The Chiostro dello Scalzo: a black-and-white masterpiece in the heart of Florence

While endless queues form nearby outside the Uffizi and the Accademia, on Via Cavour a discreet door opens onto one of Florence's best-kept secrets. The Chiostro dello Scalzo is a tiny courtyard, marked out by slender columns, where you don't come to admire a single famous work but to immerse yourself in an entire space painted by a single hand. Here there is no crowded ticket office, no clamour: often you are left alone with the walls.

Andrea del Sarto's monochrome

What makes this place extraordinary is its technique. Between 1509 and 1526, Andrea del Sarto frescoed the walls with the Stories of Saint John the Baptist entirely in monochrome, a chiaroscuro of nothing but shades of grey that imitates sculpture and bas-relief. Without colour, the scenes take on a suspended solemnity, almost a dream carved into stone. Two episodes were executed by Franciabigio during the artist's stay in France, yet the whole retains a rare coherence.

The cloister was the seat of a confraternity dedicated to Saint John the Baptist, and it owes its intimate atmosphere to this devotional purpose. The scenes are read slowly, one after another, like the pages of a story that unfolds along the walls. Four figures of the Virtues flank the entrances. Everything invites silence, a sobriety that is itself part of the message of the place.

Opening hours and admission

The most concrete advantage, for anyone seeking alternatives to Florentine overtourism, is also a practical one: admission is free. The hours, however, are limited and rotate across certain days of the week and alternating Saturdays and Sundays, so it's worth checking the opening times before turning up. Twenty minutes are enough for the visit, but they're worth a full hour inside a crowded museum.

A different pace

Visiting the Scalzo means choosing a different rhythm of Florence. It's reached on foot from Piazza San Marco and can be combined with a stroll through the surrounding streets, far from the beaten track. It's proof that the most visited city in Italy still keeps corners where art can be savoured in peace, respecting the places and those who live in them.

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How to get there

The Chiostro dello Scalzo is on Via Cavour, in central Florence, just north of the Duomo and near the San Marco area and the Galleria dell'Accademia. It is easily reached on foot from Firenze Santa Maria Novella, the city's main station. The reference airport is Florence-Peretola (Amerigo Vespucci), connected to the centre by tram. The historic centre is largely pedestrianised and traffic-restricted, so it's best to arrive by train or leave the car on the outskirts.

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