Cross Ponte Vecchio and keep walking into Oltrarno, where actual Florentines live and work. This quartiere preserves the city's artisan tradition — Leather workshops, furniture restorers, goldsmiths still operating from medieval spaces.

Start at Santo Spirito church (free entry, perfect Brunelleschi proportions) then explore the grid of streets behind it. Via Santo Spirito has tiny botteghe where you can watch craftsmen hand-tooling leather. Prices beat tourist shops near the Duomo, quality is infinitely superior.

The urban fabric here feels authentically medieval — Narrow streets following original property lines, neighborhood bars where elderly men play scopa, family trattorias without English menus. It's Florence before the tourist economy completely transformed the centro storico. The architectural rhythm and scale remind me of Prague's quieter quarters before over-commercialization.