Oltrarno

Rents and house prices among the highest in Italy, with the historic centre out of reach for local salaries because of tourism; public transport, groceries and utilities at average levels; dining and coffee at tourist prices in the centre, normal in the districts. More affordable areas in Novoli, Rifredi, Isolotto and the belt municipalities.

The Oltrarno inside the walls is part of the UNESCO historic core, where the municipal Regulation does not allow new homes to be used as short-term tourist lets. The area has its own ZTL sector, sector O. Reference OMI values are in the data below.

The municipal library is the Pietro Thouar on piazza Tasso, closed since July 2026 because of an air-conditioning fault. Quartiere 1 runs activities in piazza Santo Spirito, at the Nidiaci youth centre and on via del Leone.

112 is the single emergency number; 113, 115 and 118 remain active. Low violent crime, frequent pickpocketing and tourist scams in big cities. Civil Protection weather and seismic alerts and IT-alert messages on mobile phones.

Rules depend on who is arriving: EU/EEA/Swiss citizens (no visa, registration with the Comune after three months), non-EU citizens for stays up to 90 days (Schengen rule, type C visa where required) and for long stays (national type D visa and a residence permit within eight working days of arrival).

The Oltrarno is covered on foot and by bus. Autolinee Toscane runs the C1 shuttle from the Parterre to Santa Maria Soprarno and Porta Romana, lines 12 and 13 between Santa Maria Novella station, Rotonda Barbetti and piazzale Michelangiolo, and from Porta Romana lines 38 and 42 towards the hills.

In the city the Azienda USL Toscana Centro runs the Santa Maria Nuova, San Giovanni di Dio and Palagi hospitals; Careggi has its Trauma Center-emergency room at pavilion 12 DEAS and the Meyer children's hospital a 24-hour paediatric emergency room. Bookings via the CUP line 055 54 54 54, out-of-hours doctor on 116117.

A two-speed economy: tourism employs a very high share of workers in retail, accommodation and catering, often on seasonal contracts; luxury fashion and leather (Florence-Scandicci), pharmaceuticals (Menarini, Eli Lilly), engineering (Nuovo Pignone-Baker Hughes) and the university offer skilled jobs. Employment rates above the national average.

The University of Florence is spread between the centre (humanities, architecture), Novoli (economics, law, political science), Sesto Fiorentino (sciences) and Careggi (medicine); DSU Toscana runs grants, canteens and residences. The European University Institute in Fiesole, Polimoda, the Academy, the Conservatory and dozens of US university programmes.

An Arno basin with summers among the hottest in Italy and muggy nights, cool, damp winters with fog on the plain. PM10 exceeds the daily limit more often than in coastal cities, mainly in winter. Forecasts by the LaMMA consortium, monitoring by ARPAT, municipal heat alerts.

A country of strong local identities: dialects still spoken at home, cuisines and festivals that differ from region to region. Formality with 'Lei', rigid meal times, slow paper-based bureaucracy. Non-EU citizens with a long-stay permit sign an integration agreement with credits.