FIRENZE Soundscapes
an evolving sound map of florence
Loggia dei Lanzi
Location
Piazza della Signoria, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
20th August 2017 - early afternoon
Recorder
Zoom H6 with MS microphone
Description
The sound recording was taken inside Loggia dei Lanzi (XIV century), an open structure near the Uffizi Gallery and in front of Palazzo Vecchio, in the historical centre of Florence. It is a place always crowded and full of different kinds of sounds. In the recording diffent spoken languages can be heard, a guitar player nearby, people walking and taking photos to the ancient statues kept inside the loggia, and overall a lively picture of what Florence is during its tourist season. Even with that full and often noisy soundscape, Loggia dei Lanzi is a place I am really keen to go to and stay for some time, because it summarizes a good part of what the centre of Florence is about, both its negative and positive sides. Finally, it is rather interesting the particular reverberation that the structure gives to the sounds.
Piazza della Signoria
Location
Piazza della Signoria, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
20th August 2017 - early afternoon
Recorder
Zoom H6 with MS microphone
Description
Piazza della Signoria, the place where this field recording was taken, is one of the main squares of Florence and the one where it stands Palazzo Vecchio, the palace once residence of the Medici family and now seat of the municipality of Florence. It is a crowded crossed by both locals and tourists, each immersed in their own lives, often so different one from the other. As with the other recordings of Florence historic centre, different languages can be heard, together with footsteps, chariots, bicycles and sometimes police cars (the only ones allowed to enter the square). Sometimes a disorienting experience, moving across this square can tell so many different stories that it seems much bigger than how it actually is.
Piazza del Grano
Location
Piazza del Grano, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
20th August 2017 - afternoon
Recorder
Zoom H6 with MS microphone
Description
Piazza del Grano is a small square near Piazza della Signoria, mainly famous because the exit from Uffizi museum is located here. In times of high tourist season (like when this recording was taken) a peculiar blend of locals working there and tourists can be heard: different languages, conversation themes and sound from working and recreational tools. It is also noticeable how the locals and the tourists, even if living the same space, are often so far one from the other, like they were in different monads within the same place.
Piazza Duomo
Location
Piazza del Duomo, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
21st August 2017 - afternoon
Recorder
Zoom H6 with MS microphone
Description
Piazza Duomo is perhaps the most beautiful and important square in Florence, featuring the Cathedral, the Baptistry and the Giotto's bell tower. Always crowded, especially during the tourist season, Piazza Duomo is a crossroad of people coming from all around the world, chariots, bicycles and pigeons. In this big and fragmented square you won't find any quiet corner, just pauses between a sound peak and the following one.
Piazza della Repubblica
Location
Piazza della Repubblica, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
21st August 2017 - afternoon
Recorder
Zoom H6 with MS microphone
Description
Piazza della Repubblica is an important square of the historic centre of Florence, built in the XIX century in the area of the former Jewish quarter. It is an average to small sized square, but it has literary cafes, a big carousel, street musicians playing and shops both for the tourists and the locals. It is a meeting place felt by people living in Florence more "theirs" than the other, more touristic, squares of the centre. The soundscape is chaotic and rich: totally different people and lifestyles cross each other, even for just a minute - and their sounds do the same, too.
Via dell'Oche
Location
Via delle Oche, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
22nd August 2017
Recorder
Zoom H6 with MS microphone
Description
Via dell'Oche is a little and tight, yet important, street in the centre of Florence. It is a lively street crossed by many people but also buses, taxis and chariots. Some particular shops and small restaurants are found in this street. The atmosphere (and the resulting soundscape) is still a little chaotic but it has a more intimate flavour, different from the one you can find few steps further, in the big squares of the old town.
Via Ricasoli
Location
Via Ricasoli, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
22nd August 2017 - early afternoon
Recorder
Zoom H6 with MS microphone
Description
Via Ricasoli is the street where there is the famous Accademia Gallery, keeper of the Michelangelo's David. In front of the small yet always crowded museum there is constantly a long queue, and the soundscape is a rich pattern of different languages and habits. Although probably quieter than other touristic places, this street is able to deliver a sense of bewilderement that the soundscape represents well.
Ponte Vecchio
Location
Ponte Vecchio, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
23rd August 2017 - afternoon
Recorder
Zoom H6 with MS microphone
Description
Ponte Vecchio ("the old bridge") is one of the most iconic places of Florence. It is the only old bridge of the city, since the other ones have been bombed during WWII, and it hosts a series of jewelries and some statues. It is always an intensely crowded place, accessible only by foot, and walking through it is a multishaped experience even for those living here and used to its features. As usual, different languages and people meet, locals and tourists, goldsmiths and policemen, in a carousel of sounds and experiences that is only partly fixable on a recording.
Giardino Maragliano
Location
Via Maragliano, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
24th August 2017 - early afternoon
Recorder
Zoom H6 with MS microphone
Description
This recording was taken inside a small public park in the area of San Jacopino, halfway between the centre and the suburbs. The lively character of this zone is reflected in the vigorous life that can be heard: many children playing and running, people walking and talking, and a wide variety of languages, experiences and feelings.
Piazza di San Jacopino
Location
Piazza di San Jacopino, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
24th August 2017 - afternoon
Recorder
Zoom H6 with MS microphone
Description
Piazza di San Jacopino is the square that gives its name to an area still located in Quarter 1 (historical centre), but at the border of it, on the path to reach the suburbs and to exit the city through the highway. According to the time of day, this square can reveal different faces. During this recording, it was its nature of traffic junction to be under the spotlights. Buses, cars and people on rush are the main sounds that can be heard, before the night comes and the more "human" side of this square appears, with people meeting and talking. Sadly, this square has never become a place where to stop, but rather a bridging point to pass by and go somewhere else.
Via de' Neri
Location
Via de' Neri, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
27th August 2017 - afternoon
Recorder
Zoom H6 with XY microphone
Description
Via de' Neri is a central street that links the area of Piazza Signoria to the one of Piazza Santa Croce. It is a street full of restaurants, shopos and pubs, attended both by tourists and locals. The soundscape is somewhat chaotic and summarizes the various kinds of people and commerce activities that this street hosts.
Via delle Torri
Location
Via delle Torri, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
12th November 2017 - late morning
Recorder
Zoom H6 with XY microphone
Description
This recording was taken on a cloudy Sunday morning in via delle Torri, in the quarter of Isolotto, on the outskirts of Florence. This street is characterized by being close to a public park (Villa Vogel) and a big and busy road (via Canova). The result is a blend between the two soundscapes: birds, dogs and people slowly walking from one side, vehicles from the other. It is a somewhat alienating soundscape, like it were coming from a "middle earth" between countryside and metropolis.
Piazza Puccini
Location
Piazza Puccini, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
18th November 2017 - late morning
Recorder
Zoom H6 with XY microphone
Description
Piazza Puccini is along one of the roads that brings from the centre to the northern outskirts and then to the highway and the airport. Almost every morning there is a small but popular market. The soundscape of this place is full and lively, with a constant counterpoint between people and vehicles. The traffic and the flow of people to the market and to the small garden close to it create an indissoluble stream that summarizes very well what this transitional area of the city is.
Piazza Vittorio Veneto
Location
Piazza Vittorio Veneto, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
18th November 2017 - late morning
Recorder
Zoom H6 with XY microphone
Description
Piazza Vittorio Veneto is split in two by the tramway trail. While from one side it hosts a car parking, on the other side it is one of the gates to Cascine, the biggest green area within the city. In this square once a month it is held an important flea/antiques market, selling everything from vinyl records to old cameras, from books to jewels. This recording was taken in the middle of the market: the soundscape is a meeting point of people walking, talking and bargaining for stuff, of course blended with the ever present traffic jam and the tramway passing by. An interesting frame from an area that offers different views and impressions.
