoming. Many of the local restaurants shop right here at this market for the freshest ingredients available. The market does NOT have a touristy feel to it . . . rather, it remains a very authentic Italian marketplace that is frequented as much by local residents as travelers. Having said that, if you are a visitor like we were during our week-long visit to Florence, you'll undoubtedly find it an outstanding place to find wine, cheese, pastas, chocolates, or many other things to choose from, either to take home for yourself, or as gifts. We certainly felt sorry for the poor souls who got left behind on this trip!!, . . . . and the Central Market was the perfect place to find something to share with them as a little "Taste of Italy" as well. Mercato Centrale is a great place for a capucino or latte . . . a focaccia . . . a pastry . . . . a glass of wine . . . a taste of cheese . . . well you get the idea!! You really can't go wrong here no matter what you choose to enjoy!! read more

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The central market in Firenze is the type of place that can be thought of as both a collection of private businesses as well as a public space for the enjoyment of all. It's a meeting place, a cultural exchange, an agora of cuisine. It's also the intersection of the old and new Firenze. The lovely glass and iron hall dates back several hundred years and has hosted a market since. On the first floor is the market, open in the morning and early afternoon. Above you have the market's newest attraction in a food hall that serves cuisine representing many different styles and types of local cuisine. The downstairs market offers too many goods to list here. Some of the highlights include local butchers, enormous selections of vegetables, olive oils, and fresh pasta. This section is worth visiting in the mornings to get fresh foods for your day. Come back at night for dinner, a drink, or dessert upstairs. The upstairs food hall hosts food vendors that run the gamut across Italian cuisine. One station focuses entirely on tartufo (truffles). On our first visit there we tried bruschetta with each type of crostini drenched in tartufo shavings. They even offer a fresh tartufo pasta! We also sampled a fresh Margherita pizza from the pizza station, as well as a focaccia style pizza with turnips. The middle area of the hall is a bar that spans both sides of the upstairs, where you can imbibe in bottles on vino on the cheap, or drop in the wine store upstairs as well. After our first visit, I'm still finding new things to try, such as the well-done gelato or the superb cannoli. No matter how long your stay in Firenze, stop by the central market at least more than once to experience the true heart and soul of the city. read more

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I am a huge fan of Mercato Centrale in general because it is all the things I adore about Italy, food, food, wine, food, and more wine. You could reason that this makes me a glutton, but I am 100% ok with that title. In Florence, it can be easy to get lost in the sea of foodie choices and enticing waffles covered in ice-cream, but stay stay away from the food lining via calzaiuolo and anything near the Duomo. Instead, have a stroll to San Lorenzo, to the Mercato Centrale, where for decades, nonni and expats have been picking up fresh fruit & veg, and having fun while doing so. The best part is that this past year they expanded the market and on the first floor exists a sort of 'fancy food court' featuring all local products. You have a mozzarella cheese stand (awesome), fresh pasta, pizza which is one of the best in the city, a chianti classico wine corner, fresh tartare and local meats, seafood, organic soup & juices, an EATALY corner and a cute caffe/restaurant. Basically this should be a first stop for anyone who wants to get an idea of what kind of food Tuscany has. I also like the fact that they are open till midnight every day of the week. Spot on Florence! read more

Whenever we're in Florence, Mercato Centrale is our hangout place for good food and late night cravings. Food selection is enormous with vendors specializing in pasta, seafood, beer, sweets and pizza. MR says ... they're open late which is the best time to go. less crowd. MRS says ... i like the seafood vendor. i love their fried fish (which are crispy fried shrimps, squids, smelt/anchovies fish) and grilled seafood from squid to prawns. they have mussels in some broth served with bread that's really savory. there's a pizza place that i like at Mercato Centrale. they make 3 types of pizza and napoli is my fave. read more

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Food - 5 Atmosphere - 5 Service - 5 Price - 5 How can I put this in a way that captures the entire experience without rambling on and on about how ridic everything was? First off, get the Margarita Pizza. Then get is again with sausage on it. We got it both times with sausage.......in the same day! Thats how good it is. In a way you really don't have to eat anywhere else in this market while your in Florence because it has something there for everyone. My only hesitation in making that statement is that you should visit other places because some are just as good if not better in some areas. read more

During our 2.5 day stay in Florence, we stopped by 3 times. So I think I can safely say, we really, really liked this place. They open at 10 so not quite the place for an early breakfast but I'd say the time to hit up Mercato Centrale is during lunch. We stopped by twice at about 10AM to get our pastry and coffee fix but besides these two stores, the market didn't quite seem open. There wasn't a crowd and you could easily walk to the nearest table to have a seat. Contrast this with the lunch crowd: We had to inch our way across the market for you couldn't put your hand in your pocket without elbowing the person next to you. Unsurprisingly, there were no empty tables, but you know the market was in full swing. Definitely worth stopping in, be it for the market or for lunch - I'm sure you'll have a great experience! read more

