Archaeological excavations in Florence have uncovered substantial remains of the city’s medieval fortifications, including part of a bridge, defensive structures and a possible toll-collection room. Italian researchers are also investigating whether some of the construction could have been carried out under the supervision of the celebrated artist Giotto.
The discoveries were made in Piazza Beccaria, on the eastern side of Florence’s historic centre, during work on a new tramway. Archaeologists have exposed sections of the medieval city walls and structures associated with Porta alla Croce, one of the principal entrances into medieval Florence.
Remains of a room beside Porta alla Croce uncovered during excavations in Piazza Beccaria. Archaeologists believe it may have served a defensive function or been used to collect tolls and taxes from those entering medieval Florence. Credit: Soprintendenza Archeologia, Belle Arti e Paesaggio for Florence and Prato
Together, the excavations are providing archaeologists with a clearer picture of what travellers would have encountered when approaching Florence from the east in the early 14th century.
Porta alla Croce formed part of the city’s great medieval circuit of walls. Outside the fortifications ran the San Gervasio moat, which was about 20 metres wide. A bridge, built in 1321, aligned with the gate allowed travellers to cross the moat and enter the city. Earlier excavations uncovered evidence of its outermost arch, constructed with carefully cut stone, while the latest work revealed a second vaulted arch closer to the gate.
“You will recall that evidence of the outermost arch was found—excellently crafted, with a stone lintel and the perimeter structures of a large room resting directly on the arch’s vault,” explained Superintendent Antonella Ranaldi and archaeologist Michele Bueno in the Soprintendenza’s announcement. “Continuing with that discovery, the excavations now underway, closer to the gate, where the tram tracks will run, reveal the second arch above the moat.”
Archaeologists believe the bridge was subsequently enlarged to form a platform resting on two vaulted arches. Above it stood a sizeable room immediately beside the entrance to Florence. Its corners were constructed from dressed stone, while its walls were originally covered with scratched plaster designed to imitate regular courses of masonry.
The original purpose of this room remains uncertain. One possibility is that it served a defensive function, creating a side entrance that could be more easily protected. Another is that it was used for administrative and fiscal purposes, including collecting the gabelle, the tolls and taxes imposed on people and goods entering the city.
The structure continued to be used long after the Middle Ages. Its outline appears on Stefano Bonsignori’s map of Florence from 1584, and by the 19th century the room was being used to hold animals associated with the livestock market outside Porta alla Croce. Nearby had once stood a more ominous feature of the city’s landscape: the place used for public executions.
Did Giotto oversee the work?
Archaeological excavations in Piazza Beccaria reveal the upper surface of one of the arches that crossed the medieval moat outside Porta alla Croce in Florence. Credit: Soprintendenza Archeologia, Belle Arti e Paesaggio for Florence and Prato
The excavations have also raised an intriguing possibility concerning one of medieval Florence’s most famous inhabitants.
The precise date when the newly uncovered outer gateway structures were built has not yet been established. The bridge itself dates from 1321, but the room and enlargement above the arches appear to represent a later phase of construction.
The Florentine chronicler Giovanni Villani records that a major flood struck the Porta alla Croce area in 1333. Francesco Frati of the University of Florence has therefore suggested that rebuilding following the flood may have taken place under the supervision of Giotto.
Best known today for his paintings and the famous bell tower beside Florence Cathedral, Giotto was appointed by the Florentine government on 12 April 1334 as magister et gubernator for public works that were to be constructed or completed. His appointment was not limited to work on Santa Reparata, the cathedral begun by Arnolfo di Cambio, but also covered other public works, including the city’s fortifications.
If the structures at Porta alla Croce were built or reconstructed after the flood of 1333, they could therefore belong to the period when Giotto was overseeing municipal building projects.
For now, however, the connection remains a hypothesis. The Soprintendenza says further archaeological investigation, supported by archival evidence that can provide a more secure construction date, will be needed before the possibility can be confirmed.
New evidence for medieval Florence
Excavations in Piazza Beccaria, Florence, revealing sections of the medieval city walls during work on the new tramway. Photo by Francesco Bini / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0
The discoveries are significant because they are revealing much more than an isolated stretch of medieval wall. Together, the moat, bridge, outer gateway and adjoining room are allowing archaeologists to reconstruct how access to Florence was organised and controlled during the 14th century.
Speaking later to La Nazione, Ranaldi described the discoveries in Piazza Beccaria as “extremely evocative traces of our history.”
“All the data we want to collect and then present together; we are considering an exhibition, and among the initiatives there will certainly be a scientific publication on the various discoveries that have accompanied this significant infrastructure project,” she added. “Work that, on the margins, has also produced archaeological results and evidence, based on an agreement established from the outset that has allowed archaeology to proceed step by step alongside the new construction.”
The medieval structures survived surprisingly close to the modern ground level. Ranaldi told La Nazione that they had been affected by demolitions carried out during Giuseppe Poggi’s 19th-century transformation of Florence, but that the work had removed only as much of the structures as was necessary. This helps explain why substantial remains have survived despite being found relatively near the present street surface.
The newly exposed structures were opened briefly to the public before being covered again so that work on the tramway could continue.