Mercato delle Cascine
Location
Viale Abramo Lincoln, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
21st November 2017 - morning
Recorder
Zoom H6 with XY microphone
Description
The park of Cascine is the green lung of the city. Along its main avenue, in the zone closer to the city centre, every Tuesday a big market is held, selling any kind of stuff from food and books to cloths and household items. There is always a dense crowd and the soundscape is very chaotic and heterogeneous. From the sounds only, one can easily imagine what is being sold at a certain stand, and what kind of people is around at the moment. The soundscape of this market is very descriptive and able to tell many stories.
Outside Palazzina Reale
Location
Via Valfonda, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
02nd December 2017 - evening
Recorder
Zoom H6 with XY microphone
Description
This recording was taken outside Palazzina Reale, a masterpiece of rationalist architecture where the King of Italy used to stay when he came in Florence. The chaotic soundscape is marked by two strong sound sources: the first is originated from the notable amount of starlings nesting on the trees of the Palazzina's garden, the second is the continuous traffic of this area, located next to the main railway station. The resulting soundscape is somewhat oppressing and confusing, rich of strong and diverse sound signals that clash and blend in a weird urban symphony.
Cavalcavia dell'Affrico
Location
Cavalcavia dell'Affrico, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
06th December 2017 - afternoon
Recorder
Zoom H6 with MS microphone
Description
This soundscape was taken on an important overpass in the area of Campo di Marte, where there is one of the main railway stations of the city. This bridge passes over the train tracks and is crossable both by vehicles and pedestrians. As it may be guessed, the resulting soundscape is chaotic and utterly "urban" and antropophonic. Being it a crossing point for trains, cars, motos and people these are the main sounds that can be heard, with the human dimension of talking and walking being the least represented.
Largo Adone Zoli
Location
Largo Adone Zoli, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
06th December 2017 - afternoon
Recorder
Zoom H6 with MS microphone
Description
Recording taken during the rush hour in an area where two important branches of the city road system join. There is not much to say about the monotonous soundscape made almost exclusively of vehicles (that cover totally the human presence of the place). This place also hosts a church, and inside it the soundscape (not reported in this recording) is practically the same: even if it is a church with big walls and double doors, the sounds enter with very little attenuation.
Autostazione SITA
Location
Via Santa Caterina da Siena, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
16th December 2017 - late morning
Recorder
Zoom H6 with XY microphone
Description
This recording was taken inside the coach station located near Santa Maria Novella railway station. It is an old station that have not changed in the last decades, and is a sort of world of its own, with an atmosphere that takes you back at least in the 90s. This place is rather tight, but always crowded. People belong to different age and ethnic groups. Each sound tells a different microstory, and each story overlaps the other ones almost without noticing it.
Piazza Dalmazia
Location
Piazza Dalmazia, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
20th December 2017 - morning
Recorder
Zoom H6 with XY microphone
Description
Piazza Dalmazia is the heart of the area of Rifredi, located north-east of the city and that is also the name of a whole quarter. In this square every morning a market is held, and the many sounds from people attending it and from the various stands melt with the heavy traffic noises, for this place is also an important traffic hub and is near the main city hospital. The resulting soundscape constantly oscillates from hi-fi to low-fi, from human to mechanical, in a dance of different sounds that can be chaotic and confusing yet lively and characteristic.
Piazza delle Cure
Location
Piazza delle Cure, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
28th December 2017 - morning
Recorder
Zoom H6 with XY microphone
Description
Piazza delle Cure is a square which is the centre of the homonymous area (Le Cure), located north-east from the historic centre. It is a place very lively and chaotic, having many different sources of sounds: the railway station, a large avenue (Viale dei Mille) that begins there, different shops and a market held every morning. The casual listener is taken in a vortex of sounds: just one step and the rumbling traffic jam leaves its place to a crowd of people talking, buying stuff, bargaining prices, and then here it is the traffic again, then a train... in an endless sonic carousel which seems to never stop.
Sottopasso delle Cure
Location
Piazza delle Cure, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
28th December 2017 - morning
Recorder
Zoom H6 with XY microphone
Description
This recording was taken inside the underpass that links various places in the area of Cure (see recording before). This underpass is a sort of spontaneous gallery of street art, and a homeless person living here, named Salvatore, takes care of it, cleaning and putting some background music from a big stereo. Walking here reveals a different side of the city, made of humanity, local people and different influences. Utterly different from the centre, this place is one of the many surprises of this small yet big city.
Via della Ninna
Location
Via della Ninna, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
30th December 2017 - early afternoon
Recorder
Zoom H6 with MS microphone
Description
Via della Ninna is a short but important street between Palazzo Vecchio and Uffizi Gallery, and, as one can easily imagine, is always crowded with tourists and locals moving around the centre. The soundscape is always full sounding and somewhat blurred: wandering musicians, people from different countries and sounds from typical tourist things (like bags and street food) are all merged in this tiny piece of historic centre.
Via dei Calzaiuoli
Location
Via dei Calzaiuoli, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
30th December 2017 - early afternoon
Recorder
Zoom H6 with MS microphone
Description
Via dei Calzaiuoli is one of the main streets of the city centre, linking the Cathedral (Piazza Duomo) to Piazza Signoria. This recording, taken on the last Saturday afternoon of the year, reflects the chaotic soundscape typical of this street during holidays (actually, during any weekend or tourist season). People are here for different reasons: just to take a stroll, to go shopping in one of the many shops, to go to the museums or to move across the centre. Different intentions are reflected in different sounds, steps speeds, things brought. Along with a dense crowd, horses with chariots and the few motorized vehicles allowed to drive here complete this never repeating soundscape.
Viale Giovanni Lami
Location
Viale Giovanni Lami, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
05th February 2018 - morning
Recorder
Zoom H6 with XY microphone
Description
Viale Lami is an avenue along the railway, near the small Statuto station. From Monday to Friday, every morning a market is held, and part of the street is closed to traffic. Starting from this description, the soundscape is easily predicatble, but nonetheless interesting. People buying at the market blend with train passing by and cars in the streets nearby. This is an area attended by locals only (and mainly by old people), and it seems another city from the one you can find in the tourist places. Still, it is the same town and its knowledge can be complete only if explored in its entirety.
Dawn in San Jacopino
Location
Via Gaspare Spontini, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
06th February 2018 - early morning
Recorder
Zoom H6 with XY microphone
Description
This recording is partly different from the other ones. Here it is captured the dawn chorus of some birds, when the sun is rising on a cold winter morning, in the area of San Jacopino. Of course we are still in the city, so sporadical anthropophony can be heard, mainly windows and doors opening. Some distant bells can be heard, too. But the soundscape is almost entirely biophonic: a delicious reminder of the presence of nature even in the depths of the city.
Via delle Pandette
Location
Via delle Pandette, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
19th February 2018 - late afternoon
Recorder
Zoom H6 with MS microphone
Description
This recording was taken in the area of San Donato, north-west from the center. In particular, the street captured here is in a pedestrian area that goes through the Department of Social Sciences of the University of Florence. The soundscape is what one can expect from such a place: young people talking, walking and laughing, the constant sound of traffic coming from the outer roads, doors and windows shutting and opening. This area is heavily urbanized and with very few green areas: thus, the sporadic birds sounds often heard in the other recordings are not present here.
Viadotto dell'Indiano
Location
Viadotto Indiano, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
26th February 2018 - late morning
Recorder
Zoom H6 with XY microphone
Description
Viadotto dell'Indiano (Indian's viaduct, in memory of a young Indian prince who died in Florence in 1870) is a big cable-stayed bridge that crosses river Arno joining two quarters of the city. Under the roadway lies a pedestrian crossing: it was from this passage that the recording was taken. The soundscape is chaotic and a bit weird: there is a constant noise given by the combination of the water and the traffic. Moreover, due to the position of the pedestrian passage, the sounds from cars come from upon, like it was a rumbling ceiling. The sporadic sounds of people and bicycles crossing the bridge are covered by the vehicles noises.
