Cafés in Sant'Ambrogio

The market and the Cibreo corner

Giuseppe Mengoni's cast-iron and glass market hall opened in 1873; it trades every morning except public holidays, with clothing and food stalls outside and more food vendors and restaurants indoors.²

Fabio Picchi opened his restaurant Cibreo here in 1979 with money lent by his father and added satellites over the years, among them Caffè Cibreo and the Teatro del Sale, which he founded with the actress Maria Cassi in 2003.³ He handed the business to his son Giulio in February 2021 and died in February 2022.³ Caffè Cibreo, at Via Andrea del Verrocchio 5r, opens daily from 09:00 until midnight.

Borgo la Croce

The street takes its name from Porta alla Croce, named in turn for a cross that stood roughly where Piazza Beccaria is now; tradition holds it marked the spot where Saint Miniato was beheaded.¹ After Alessandro de' Medici closed another gate to build a fortress, condemned prisoners were walked along the borgo to their execution.¹

Fluid, at number 59, was the first café of Le Piantagioni del Caffè, a roaster from Livorno, and pulls its espresso on La Marzocco Modbar machines set low in the counter.⁴ Coffee Mantra, at the corner with Via della Mattonaia, serves single origins with plant-based milks and pastries from Wild Buns Bakery.⁴

Ditta Artigianale and the €2 decaf

Ditta Artigianale & Hario Cafe is at Via Giosuè Carducci 2–4r. In May 2022 a customer at Ditta's Sant'Ambrogio bar called the municipal police over a €2 decaf, and the bar was fined €1,000 because the price was shown only on a QR-code menu; Francesco Sanapo said the fine was fair but that the rule should change, given how many products bars now sell.⁵

The synagogue and Piazza Beccaria

The synagogue on Via Luigi Carlo Farini was built between 1874 and 1882 in a Moorish Revival style, its copper dome deliberately oxidized green to stand out on the skyline; it also houses the Jewish Museum of Florence.⁶ In summer its garden has hosted the Balagan Café, evenings of music, talks and kosher aperitivo; in 2019 the series reached its seventh edition, with aperitivo at €10.⁷

At the far end of the borgo, Pasticceria Dolci e Dolcezze on Piazza Cesare Beccaria uses Corman butter and Valrhona chocolate and fills its croissants with cream, chocolate, raspberries or orange compote.⁸ Caffe Lorenzo is on the same square.