H. Via Lambertesca

Our next stop (to which “See the route” below will take you) isn’t as much a stop as it is a meandering. We are headed to Via Lambertesca, named after a branch of the ancient Lamberti family. On your way there (if you’re coming from the previous stop), you’ll pass a little street on your left called Via di Capaccio. It’s not much to look at nowadays, but it used to be a big deal. According to Villani, its name comes from the Latin caput aque, which means “water’s end.”

This is where the Roman aqueduct came to its end, dumping the water it had brought all the way from springs on Monte Morello (just to the north of the city) into a large cistern above the Roman baths. In Dante’s times, this area was a bustling neighborhood, full of wooden shops selling silk and stone towers stretching out above them. You’ll notice that the architecture in this area is rather unremarkable. That’s because the Nazis blasted all the nearby buildings to make Ponte Vecchio inaccessible as they abandoned the city in 1944.

After leaving Via Por Santa Maria, which was named after the gate that was near here in the eleventh-century walls, you’ll turn onto Via Lambertesca. That narrow, winding street was full of shops selling everything merchants had to offer back in Dante’s times but it’s rather more solemn today.

From the corner of Via dei Georgofili you can see the spot where the mafia detonated a truck bomb in 1993, killing five people and wounding dozens more. The olive tree was planted in their honor.

Below: a photo from the news, which you can compare to the one above, courtesy of Google maps.

The Accademia dei Georgofili is a society, founded in 1753, dedicated to local agriculture. The medieval tower that once stood here was owned by the same Pulci family to which the famous Renaissance author Luigi Pulci (1432-84) belonged.

Via Lambertesca comes to an end at the Piazzale degli Uffizi. You’ll see Leonardo straight ahead. The statue of Dante is two to your right.

There’s one more spot on this itinerary, but very close to here are other things to see. Among them, are the place where the ancient church of San Piero Scheraggio used to be and Palazzo Vecchio. There are also Dante plaques related to the Uberti family and the Florentine lily.

When you’re ready, go forward to the Roman amphitheater.