Piazzale Montelungo
Location
Piazzale Montelungo, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
26th February 2018 - early evening
Recorder
Zoom H6 with XY microphone
Description
Piazzale Montelungo is a long square behind the central railway station. It is a place where many buses stop, both urban ones and those linking Florence with the rest of Italy. The soundscape is a blend of its parts: people talking in different languages and bringing luggages, trains and vehicles. This recording was taken during a very cold evening, with little snow falling (which is an extremely rare event in Florence). The suspended atmosphere is rendered through the unstable human sounds, appearing and disappearing in a misty texture of artificial noises.
Piazza Niccolò Acciaiuoli
Location
Piazza Niccolò Acciaiuoli, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
07th March 2018 - late morning
Recorder
Zoom H6 with XY microphone
Description
Piazza Acciaiuoli is the central square of Galluzzo, a village south of Florence that was an independent municipality until 1928. Now it belongs to the Quarter 3 of the city. The soundscape is halfway the typical one of a city square and that of a smaller country place. People talking about what's happening, a small market, cars passing by, dogs and birds... an ordinary picture that is made of many different characters, each with a comprimario role.
Lungarno Soderini
Location
Lungarno Soderini, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
07th March 2018 - late morning
Recorder
Zoom H6 with XY microphone
Description
Lungarno Soderini is one of the streets running along river Arno (thus the name "lungarno", literally "along the Arno"). It is a rather busy area, crossed by many buses and cars and where people rarely stop by unless they have to wait for a bus. The soundscape is very "urban" and a bit chaotic, with the antropophonic sources covering even the rumbling sound of the river.
Piazza de' Nerli
Location
Piazza de' Nerli, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
07th March 2018 - late morning
Recorder
Zoom H6 with XY microphone
Description
Piazza de' Nerli is a tight and long square in the area of San Frediano, south of river Arno. It is a place with different faces, and the soundscape reflects this. A kiosk selling typical Florentine street food, like the lampredotto (which is the last part of the cow's stomach), is always crowded. People talking blends with the sound of the knife cutting the lampredotto in the traditional way. Not so far, the car traffic creates the typical urban background, but there is place also for some tiny sparrows wandering across the square.
Stazione di Castello
Location
Via del Termine, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
08th March 2018 - late morning
Recorder
Zoom H6 with MS microphone
Description
Castello is an area north of the centre, at the border of the municipality. In its railway station some local trains stop, and the hi-speed trains towards Northern Italy pass by in a good amount. There are usually more trains than people in this station, and it is witnessed by the soundscape, where the human presence occours only every now and then. The surrounding area is a rather urbanized one, and the huge free car parking of the station is often crowded and full.
Stazione di Rifredi
Location
Via dello Steccuto, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
08th March 2018 - late morning
Recorder
Zoom H6 with MS microphone
Description
Rifredi is an area that gives the name to the whole Quarter 5, and its railway station, together with Campo di Marte (at the opposite side of the city), is rather important, second only to the main station of Santa Maria Novella. It is always crowded and many people come here to catch mainly local trains to go to work, to school or to the university, which is just few steps distant. The resulting soundscape is rather full and populated by people, machinery and occasional remainders of the existence of nature.
Via Giovanni dei Marignolli
Location
Via Giovanni dei Marignolli, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
08th March 2018 - late morning
Recorder
Zoom H6 with MS microphone
Description
Via Giovanni dei Marignolli is located just after the small river Mugnone, which separates the city centre and the quarter of Rifredi. It hosts one of the biggest high schools of the city, attended by more than 1000 pupils. This soundscape, which was taken just few minutes after the end of the lessons, gives an idea of what this street is about. Due to the presence of a park just in front of the school, it is an area always crowded of young people, even when the school is closed.
Giardino Baden-Powell
Location
Via Federico Stibbert, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
09th March 2018 - early afternoon
Recorder
Zoom H6 with XY microphone and Sennheiser MKE600
Description
The Baden-Powell garden is a park in the area of Statuto, in the quarter of Rifredi. It belongs to a bigger green area comprising also the Stibbert Garden and the building of Villa Fabbricotti, with its surrounding garden. The soundscape of this area can vary a lot according to the time of the day and of the year. Sometimes it is overly crowded, with people of any age (especially in Summer and in holydays, of course). Other times, like the one during this recording was taken, the dominating sounds are those of the beautiful nature that has found a niche among the surrounding anthropic reality.
Via Francesco Calasso
Location
Via Francesco Calasso, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
12th March 2018 - late morning
Recorder
Zoom H6 with XY microphone
Description
Recording taken in a street in the outskirts of Florence. The main feature of this street is a commercial centre with a big supermarket and some smaller shops, and the sounds are in a way or another related to it. People walking with their carts, cars parking to go shopping, people leaving to come back home: ordinary sounds that, if listened to carefully, can tell thousand stories.
Via Gianfrancesco Pagnini
Location
Via Gianfrancesco Pagnini, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
12th March 2018 - late morning
Recorder
Zoom H6 with XY microphone
Description
This soundscape, recorded between via Pagnini and via Orlandini, is a witness of the spring coming, with the birds singing over a background made of the usual sounds that can be found in a courtyard of a city area. Some biophony breaking through the mechanical sounds a citizen is even too much accustomed.
Via Montebello
Location
Via Montebello, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
14th March 2018 - morning
Recorder
Zoom H6 with XY microphone
Description
Via Montebello is a street in the area of Porta al Prato, immediately after the historic centre and built around 1865, when Florence became for a short time the capital city of Italy. It is usually a quiet area, with few cars and people passing by. The soundscape recorded in this street features a busker, playing a brass instrument, that can be found in this area rather often. An interesting musical diversion in an otherwise dull soundscape.
Piazza dell'Isolotto
Location
Piazza dell'Isolotto, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
23rd March 2018 - late morning
Recorder
Zoom H6 with XY microphone
Description
The Isolotto area (which also gives its name to the Quarter 4 of the city), on the river Arno's southern bank, was selected in the 50s to build a sort of satellite city (then blended with the main one). This square can be considered the heart of this big area. It reminds the typical square of a small village: it is full of different shops, there is the market held every morning, there are some street food vendors and at one side it can be found a small but cosy green area. The soundscape reflects this variety and a the presence of a strong human dimension, that contrasts with the newer part of this quarter, dominated by big buildings, heavy traffic and not many chances to meet with the other people.
Parco di Villa Vogel
Location
Via Antonio Canova, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
23rd March 2018 - late morning
Recorder
Zoom H6 with XY microphone
Description
The park of Villa Vogel (owned by the municipality) is the one of the largest green areas in the quarter of Isolotto. It holds a lake with ducks, an area for children and wide green spaces that sometimes are used for live music and theatre plays. This recording was made in a rather quiet time of the day, where only few children and some other people were in the garden. The voices of the birds gently blend with the talks of the children and their mothers, and the steps in the grass of some casual visitors build up a soft background. The car traffic, rather heavy in the facing street, is only a distant reminder of where we are.
Piazza Valdelsa
Location
Piazza Valdelsa, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
24th March 2018 - late morning
Recorder
Zoom H6 with MS microphone
Description
This square is in the area of Novoli, not far from the highway and the airport. Most of the square is occupied by a green area with toys for children and benches. This recording, made on Saturday, captures people of different ages relaxing in the garden: from children playing together to parents talking nearby, from people taking a stroll with their dogs to old people chatting together.
Via del Giardino della Bizzarria
Location
Via del Giardino della Bizzarria, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
24th March 2018 - late morning
Recorder
Zoom H6 with MS microphone
Description
This street, in the northern area of the city of Novoli, owes its strange name to an interesting story. Its name can be literally translated to "garden of oddness", but "bizzarria" (= oddness) is also a strange fruit halfway between a lemon and an orange, and it was first observed here in the XVII century, hence the name. Regarding the soundscape, it is characterized by the market, the people meeting and talking and of course by the traffic, for this street is not far from one of the main entrances to the town. A typical suburbs soundscape in a place with a definitely a bizzarre history.
Via Vincenzo Gioberti
Location
Via Vincenzo Gioberti, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
28th March 2018 - late afternoon
Recorder
Zoom H6 with MS microphone
Description
Via Gioberti is a long and rather important street just after the city centre, in the eastern part of the city. It is a lively street full of shops, places to eat and to meet other people. The soundscape varies a lot according to the exact point of the street you are, but the human presence is always noticeable and it is often able to overcome the omnipresent traffic noises.
