Florence Pedestrian Streets Map: The Zona Pedonale Explained

The Comune di Firenze map issued for the June 2011 Pitti-Tornabuoni pedestrianization. It is a historical map - see what has changed below.

Florence has two layers of traffic rules, and visitors mix them up constantly. The ZTL limits who can drive into the historic center during certain hours. The aree pedonali - pedestrian areas - are stricter: private cars are banned around the clock, every day, Sundays included. This map shows where those streets are.

On street signs you will see area pedonale - literally "pedestrian area". Italians also say zona pedonale or isola pedonale. Pedonale simply means "pedestrian"; in practice, it means the street is closed to private cars.

What the Map Shows

The city published this map in June 2011, when Mayor Matteo Renzi closed Via de' Tornabuoni to traffic with a symbolic chain on June 24 - the feast of San Giovanni, the city's patron saint. Piazza Pitti and Via Por Santa Maria went car-free the same day. The area around the Duomo had already been pedestrianized in October 2009.

The legend, translated:

• Tipo B (yellow) - pedestrian streets that buses, taxis and licensed car services could still use. This is the web of streets most visitors walk every day: Via dei Calzaiuoli, Via Roma, Via del Corso, Borgo degli Albizi, Via Porta Rossa, Via della Vigna Nuova, Via dei Neri, Borgo San Jacopo and Piazza Santa Croce.
• Tornabuoni (blue) - Via de' Tornabuoni and the streets feeding it, closed to traffic 24 hours a day.
• Por Santa Maria (light blue) - the approach to the Ponte Vecchio and the lanes around Borgo Santi Apostoli.
• Pitti (orange) - Piazza de' Pitti and Via de' Guicciardini.
• Santo Spirito (dark blue) and Santa Maria Novella (green) - the two piazzas, each with its own resident rules.
• Non modificate (lilac) - pedestrian areas that already existed and were left unchanged, including Piazza del Duomo, Piazza della Repubblica and Piazza della Signoria.
• ZTL A, Settore A+ and ZTL B - the limited traffic sectors surrounding the pedestrian streets. These are not car-free; they are permit-controlled.

What Has Changed Since 2011

The pedestrian core on this map is still pedestrian. Nothing shown here has been reopened to cars. What has changed is around the edges:

• The riverfront was added. Lungarno Acciaiuoli, Lungarno Archibusieri and Lungarno Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici - the stretch along the Arno by the Ponte Vecchio and the Uffizi - were pedestrianized in 2020.
• Settore A+ is gone. The Oltrarno got its own ZTL sector, called O, in April 2015.
• The ZTL now has five sectors - A, B, O, F and G - rather than the three shown here.

For current ZTL hours, camera locations and the sector map, use our Florence ZTL driving guide, not this map.

What It Means on Foot

You can walk from Santa Maria Novella to Santa Croce, or from the Duomo across the Ponte Vecchio to Palazzo Pitti, almost entirely on car-free streets. Almost is the important word. Pedestrian does not mean empty: taxis, electric minibuses, delivery vans in the early morning, residents with permits, bicycles and police vehicles all use these streets. Residents and delivery vehicles are generally let in from 6 to 9 a.m. and again from 6 to 7:30 p.m., so those are the hours to keep an eye out.

Bicycles are allowed in the pedestrian areas and will pass close to you. Step out of a doorway on Via dei Calzaiuoli the way you would step into a street.

What It Means If You Are Driving

Do not drive on any street colored on this map, at any hour. A ZTL that is open - evenings, Sundays - does not open the pedestrian areas. The green light at a ZTL gate applies to the gate, not to the pedestrian streets beyond it.

If your hotel is on a pedestrian street, arrive by taxi or ask the hotel in advance how to drop luggage. Hotels can arrange a short luggage stop for guests - about 15 minutes - but that has to be set up before you drive in, not after.