Savonarola has a very mixed history with Florence.  It ended very badly for him.

I always thought that the only memorial Florentines were willing to grant him is the roughly 36″ circle embedded in the Piazza della Signoria that marks where he was burned at the stake.  Then I found that his memory is alive and well at the San Marco convent.

But, I was wrong.  I recently discovered the large Piazza Savonarola in the eastern district of Florence. It’s located here, marked by the red pin.  You can see where it is in relationship to Piazza della Liberta’:

 

Here are some aerial views to show you how big the piazza is.

So, I decided to check the piazza out.  Savonarola statue stands in center of the square, facing south.  Hi feverish eyes are reproduced in the statue.

I don’t have a particular fondness for Savonarola; as a matter of fact, I blame him for the destruction of many fine paintings and other works of art in his bonfires of the vanity.

Since it was a holiday the day I was in the square, not many restaurants were open.  I found an open-air pizzeria next to Savonarola’s piazza and decided to give it a try.  I was highly entertained when I saw on the menu that they have a Savonarola pizza.  I tried it. It was ok, not great.

Polizia a cavallo ride the premises of Villa Demidoff, offering protection and beauty at the same time. Sign me up for protection, please!

1. Ponte alle Grazie

Here’s how the bridge looks today:

 

Here’s how it looked around 1875:

It looked like this for a few centuries before it was rebuilt in the late 19th century.  Here, for example, is a 17th century engraving of the bridge.

 

You can read all about this bridge’s fascinating history, begun, as it was, before the Ponte Vecchio! Until the last part of the 19th-century, it looked like this, with the houses on it in which nuns lived.

See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ponte_alle_Grazie

 

2. Piazza della Repubblica

Here’s how it looks today:

 

Here’s how it looked about 125 years ago.

The present appearance of the piazza is the result of the city planning carried out when  Florence was the capital of Italy (1865–71), and after, with particularly intense renovation activity in this Piazza between 1885 and 1895. The vintage photo below shows the old houses in the process of demolition, to make way for the showy new Piazza della Repubblica.

A good summary of this very important ground in Florence can be found here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piazza_della_Repubblica,_Florence