Via Pasquale Paoli
Location
Viale Pasquale Paoli, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
14th April 2018 - afternoon
Recorder
Zoom H6 with XY microphone
Description
Viale Paoli is a large avenue in front of the stadium, and in the middle of an area plenty of sport areas and clubs. During this recording, taken during a Saturday afternoon, two sport events were taking place: a rugby and a football match. The sometimes chaotic, sometimes quieter soundscape is aware of what was going on: the loud music during the match interval, people talking about the events, athletes giving their best on the field. Surrounding these strong sound signatures, the typical traffic of a large avenue.
Via Salvi Cristiani
Location
Via Salvi Cristiani, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
14th April 2018 - late afternoon
Recorder
Zoom H6 with XY microphone
Description
Via Salvi Cristiani is a street in the quarter of Campo di Marte, halfway between the stadium and the first hills outside the city. At the beginning of this street there is a not that large but often crowded garden, attended especially by children and young people. The soundscape is almost completely colonized by their voices and by the sounds they make. Every now and then, especially on the other side of the street, the birds are announcing the definitive entrance in the spring season.
Viale dei Cipressi
Location
Viale dei Cipressi, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
20th April 2018 - morning
Recorder
Zoom H6 with MS microphone
Description
Viale dei Cipressi is a road inside a garden that once belonged to the royal stables, that hosts since a century the Art High School. The garden is always attended by many different people: students, locals, tourists, often coming here with their dogs. Even if this area faces the trafficked Porta Romana and some big streets, its sounds are mainly those of the people, their animals and the many small birds populating this garden. A blend of generations and species that almost makes us forget the noises waiting outside.
Via della Fornace
Location
Via della Fornace, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
20th April 2018 - morning
Recorder
Zoom H6 with MS microphone
Description
Via della Fornace is a secondary street near the southern bank of river Arno. Apart from the typical city sounds, it is characterized by the presence of many birds, especially crows, living or passing by the many private gardens facing the street. A bizarre meeting point of biophony and antropophony.
Piazzale Michelangelo
Location
Piazzale Michelangelo, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
25th April 2018 - afternoon
Recorder
Zoom H6 with MS microphone
Description
Piazzale Michelangelo is the most famous sightseeing place of the city. Located on a hill near the southern bank of Arno, it is always crowded with tourists and locals. The dominant key sounds are of course those of the people, that often cover the traffic noises from the adjacent avenue. Many languages and voices are melt together, in a dense vocal soundscape emblematic of the city like this very place.
Piazza Francia
Location
Piazza Francia, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
25th April 2018 - late afternoon
Recorder
Zoom H6 with MS microphone
Description
Piazza Francia is a green square in the quarter of Gavinana, in the southern part of the city. It hosts two small parks, plus an area to play football and other sports. It is mainly attended by locals. There are areas for any age: a place with toys for children, a fresh green area to rest and some fields to play sports. The soundscape, even if not that peculiar, is an even balance of sounds from people, traffic and some sporadic birds.
Parco dell'Albereta
Location
Via Vecchia di Pozzolatico, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
25th April 2018 - late afternoon
Recorder
Zoom H6 with MS microphone and Sennheiser MKE600
Description
This recording was taken at the border of a small but very nice park in the outskirts of the town. This park has a vast number of poplars, organized in accurate rows, and an area for dogs. The birds dominates the soundscape, together with dogs, sporadic voices and especially the sound of the wind through the leaves. A corner of nature not so far from the urban context, a peaceful yet lively place to take a rest.
Serpiolle
Location
Via di Serpiolle, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
28th April 2018 - late morning
Recorder
Zoom H6 with Sennheiser MKE600
Description
Serpiolle is a small village (a
frazione, i.e. a detached part of a municipality) north of the city, belonging to Quarter 5. It is a marvellous place on the hills, and it seems to be so far from the town, while it is just few minutes away. Its soundscape is the typical one that could be expected in the countryside: farm animals (in this case especially chickens and dogs), tractors, some cars, few people passing by, the usual birds. A place that corresponds to the typical idea of Tuscan countryside, but still inside the city jurisdiction.
Giardino dell'Orticoltura
Location
Via Vittorio Emanuele II, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
28th April 2018 - noon
Recorder
Zoom H6 with XY microphone
Description
The Giardino dell'Orticultura is a famous garden between the areas of Statuto and Cure, at the begin of the road that reaches Bologna. It is always crowded, especially in Spring and Summer, and it often holds events such as trade fairs, gigs, theatre plays and more. For example, during this recording an important fair about plants and flowers was being held. Moreover, the garden has a library, a bar and an area for children. After this description, you can easily guess how its soundscape sounds: many different people, footsteps, loud voices, and few space left for other kinds of sounds, especially for those coming from outside the garden.
Via di Scandicci
Location
Via di Scandicci, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
05th May 2018 - morning
Recorder
Zoom H6 with MS microphone
Description
Via di Scandicci is a rather long road that brings to the southern municipality of Scandicci. The sounds were taken at about half of its length, where it is crossed by via degli Arcipressi and via del Filarete, other two important streets of the area of Isolotto. The soundscape is dominated by the traffic, even if it was not so heavy during the recording, but the human presence always appears: some people were talking in front of a flower shop nearby the street, other people were passing by or were waiting for someone inside a car, with the stereo turned on. A typical picture of a common but fairly attended road in the outskirts.
Via Guardavia
Location
Via Guardavia, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
05th May 2018 - late morning
Recorder
Zoom H6 with MS microphone
Description
Via Guardavia is a country road behind the big cemetery of Soffiano, in the southern part of Isolotto quarter. As soon as this street begins, the urban landscape turns suddenly into the typical Tuscan countryside, as often happens in Florence, especially in the southern part of the city. The soundscape follows accordingly: sometimes a car or a van passes by, some people are walking by, other are riding a bicycle. Nearby, dogs are barking and birds are singing, inside a fragile frame that seems to be always to be broken at any moment.
Via Federico d'Antiochia
Location
Via Federico d'Antiochia, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
08th June 2018 - late morning
Recorder
Zoom H6 with Roland CS10-EM binaural microphone
Description
This recording was taken in a secondary street in the area of Gavinana, near the southern bank of river Arno. The sounds are the typical ones of an ordinary street in a working day morning. A big hair saloon dominates a side of the street, while on the other side a house is being renovated and expanded. Between these two fixed sound sources, people, especially old ones and children, pass by, some talking, other absorbed in their thoughts.
Piazza Gino Bartali
Location
Piazza Gino Bartali, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
08th June 2018 - late morning
Recorder
Zoom H6 with Roland CS10-EM binaural microphone
Description
Piazza Gino Bartali, dedicated to one of the most famous Italian cyclists of all time, who was born not far from here, is a big square completely rebuilt in the last years. Most of it is reserved to pedestrians, and at one side there is the entrance to a big shopping centre. The soundscape varies based on the point of the square you stop: in the centre there are some benches attented by old people who stop there to talk and take a rest, approaching the shopping centre the typical sounds of a place like this can be heard, while moving towards the opposite direction brings the listener back to the typical urban sounds, where vehicles and busy people dominate the picture.
Largo Cirillo Monzani
Location
Largo Cirillo Monzani, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
08th June 2018 - late morning
Recorder
Zoom H6 with Roland CS10-EM binaural microphone
Description
Largo Monzani is a sort of small square adjacent to a roundabout, located on via Aretina, in the eastern part of the city. Its soundscape is characterized by a tiny marked held here, a kiosk to eat some typical Tuscan street food and the perpetual traffic noise. An ordinary soundscape of a less known corner of Florence.