Top Image: A medieval bridge arch uncovered during archaeological excavations at Piazza Beccaria in Florence. The bridge crossed the moat outside Porta alla Croce, one of the entrances through the city’s medieval walls. Credit: Soprintendenza Archeologia, Belle Arti e Paesaggio for Florence and Prato
Archaeological excavations in Florence have uncovered substantial remains of the city’s medieval fortifications, including part of a bridge, defensive structures and a possible toll-collection room. Italian researchers are also investigating whether some of the construction could have been carried out under the supervision of the celebrated artist Giotto.
The discoveries were made in Piazza Beccaria, on the eastern side of Florence’s historic centre, during work on a new tramway. Archaeologists have exposed sections of the medieval city walls and structures associated with Porta alla Croce, one of the principal entrances into medieval Florence.
The latest excavations, carried out by Cooperativa Archeologia under the scientific direction of the Soprintendenza Archeologia, Belle Arti e Paesaggio for Florence and Prato, follow discoveries made in the same area between December 2025 and January 2026.
Reconstructing a medieval gateway
Together, the excavations are providing archaeologists with a clearer picture of what travellers would have encountered when approaching Florence from the east in the early 14th century.
Porta alla Croce formed part of the city’s great medieval circuit of walls. Outside the fortifications ran the San Gervasio moat, which was about 20 metres wide. A bridge, built in 1321, aligned with the gate allowed travellers to cross the moat and enter the city. Earlier excavations uncovered evidence of its outermost arch, constructed with carefully cut stone, while the latest work revealed a second vaulted arch closer to the gate.
“You will recall that evidence of the outermost arch was found—excellently crafted, with a stone lintel and the perimeter structures of a large room resting directly on the arch’s vault,” explained Superintendent Antonella Ranaldi and archaeologist Michele Bueno in the Soprintendenza’s announcement. “Continuing with that discovery, the excavations now underway, closer to the gate, where the tram tracks will run, reveal the second arch above the moat.”
Archaeologists believe the bridge was subsequently enlarged to form a platform resting on two vaulted arches. Above it stood a sizeable room immediately beside the entrance to Florence. Its corners were constructed from dressed stone, while its walls were originally covered with scratched plaster designed to imitate regular courses of masonry.
The original purpose of this room remains uncertain. One possibility is that it served a defensive function, creating a side entrance that could be more easily protected. Another is that it was used for administrative and fiscal purposes, including collecting the gabelle, the tolls and taxes imposed on people and goods entering the city.
The structure continued to be used long after the Middle Ages. Its outline appears on Stefano Bonsignori’s map of Florence from 1584, and by the 19th century the room was being used to hold animals associated with the livestock market outside Porta alla Croce. Nearby had once stood a more ominous feature of the city’s landscape: the place used for public executions.
Did Giotto oversee the work?
The excavations have also raised an intriguing possibility concerning one of medieval Florence’s most famous inhabitants.
The precise date when the newly uncovered outer gateway structures were built has not yet been established. The bridge itself dates from 1321, but the room and enlargement above the arches appear to represent a later phase of construction.
The Florentine chronicler Giovanni Villani records that a major flood struck the Porta alla Croce area in 1333. Francesco Frati of the University of Florence has therefore suggested that rebuilding following the flood may have taken place under the supervision of Giotto.
Best known today for his paintings and the famous bell tower beside Florence Cathedral, Giotto was appointed by the Florentine government on 12 April 1334 as magister et gubernator for public works that were to be constructed or completed. His appointment was not limited to work on Santa Reparata, the cathedral begun by Arnolfo di Cambio, but also covered other public works, including the city’s fortifications.
If the structures at Porta alla Croce were built or reconstructed after the flood of 1333, they could therefore belong to the period when Giotto was overseeing municipal building projects.
For now, however, the connection remains a hypothesis. The Soprintendenza says further archaeological investigation, supported by archival evidence that can provide a more secure construction date, will be needed before the possibility can be confirmed.
New evidence for medieval Florence
The discoveries are significant because they are revealing much more than an isolated stretch of medieval wall. Together, the moat, bridge, outer gateway and adjoining room are allowing archaeologists to reconstruct how access to Florence was organised and controlled during the 14th century.
Speaking later to La Nazione, Ranaldi described the discoveries in Piazza Beccaria as “extremely evocative traces of our history.”
“All the data we want to collect and then present together; we are considering an exhibition, and among the initiatives there will certainly be a scientific publication on the various discoveries that have accompanied this significant infrastructure project,” she added. “Work that, on the margins, has also produced archaeological results and evidence, based on an agreement established from the outset that has allowed archaeology to proceed step by step alongside the new construction.”
The medieval structures survived surprisingly close to the modern ground level. Ranaldi told La Nazione that they had been affected by demolitions carried out during Giuseppe Poggi’s 19th-century transformation of Florence, but that the work had removed only as much of the structures as was necessary. This helps explain why substantial remains have survived despite being found relatively near the present street surface.
The newly exposed structures were opened briefly to the public before being covered again so that work on the tramway could continue.
Top Image: A medieval bridge arch uncovered during archaeological excavations at Piazza Beccaria in Florence. The bridge crossed the moat outside Porta alla Croce, one of the entrances through the city’s medieval walls. Credit: Soprintendenza Archeologia, Belle Arti e Paesaggio for Florence and Prato
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