San Firenze Square and San Filippo Neri Church, Florence

The San Firenze Complex, in Florence

The San Firenze Complex is a rare baroque building in the heart of Florence, a former convent become the seat of the courthouse. The Florence audio-guided tour stops here to evoke this monument with a fine baroque façade, an exception in a town dominated by the Renaissance.

The rare baroque façade of Florence

Located on the Piazza San Firenze, this building was formerly a convent and today shelters notably the seat of the courthouse of the town. It stands out by its baroque-style façade, rather rare in the centre of Florence, where Renaissance art dominates and where the buildings most often display sober and classical lines. The building was built in the sixteenth century, and its current façade, richly adorned, was added a century later, at the time when the baroque style was flourishing in Italy. Linked to the congregation of San Filippo Neri, the ensemble included a church and conventual spaces. With its curves, its volutes and its characteristic ornaments, its façade brings a touch of exuberance and theatricality in the Florentine landscape. A witness of this period and an architectural curiosity, the San Firenze Complex is an interesting stop of the discovery of Florence.

What to see

You admire the building with a rare baroque façade, an exception in a centre of Florence dominated by the Renaissance, built in the sixteenth century with its richly adorned façade added a century later, a former convent linked to San Filippo Neri become the seat of the courthouse, with its curves, its volutes and its ornaments. The San Firenze Complex is a curiosity of Florence. It is a stop to be discovered, to be explored on foot.

Practical information

The San Firenze Complex lies on the Piazza San Firenze, in the heart of Florence, near the Bargello, reachable on foot. You mainly admire its façade from the square; the building shelters official functions whose access follows its own conditions. You discover it during a walk in the centre.

Why is the façade of San Firenze remarkable in Florence?

Because it is of baroque style, rather rare in the centre of Florence where the Renaissance dominates; the building was built in the sixteenth century, its richly adorned façade added a century later, and the former convent today shelters the seat of the courthouse.