Stazione di Santa Maria Novella
Location
Piazza della Stazione, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
09th June 2018 - afternoon
Recorder
Zoom H6 with Roland CS10-EM binaural microphone
Description
The railway station of Santa Maria Novella is the main train station of the city, and one of the most important ones of the whole country, with about 60,000,000 passengers each year. It is located in the centre of the city, few minutes walking from the Cathedral, from the Fortezza and from the main boulevards surrounding the town. It also serves as bus terminus for many urban and extra-urban lines. Its soundscape is a dense crossroad of voices, steps, experiences, people coming, going, waiting and hurrying. This is of course mixed with train announcements, sounds from the shops and from the traffic.
Galleria Commerciale Santa Maria Novella
Location
Piazza della Stazione, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
09th June 2018 - afternoon
Recorder
Zoom H6 with Roland CS10-EM binaural microphone
Description
Under the railway station of Santa Maria Novella there is a branched commercial gallery, with many different kinds of shops, from those belonging to big chains to independent ones. Moreover, the gallery gives access to a large undergound parking, to the station itself and has some facilities like toilettes and tourist info points. It is place always crowded, and attended both by tourists and locals. The resulting soundscape is diverse and depends a lot on the exact point one stops (this recording was taken walking across the entire gallery). Being underground, the lack of car noises, otherwise ubiquitous across the city, is definitely noticeable. Moreover, a piano available to anyone to play gives a characteristic touch to the soundscape of the last part of the gallery, near one of the escalators that bring to the station.
Giardino di Villa Strozzi
Location
Via di Monte Oliveto, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
08th July 2018 - afternoon
Recorder
Zoom H6 with Roland CS10-EM binaural microphone
Description
The garden of Villa Strozzi is a rather big park in the Quarter 4 of the city, on the southern bank of the Arno. This recording was taken in a hot summer afternoon on one of the trails that run across the park. The cicadas are the main characters of the soundscape, and leave on the background the few people the were there at the time of the recording. In few minutes the cicadas perform different songs, and create an almost unreal and suspended atmosphere, that let the listener forget to be inside a city.
Stazione de Le Piagge
Location
Via Lazio, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
10th July 2018 - early afternoon
Recorder
Zoom H6 with Roland CS10-EM binaural microphone
Description
Le Piagge is an area in the outskirts of the town, between the road that goes to Pistoia and the railway to Pisa. It has a very small station with few local trains stopping here. In front of the station there is a shopping centre, surrounded by many public housings and some secondary roads. The soundscape of this area, especially during the early afternoon time when it was recorded, is rather quiet and influenced mainly by the people attending the shopping centre and by the trains passing by. However, even in this strong urbanized area, birds and cicadas make their part, and break the dullness of this city soundscape.
Via Lunga
Location
Via Lunga, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
11th July 2018 - afternoon
Recorder
Zoom H6 with Roland CS10-EM binaural microphone
Description
Via Lunga is located in the southern part of the city, in the quarter of Isolotto. It is a secondary yet long (hence the name, "lunga" is long in Italian) street, and holds different meeting points for the people living in this area. This recording was taken in front of a community centre and a small green area for children. There were many people talking loud and playing, and the resulting soundscape is a lively witness of a vibrant corner of the city, relatively unknown also to many citizens.
Piazza Pompeo Batoni
Location
Piazza Pompeo Batoni, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
13th July 2018 - afternoon
Recorder
Zoom H6 with Roland CS10-EM binaural microphone
Description
Piazza Batoni is a square of Isolotto quarter, cut in two by the tramway lanes and crossed by many vehicles directed to the centre or to the highway. The soundscape of this area is never quiet, and it is dominated by the tram and the car traffic. However, more natural sounds emerge: the constant cicadas chants, typical of Mediterranean summer, and the voices of the many people who cross this square in their daily routine.
Viale dell'Aeronautica
Location
Viale dell'Aeronautica, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
15th July 2018 - late morning
Recorder
Zoom H6 with MS microphone
Description
Viale dell'Aeronautica is a long avenue inside the big Cascine park. This recording was taken on a Sunday morning near a kiosk selling drinks and food. The soundscape is dominated by the two main living presences you can find there: the cicadas and the people enjoying their Sunday in the park. Two different species and two different languages involved in a sort of bizarre counterpoint.
Parco dell'Anconella
Location
Via di Villamagna, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
07th October 2018 - afternoon
Recorder
Zoom H6 with Roland CS10-EM binaural microphone
Description
The park of Anconella is a big park on the southern bank of the Arno, close to the main aqueduct of the city. It is a green area where people go to relax, to listen to live music or to play open air sports. For the children, there are some carousels and dedicated areas to play in safety. The soundscape of this place, especially on a Sunday afternoon like when this recording was taken, is dominated by the voices and noises of the many people attending the park, in a sort of anthropic symphony celebrating a day of joy.
Piazza Ravenna
Location
Piazza Ravenna, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
07th October 2018 - afternoon
Recorder
Zoom H6 with Roland CS10-EM binaural microphone
Description
Piazza Ravenna is a busy square that links one of the bridges crossing river Arno, the Da Verrazzano bridge, to some important roads of the southern part of Florence. The resulting soundscape cannot be but dominated by cars and other vehicles, with their sounds overcoming the traces of those who walk across the square.
Via Mortuli
Location
Via Mortuli, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
31st March 2019 - noon
Recorder
Zoom H6 with MS microphone
Description
This street faces the nice green area of La Montagnola, in the quarter of Isolotto. The soundscape blends the songs of birds with sporadic car sounds and the voices of children playing open air. An essential but complete summary of the atmosphere of an early Spring late Sunday morning, when these sounds were taken.
Via dell'Isolotto
Location
Via dell'Isolotto, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
31st March 2019 - early afternoon
Recorder
Zoom H6 with Roland CS10-EM binaural microphone
Description
This street, which takes its name from the quarter it lies in, runs along the river Arno where it makes a big jump, in a sort of artificial waterfall. The constant rumble of the water falling is the drone that dominates the whole soundscape. On the bank of the river, at one side of the street, a long and tight park offers a place to walk and ride the bicycle, and this is where the other noticeable sounds come from.
Via del Ponte a Iozzi
Location
Via del Ponte a Iozzi, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
08th June 2019 - noon
Recorder
Zoom H6 with Roland CS10-EM binaural microphone
Description
This street, which runs on a bridge that crosses the small river Ema, is located in the small village of Cascine del Riccio. It is a nice place in the countryside, part in the municipality of Florence, and part in the municipality of Impruneta. This street joins the two halves of this place. The soundscape is rather dynamic and never the same: it can be as noisy as the big avenues of the city when some cars and motos cross this street, and then it may become immediately quiet and dominated by the birds singing. Moreover, people talking or working outdoor make enrich the sounds of this small but complex place.
Stazione di Campo di Marte
Location
Via Mannelli, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
16th June 2019 - afternoon
Recorder
Zoom H6 with Roland CS10-EM binaural microphone
Description
The railway station of Campo di Marte is one of the three main train stations of Florence (together with Santa Maria Novella and Rifredi). Even if it has not the same traffic and dimension of Santa Maria Novella (being instead a sort of sibling of Rifredi), it is attended by many travelers, both pendulars and tourists. This is cleary noticeable in the audio recording, where Italian and foreign speakers alternate and there is always a train arriving or leaving. A typical "railway station soundscape" where people and things meet for a moment, and then each one keeps on following his path.
Piazza Niccolò Tommaseo
Location
Piazza Niccolò Tommaseo, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
16th June 2019 - late afternoon
Recorder
Zoom H6 with Roland CS10-EM binaural microphone
Description
Settignano is a small and fascinating borough near Florence, still belonging to its municipality (being part of Campo di Marte quarter). This recording was taken in the main square of Settignano in a hot Sunday afternoon. During the recording, all the typical features of this place can be noticed: people of any age enjoying their Sunday, music coming from the Casa del Popolo, which has been a famous venue for international concerts in the 80s (and is still active today), bells ringing and children playing in the street. A dense but slow-paced soundscape, that definitely fits this place.
