If Florence is your destination, it's more than likely that you will arrive at the station called Santa Maria Novella, or Firenze SMN for short. It is Florence's main station, built in the Modernist style in 1934, used by 59 million passengers per year, and named after the nearby enormous Dominican church begun in 1246. Normally areas near stations are rather seedy and to be avoided, but this is the exception. In this little area there are so many treasures that you could spend a whole day within a small radius.

Crossing the road in front of the station you will immediately see the church, and walking down the side will come to a lively piazza where its lovely facade is shown to full advantage. If you look closely, the Renaissance facade by Alberti complements the lower gothic arches with circles above, and the scrolls conceal the chapel roofs.