San Giovanni Valdarno is laid out in a grid pattern, with a fairly large square in the town's center, which is occupied by Palazzo Arnolfo, the Town Hall.
The name Arnolfo may ring a bell: Arnolfo di Cambio was Florence's master architect in the late 1200s, the man charged with building Florence's Cathedral, and the city's decision to have him turn his attention to the layout of San Giovanni Valdarno gives a good indication of just how important Florence considered loosening the feudal nobility's hold on the countryside to be.
Arnolfo did an excellent job; in addition to laying out three parallel boulevards, which the façades of the houses would open onto, he put alleyways behind the houses that allowed for light and ventilation and made it possible to plant small gardens. And he made certain there was a well for every two houses.
By the standards of the time this was quite advanced.
The name Arnolfo may ring a bell: Arnolfo di Cambio was Florence's master architect in the late 1200s, the man charged with building Florence's Cathedral, and the city's decision to have him turn his attention to the layout of San Giovanni Valdarno gives a good indication of just how important Florence considered loosening the feudal nobility's hold on the countryside to be.
Arnolfo did an excellent job; in addition to laying out three parallel boulevards, which the façades of the houses would open onto, he put alleyways behind the houses that allowed for light and ventilation and made it possible to plant small gardens. And he made certain there was a well for every two houses.
By the standards of the time this was quite advanced.