Ponte all'Asse
Location
Ponte all'Asse, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
23rd June 2019 - night
Recorder
Zoom H6 with Sennheiser MKE600
Description
While Arno is the main river of Florence, there are three smaller streams that cross the city: Affrico, Terzolle and Mugnone. The latter is the true subject of this recording: Ponte all'Asse is a bridge crossing Mugnone, and the soundscape one can hear during Summer nights is dominated by the biophony of the many amphibians living in the water. The sounds of traffic and of the nearby tramway here do not dominate the field, but are rather background interferences to this beautiful and hypnotic choir.
Viuzzo delle Case Nuove
Location
Viuzzo delle Case Nuove, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
03rd July 2019 - morning
Recorder
Zoom H6 with Roland CS10-EM binaural microphone
Description
This recording was taken in the area of Ponte a Greve, near the border with the municipality of Scandicci. There is a huge (at least for Florence standards) shopping centre that characterizes this area, and this is easily reflected in the soundscape one can listen to. An interesting feature is that the wide parking allows the shopping centre to be somehow far from the busy street nearby, so that the main sounds come from people and not from cars.
Via dell'Ariento
Location
Via dell'Ariento, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
20th July 2019 - morning
Recorder
Zoom H6 with Roland CS10-EM binaural microphone
Description
Via dell'Ariento is a pictoresque street in the city center, in the area of San Lorenzo. It is dominated by an almost permanent market, mainly selling leather and textile stuff. Most of the sellers are not Italian, neither the buyers, too: the result is a soundscape made up of different languages and accents, a sonic labyrinth where getting lost is easy and desirable.
Mercato Centrale
Location
Piazza del Mercato Centrale, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
20th July 2019 - late morning
Recorder
Zoom H6 with Roland CS10-EM binaural microphone
Description
The Mercato Centrale (central market) is a big indoor market existing in this form since the XIX century. In Mercato Centrale there are many sellers of typical Tuscan food, and it is appealing both to tourists, who can enjoy a very peculiar experience, and to locals, who can buy quality food at good prices. The market has also a first floor where there are mainly restuarants and street food sellers. The soundscape is dense and chaotic, and changes from one stall to the other. If it wasn't for its beauty, walking across it with eyes closed and ears (and nostrils) open would be the best way to enjoy this lively place.
Largo Armando Segato
Location
Largo Armando Segato, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
21st July 2019 - late morning
Recorder
Zoom H6 with Roland CS10-EM binaural microphone
Description
This recording was taken during a hot Sunday morning in the area of Due Strade, in the southern part of the city. This is a typical city summer soundscape in a peripheral area, with almost no people passing by and cicadas chirping all the time. Some birds, bells ringing at noon and the deep rumble of a plane complete this almost desert soundscape.
Parco di Villa Favard
Location
Via di Rocca Tedalda, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
21st July 2019 - early afternoon
Recorder
Zoom H6 with Roland CS10-EM binaural microphone
Description
This recording was taken in the beautiful public garden surrounding Villa Favard, a Renaissance villa now hosting a part of the Conservatory of Florence. THe sounds captured are those typical of a public park on Sundays: children playing, people relaxing, talking and walking, dogs running and barking. Someone drinks some water from the fountain while a train passes by (there is a railway station nearby). Nothing special: but this is just another reason to preserve a soundscape like this.
Parco San Donato
Location
Via Sandro Pertini, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
28th September 2019 - afternoon
Recorder
Zoom H6 with XY microphone
Description
The park of San Donato is one of the biggest -and newest- green areas of Florence, located where once there was a big factory of FIAT automobiles. It is surrounded by some very noisy roads, but it is large enough so that the traffic is not the main sound character of its soundscape. The dominating sounds, especially on a Saturday afternoon (when this recording was taken), are those of the many people, of any age, that gather here and talk, listen to music, play or simply take a break. The result is a deeply anthropophonic soundscape that blends different voices, experiences and ways to pass the time.
Viale Alessandro Guidoni
Location
Viale Alessandro Guidoni, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
01st October 2019 - noon
Recorder
Zoom H6 with Roland CS10-EM binaural microphone
Description
Viale Guidoni is a large and long avenue in the northern part of the city, and brings from the nearbies of the airport and highway to the roads that reach the city centre. Maybe unnecessary to say, the main sound character is the intense car traffic, but sometimes it is broken by the sounds of people working and talking, bringing some slices of human touch in this completely antropophonic soundscape.
Aeroporto Amerigo Vespucci
Location
Via del Termine, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
04th October 2019 - noon
Recorder
Zoom H6 with Roland CS10-EM binaural microphone
Description
Florence has an international airport in the northern part of the city, also reached by the tramway line, which is where the recording begins. The airport is relatively small compared to other big international airports, so it is not characterized by the chaotic soundscape one may expect from a place like this. Instead, the soundscape is dense and a bit messy, but with an intelligibility that makes it like a varied composition with the right amount of noise.
Via Gubbio
Location
Via Gubbio, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
08th October 2019 - morning
Recorder
Zoom H6 with Roland CS10-EM binaural microphone
Description
This recording was taken in a secondary street in the quarter of Isolotto. In few minutes the listener can find the typical soundscape of the outskirts: voices coming from small shops, people meeting by chance on the street, cars and motocycles passing by and a light biophony coming from the many green areas that surround huge (and sometimes ugly) buildings.
Via Tre Pietre
Location
Via delle Tre Pietre, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
09th October 2019 - early afternoon
Recorder
Zoom H6 with Roland CS10-EM binaural microphone
Description
Not only soundscapes with unusual or beautiful sounds should be recorded and preserved, but also those with only typical and dull sounds. This long but tight steet in the northern part of the city is an example of this kind of soundscape: traffic from the near big roads, sometimes someone walking by and few unidentified mechanical sounds. While not being beautiful or remarking, it is nonetheless a precious document of an often forgotten part of the city.
Via Panciatichi
Location
Via Panciatichi, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
09th October 2019 - early afternoon
Recorder
Zoom H6 with Roland CS10-EM binaural microphone
Description
Via Panciatichi is a long street in the area of Firenze Nova ("new Florence"), a part of the quarter of Rifredi in the northern half of the city. It is characterized by heavy traffic and by the many factories and offices that rise in the nearbies. The resulting soundscapes is a mixture of cars and motos riding sometimes at high speed and the voices of the many people that work in this area.
Piazza Eugenio Artom
Location
Piazza Eugenio Artom, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
09th October 2019 - early afternoon
Recorder
Zoom H6 with Roland CS10-EM binaural microphone
Description
Piazza Artom is located in the area of Firenze Nova, in the outskirts of the city. The square is mainly characterized for being the entrance to Mercafir, the biggest wholesale food market of Florence. All the sounds are, in a way or another, linked to it: the people are those who work there, while the machine noises comes from behind the market's gates. The usual car traffic completes this industrial soundscape.
Mercato del Porcellino
Location
Piazza del Mercato Nuovo, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
21st October 2019 - afternoon
Recorder
Zoom H6 with Roland CS10-EM binaural microphone
Description
The Mercato del Porcellino ("little pig's market") takes its name from the bronze statue, actually of a wild boar, located at one side of the loggia that hosts the market. The many stands concentrated in a relatively tiny space nowadays sell mainly leather items and souvenirs, while in the past this market was dedicated to silk and other luxury items. The soundscape is dense and strongly antropophonic, with the sounds of the customers and sellers dominating this characteristic city corner, located just few steps from Ponte Vecchio, Piazza della Signoria and the Uffizi Gallery.
Piazza Cardinale Elia dalla Costa
Location
Piazza Cardinale Elia dalla Costa, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
08th October 2020 - early afternoon
Recorder
Zoom H6 with Roland CS10-EM binaural microphone
Description
This recording was taken in a wide square with a green area in the quarter of Gavinana. The square is always crowded with people, especially children, enjoying this park just next to a big avenue always burdened with heavy traffic. The soundscape is vibrant and evolving, an antropohonic blend of people and cars, depicting the different faces of this lively and crowded city area.
