A part of Via dei Servi, between Piazza Santissima Annunziata and Via del Castellaccio, is now only open to foot traffic. The City of Florence decided to close the street to automobile traffic in an attempt to give new value and to make more accessible the lesser known works of architect and artist Filippo Brunelleschi.
Brunelleschi is best known for the construction of the Duomo of Florence, a masterpiece that is considered still to this day one of the world’s architectural wonders. Tourists arrive from all over the globe to see this incomparable example of Renaissance architecture. However, Brunelleschi is also the designer behind many other churches and palazzi of great merit throughout the city. Although experts have noted the architectural merit of these other structures, most tourists and even city residents pass by many of these masterpieces completely unaware of their importance.
The unfinished Rotonda di Santa Maria degli Angeli on Via dei Servi is one of Brunelleschi’s churches. He began construction on the rotunda in 1433, revisiting the classical style with the octagonal interior of this church. Hopes are that with these traffic restrictions, areas of the centre that are not on the average tourist’s itinerary will soon be added and that Brunelleschi’s “smaller” accomplishments will receive more of the attention they deserve.
The initiative begun on Via dei Servi will be continued in the area of another Brunelleschi Church, Santo Spirito.