Everyone else is reviewing the food, but what about the leather goods? Or am I reviewing the wrong market? This is the FIRST place to shop for good deals and great bargaining. You will not find better prices on the leather goods, scarves, ties, etc. anywhere else in the city. Go here first! read more

Really cool market, but I wish that it was more visible! The place looked closed until I decided to go up the shady escalators, and it turns out there were quite a few people upstairs in the late afternoon. There were a handful of places selling pizzas, truffles, pastas, seafood, and desserts. I didn't end up getting food, but all the stands looked amazing--way better than typical food court stands. There are two small specialty markets in the back, as well as a space for cooking classes. The decor is bright and open, and it's a great space for groups if different people are craving different items! read more

Great spot to walk around and grab something to eat and drink. The first floor is where you can buy goods like meats, cheeses, fish, pastas, fruits, veggies, etc for home. The second floor is more like a food hall where you can choose from many different stalls. There's also a small Eataly on the second floor along with a cooking kitchen. You will be able to find seating upstairs for you to eat and also toilets. One can definitely kill two hours wandering and eating here. read more

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Everyone has to come here! A local told me about it, and anything you want to find in Italy as far as food and/or food items for gifts, you will find at a great price here. I bought some Italian truffles after sampling on crackers. They wrapped them up really well as soon as I said 'gift' and 'suitcase' and they made it home just fine. On the first floor you'll find all of the meat, candy, flowers, veggies, that locals have to sell. If you take the escalator to the second floor, you'll find all of the restaurants that are cooking with the local wares. The food there is amazing. Come here just before you leave to get gifts that everyone will appreciate and have lunch afterwards. read more

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Quite good! Of course I love a market just like any other foodie/yelper, so I had to come and check Mercado Centrale out. The first floor isn't really that practical for tourists to look at since we can't really bring any produce across the oceans. But; it's still cool to see the local products and people. The second floor is pretty commercialized and touristy but they serve great food at a good price without the pressure of fine dining. We came for lunch and dinner. For lunch I tried out a focaccia sandwich from the cheese counter with burrata, mixed greens, and prosciutto. Delicious! €6. My dad had the roast pork sandwich and that was €5. For dinner we went to the pizza place and got two pizzas- margherita and the ham/sage one. I didnt like the sage one too much becasue the flavor was a bit overpowering, but the margherita pizza was ON POINT. The crust/dough was perfect. read more

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Absolutely worth a stop for a variety of delicious local bites and drinks for a low price! Third floor is a highly organized market that's ideal for a group with a myriad of tastes! Certainly not fine dining, but quite perfect for the budget-minded! read more

Mercato Centrale - Food from 4 vendors! - Food Court Near Me - Florence, FI

Great variety and value! We had a wonderful lunch with a pizza (Margherita) and burger (Donatello). Dozens of vendors to choose from. We also each had a beer (a regional Italian of unknown name). Staff was polite and helpful, most speaking English to assist our purchases. We'll swing back here for lunch again as we tour this beautiful city. Ciao! read more

Mercato Centrale - Food Court Near Me - Florence, FI

Awesome to see the variety of food in a cute food court. It's a bit of a miss depending on which stand one you go to. This place is always crowded during peak season and it's sometimes hard to find any open seating. Worse if you are a large group. Great for choices but food isn't amazing or worthy of even mentioning in detail. Arancini was good. Tortelli not good. Pizza not great. Gelato was like any other gelato. Cannolo was good. Wine is always good. read more

Mercato Centrale - Tortelli was bland. Squid aracini was good. - Food Court Near Me - Florence, FI

This market is a must! If you're touristing in the centre of Firenze and just want to grab something quick and keep with your journey, this is your place. It also has a market with many goods, but we only experienced the food area in the second floor. The prices are really good for the quality and freshness of the products. So much better than any restaurant in the touristic area. The ambience is nice, modern, casual, a little bit loud, but very clean and with nice music at the background (they have their own radio station 'Radio Mercato Centrale'. You go directly to the stand of your interest and order/pay there. As we are kind of tired of pasta, we went to the 'Familia Savigni' stand and order 1 kilo of 'Bisteca alla fiorentina'. If you love rear meat, this is your dish. It was enough for my husband and I and we added some potatoes for 3 euros. This dish is highly recommended, we loved it!!!! But everything we saw, looked amazing and fresh. The drinks are brought by waiters, once you find a table to seat, you can order your drinks and pay them right there to the waiter. They also have free wifi and free phone chargers. Can we ask for more? Don't think so. Great experience, but one visit is not enough. We're looking forward to go again and try some other dish. read more

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This is a great indoor food and restaurant market! First floor is like groceries and fresh fruits, and the second floor is like a food court with different restaurants. There is a truffle restaurant that was Great and only 20euros for a salad with a while entire truffle shaved before our eyes! I overheard a local tour guide telling two ppl that that truffle (tartufo) restaurant was the only one worth eating at :) which made me happy because I'm always trying to avoid tourist traps. read more

Mercato Centrale - Food Court Near Me - Florence, FI