Parco della Villa di Rusciano
Location
Via di Ripoli, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
08th October 2020 - afternoon
Recorder
Zoom H6 with Roland CS10-EM binaural microphone
Description
The place where this recording was taken is a beautiful park in the southern part of the city, dominated by a wonderful and decadent villa. Despite its size, it is one of the least known green areas of Florence, resulting in a wide place with very few people. The only massive presence is the one of dogs (and their owners), for the park has two big areas reserved to them. The soundscape is a little weird: quiet, with some birds and cars that penetrate the dense atmosphere, and with frequent barkings breaking the stillness of this place.
Via di Santa Marta
Location
Via di Santa Marta, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
17th October 2020 - morning
Recorder
Zoom H6 with Roland CS10-EM binaural microphone
Description
This recording was taken in a narrow street in a beautiful area near the countryside. The sounds are incredibly amplified by a sudden widening that acts as a sounding board. Thus, a simple car passing by sounds like a train, creating giant roars in this otherwise quiet soundscape dominated by birds and other countryside sounds.
Viale Gaetano Pieraccini
Location
Viale Gaetano Pieraccini, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
17th October 2020 - late morning
Recorder
Zoom H6 with Roland CS10-EM binaural microphone
Description
Viale Pieraccini is a long avenue in the area of Careggi, where there are the two biggest hospitals of the city (one of which is the famous Meyer's Children Hospital) plus other health care facilities. It is also an area at the border with the countryside. The soundscape is the one of a typical busy avenue but with the twist of some biophony coming from the surrounding hills.
Via Gaspare Aselli
Location
Via Gaspare Aselli, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
17th October 2020 - late morning
Recorder
Zoom H6 with Roland CS10-EM binaural microphone
Description
This recording was taken in a nice street in the area of Careggi. It is a typical suburbs street, with gardens and terraced houses. The soundscape is pleasant, influenced by people waiting at the bus stop, some light traffic and the continuous chirping of birds that reminds us that we are near the countryside.
Via Francesco Caracciolo
Location
Via Francesco Caracciolo, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
07th November 2020 - afternoon
Recorder
Zoom H6 with Roland CS10-EM binaural microphone
Description
This long street, located in the area of Le Cure, stretches along the small river Mugnone, where lots of ducks dwell. The sounds of these animals and of the river itself add an interesting character to the soundscape, otherwise dominated by people talking (and children having fun with the ducks) and by the ever present cars and motorcycles. An interesting blend of biophony, anthropophony and geophony.
Stazione Firenze Salviati
Location
Via Faentina, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
07th November 2020 - afternoon
Recorder
Zoom H6 with Roland CS10-EM binaural microphone
Description
The railway station of Firenze Salviati was opened in 1999 but closed only few years later, despite the large parking built in front of the station and the potential that this place could have to ease the traffic in the city. Trains still pass by, without stopping, and the area, at the border between the city and the countryside, is little frequented. This leads to a rather quiet soundscape, where the trains and the traffic of the near via Faentina are the main soundmarks, together with the few people walking by here and the birds chirping on the trees.
Piazza Santi Gervasio e Protasio
Location
Piazza Santi Gervasio e Protasio, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
07th November 2020 - late afternoon
Recorder
Zoom H6 with Roland CS10-EM binaural microphone
Description
This fascinating square in the quarter of Campo di Marte is dominated by a big church, dedicated to the same saints (Gervasio and Protasio) that give the name to the square itself. It is a meeting point for people living in the nearby, and it has a small but cozy garden where children can play. This area of the city is less known than others closer to the centre, but it is a corner of Florence to discover and enjoy.
Piazza Giovanni Antonelli
Location
Piazza Giovanni Antonelli, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
07th November 2020 - late afternoon
Recorder
Zoom H6 with Roland CS10-EM binaural microphone
Description
This recording was taken in a little square in the area of the stadium. Despite its small size, it has different kinds of shops and services, plus a crowded bar and a tiny green area. The sometimes intense car traffic completes the varied and never boring soundscape of this little known area of Florence.
Giardino Niccolò Galli
Location
Viale Manfredo Fanti, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
07th November 2020 - late afternoon
Recorder
Zoom H6 with Roland CS10-EM binaural microphone
Description
This recording was taken in a big garden located near the stadium, in the quarter of Campo di Marte. It was a Saturday afternoon, and the big amount of children playing and adults chatting and taking a walk build up a dense and chaotic soundscape where almost any sound coming from the busy nearby is covered by the symphony of voices and screams that this garden offers to the listener.
Villa di Castello
Location
Piazza delle Lingue d'Europa, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
08th November 2020 - afternoon
Recorder
Zoom H6 with Roland CS10-EM binaural microphone
Description
This recording was taken in front of the Villa di Castello (also known as Villa Reale), once a villa of the Medici family and now the headquarters of Accademia della Crusca, the most important research institution of the Italian language, founded in 1583. In the wide area in front of the entrance people gather to chat or to take a walk in the nearby. The soundscape is marked by people talking, children playing and by the distinct sound of the steps on the gravel, which covers the entire area.
Via Vittorio Locchi
Location
Via Vittorio Locchi, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
08th November 2020 - afternoon
Recorder
Zoom H6 with Roland CS10-EM binaural microphone
Description
This street is located in the quarter of Rifredi, not far from Careggi hospital and the suburb of Castello. It hosts a little green area, that offers a place to take a walk in this highly urbanized area. The voices of people relaxing or playing in the garden merge with the sound of cars and ambulances that cross this secondary but busy street.
Via Luigi Morandi
Location
Via Luigi Morandi, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
08th November 2020 - afternoon
Recorder
Zoom H6 with Roland CS10-EM binaural microphone
Description
This street is adjacent to a wide green area, which is a meeting point for the many people living in the neighborhood. The recording was taken in a Sunday afternoon, and the soundscape is full of voices of people having fun and relaxing a bit, from children to old people. It is an ordinary but lively and happy stream of sounds.
Piazza Giuseppe Garibaldi
Location
Piazza Giuseppe Garibaldi, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
08th November 2020 - late afternoon
Recorder
Zoom H6 with Roland CS10-EM binaural microphone
Description
This recording was taken in the central square of Peretola, a nice and well-preserved surburb of Florence, located very near the airport (which is entitled to the navigator Amerigo Vespucci, whose family was from Peretola). It is the typical square of a small village, with people chatting and having fun, sporadic cars and bicycles passing by, the water from a fountain and noises coming from the houses. The proximity to the airport adds an unpleasant sonic character: the rumble of airplanes, which can be heard in this recording and people living in Peretola hear lots of times everyday.
Ponte a Mensola
Location
Via del Ponte a Mensola, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
26th February 2021 - noon
Recorder
Zoom H6 with Roland CS10-EM binaural microphone and Sennheiser MKE600
Description
This recording was taken in Ponte a Mensola, halfway between the centre of Florence and Settignano. It is a cozy place in the countryside, with the small river Mensola, that gives its name to the village and dominates the soundscape. Along with the sound of the flowing water, elements typical of the city and those of the country contribute to a pleasing and diverse sonic experience.
Piazza di Bellosguardo
Location
Piazza di Bellosguardo, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
07th March 2021 - noon
Recorder
Zoom H6 with Roland CS10-EM binaural microphone
Description
This recording was taken in the main square of the area of Bellosguardo, an awesome piece of countryside very near to the city centre. From here one can enjoy an amazing view of Florence (hence the name, meaning "beatiful sight"). The recording summarizes what can be found in this luxurious corner of the city: a lively nature, some peole walking or practicing urban trekking and a very mild car traffic in the background.
Viale Belfiore
Location
Viale Belfiore, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
17th March 2021 - early afternoon
Recorder
Zoom H6 with Roland CS10-EM binaural microphone
Description
Viale Belfiore is one of the large avenues that run around the city centre; it links the area of Fortezza da Basso and the back of Santa Maria Novella railway station to Porta al Prato. The heavy traffic and the tramway shape the soundscape, which consists of a thick symphony of cars, trucks and trains, with sporadic human-only appearances.
