The Loggia del Pesce (fish loggia) which is located today in Piazza dei Ciompi, is a project by Giorgio Vasari commissioned by Grand Duke Cosimo I de' Medici in 1567.
The loggia was intended to house the fish sellers who, with the construction of the Vasari Corridor, had lost their position on the banks of the Arno and were moved to where via Pellicceria is now located. Whe Florence became Capital of Italy (1865-1871) this position also became an obstacle during the rehabilitation works of the ghetto and the construction of the current Piazza della Repubblica. The loggia was then dismantled and only in 1956 rebuilt again in Piazza dei Ciompi, without its original function but with the original materials, in particular in the spandrels of the arches there are tondos depicting different species of fishes. At number 11 a plaque commemorates the home of Lorenzo Ghiberti, author of the famous Door of Paradise of the Florentine Baptistery.
Recently Piazza dei Ciompi (which takes its name from the "minor workers" of the wool art, protagonists of the famous riot of 1378), after the transfer of the Flea Market to Piazza Annigoni, has been the subject of an important redevelopment and often hosts events of various kinds.
Loggia del pesce e Piazza de' Ciompi
Piazza dei Ciompi