Monteripaldi
Location
Via di San Michele a Monteripaldi, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
21st March 2021 - noon
Recorder
Zoom H6 with Roland CS10-EM binaural microphone
Description
Monteripaldi is a beautiful tiny village in the hills, in the southernmost part of the municipality of Florence. It consists of a small church and a handful of houses, and it is linked to the rest of the city through narrow country roads. This recording was taken under a heavy wind, that dominates the soundscape and links the few sounds of people and church bells that appear here and there.
Parco dell'Isolotto
Location
Via dell'Isolotto, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
25th March 2021 - afternoon
Recorder
Zoom H6 with Roland CS10-EM binaural microphone
Description
This recording was taken in a park on the southern bank of the Arno, in the quarter of Isolotto. This green area, together with other two adjacent parks, is in the middle of a highly urbanized part of the city, and this makes the soundscape a sometimes chaotic, other times quieter, meeting point of biophony, anthropophony and geophony.
Via di Ruffignano
Location
Via di Ruffignano, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
28th March 2021 - noon
Recorder
Zoom H6 with Roland CS10-EM binaural microphone and Sennheiser MKE600
Description
At the border with the municipality of Sesto Fiorentino there is a vast area with lots of trails where one can go hiking or simply enjoy nature few steps from the city. The Sunday this recording was taken there were lots of people (and also some heavy wind), and the soundscape is the blend of different sound sources inside a cozy frame.
On the bank of the Mugnone
Location
Via Giuseppe Tartini, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
06th June 2021 - late morning
Recorder
Zoom H6 with Roland CS10-EM binaural microphone
Description
This recording was made during a Sunday morning on the bank of the Mugnone, a short tributary of the river Arno that runs across a significant part of the city. On the bank there is a trail that allows to do some city trekking and to easily reach the last part of the Cascine park. The soundscape is the typical one of a city walking area during a Sunday morning, it is easy to figure out how this place looks like even without pictures.
Via delle Cascine
Location
Via delle Cascine, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
17th June 2021 - noon
Recorder
Zoom H6 with Roland CS10-EM binaural microphone
Description
This recording was taken upon a small bridge that leads to the Cascine park, the biggest green area of Florence. The bridge crosses a small stream called Fosso Macinante, that at the time of this recording was completely dry. The soundscape is influenced both by the sometimes heavy traffic and by the choruses of birds and cicadas. This reflects the nature of this place, a sort of border between the green and the 'grey' areas of the city.
Via Gordigiani
Location
Via Gordigiani, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
18th June 2021 - night
Recorder
Zoom H6 with Sennheiser MKE600
Description
This recording was taken at night near the northern bank of the Mugnone, a small tributary of the Arno. The soundscape of the area, during the nights of late spring and summer, is characterized by the chorus of the many frogs living near the stream. This creates a strong contrast with the heavy traffic coming from the other bank of the river and from the tramway, which runs along this street. The result is a weird blend of countryside-like and typically urban sounds, all at once.
Parco degli Ulivi
Location
Viale Augusto Righi, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
24th July 2021 - afternoon
Recorder
Zoom H6 with Roland CS10-EM binaural microphone
Description
Parco degli Ulivi (which means "park of the olive trees") is a small and cozy garden located in the north-eastern part of the city, characterized by the presence of many olive trees together with other plants and flowers. This recording was taken during a very hot summer afternoon, with almost no one around and the sound of cicadas covering even most of the traffic noise from the nearby avenue. A solitary, deep and almost out of space listening experience.
Parco Giordano Cubattoli
Location
Via Faentina, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
24th July 2021 - late afternoon
Recorder
Zoom H6 with Roland CS10-EM binaural microphone
Description
This park (also known as Parco Pettini Burresi) is a wide and diverse garden in the area of Le Cure. It features different areas: one for children, another one to play sports, a dog area, a bar with live music and some trails to take a walk. The soundscape reflects the varied but well organized nature of this place, with voices and sounds from different kinds of people having fun during a warm summer afternoon.
Mercato di Sant'Ambrogio
Location
Piazza Lorenzo Ghiberti, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
05th August 2021 - late morning
Recorder
Zoom H6 with Roland CS10-EM binaural microphone
Description
The Mercato di Sant'Ambrogio is an indoor (and partly outdoor) market located in piazza Ghiberti. Like the other big indoor market of the centre, the Mercato di San Lorenzo, it sells mainly food and has some places to eat, too, of course oriented towards typical Florentine cuisine. The soundscape is lively and varied, and it reflects the nature and the atmosphere of this piece of authentic Florence.
Via del Perugino
Location
Via del Perugino, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
09th October 2021 - afternoon
Recorder
Zoom H6 with Roland CS10-EM binaural microphone
Description
This recording was taken in a suburban area in the quarter of Isolotto, near a skatepark that is a lively meeting point for young people living there, especially during weekends. The sounds of skates, rollerblades and people having fun dominate this interesting soundscape, that witnesses that it is not necessary to go the city centre to find interesting and remarkable places.
Via di Ugnano
Location
Via di Ugnano, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
09th October 2021 - afternoon
Recorder
Zoom H6 with Roland CS10-EM binaural microphone
Description
Ugnano is a village near the banks of Arno, on the southwest border of the municipality of Florence. It is mainly a residential area, between the highway and the open countryside. In this recording, taken near the church and its recreational area, the sounds of the traffic are just a background to a birthday party with lots of children playing and having fun together. A cozy and nostalgic feeling permeates this unexpected soundscape.
Viale Aldo Palazzeschi
Location
Viale Aldo Palazzeschi, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
24th October 2021 - afternoon
Recorder
Zoom H6 with Roland CS10-EM binaural microphone
Description
This recording was taken during a Sunday afternoon in the north-eastern part of the city, in typical suburban area, characterized both by newly built houses and wide green areas. The sounds taken in this wide avenue are are characterized by a strong urban footprint, but also by the voices coming from a near small stadium and the barking of the dogs from the dog area along the street. Nothing special probably, but still an interesting sound document.
Piazza Taddeo Gaddi
Location
Piazza Taddeo Gaddi, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
27th October 2021 - afternoon
Recorder
Zoom H6 with Roland CS10-EM binaural microphone
Description
Piazza Gaddi is a square filled with a huge roundabout, with heavy traffic all day long but also lots of small shops and artisans' workshops. This duality is reflected in the soundscape: the constant rumbles of cars and the voices of different kinds of people living this busy part of the city build up an interesting and diverse soundscape.
Parco dell'Argingrosso
Location
Via delle Isole, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
28th October 2021 - noon
Recorder
Zoom H6 with Roland CS10-EM binaural microphone and Sennheiser MKE600
Description
This soundscape was taken in a wide park in the quarter of Isolotto, where a small lake hosts different species of birds. The constant rumble of traffic is the reminder that we are in the city, moreover in a rather urbanized area. The rest of sounds come from this great diversity of birds, and sometimes from the few people and dogs that were there during this lengthy recording. An area of the city to preserve and protect.
Viale Benedetto Croce
Location
Viale Benedetto Croce, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
10th November 2021 - late morning
Recorder
Zoom H6 with Roland CS10-EM binaural microphone
Description
Sorgane, where this recording was taken, is a village in the southern part of the city, at the border with the municipality of Bagno a Ripoli. The main street of this area hosts a small market every morning, and it is an important meeting point for the those who live there, especially old people. Near the market there is also the bar of the village, another precious meeting place where lots of different voices blend and create a dense sound layer, sometimes even louder than the nearly constant flow of cars and buses.
Viale Spartaco Lavagnini
Location
Viale Spartaco Lavagnini, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
24th November 2021 - afternoon
Recorder
Zoom H6 with MS microphone
Description
Viale Lavagnini is one of the largest avenues of Florence, linking Fortezza Da Basso with Piazza della Libertà. It is always crossed by many cars, and the resulting soundscape is easy to guess. What is interesting is that the different semaphores modulate the vehicle flow (and the movements of the pedestrians), like a simple but efficient score.
Mercato Contadino
Location
Piazzale del Re, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
04th December 2021 - morning
Recorder
Zoom H6 with Roland CS10-EM binaural microphone
Description
This recording was taken in the Cascine Park on a Saturday morning, when a weekly farmer's market is held in a square at the gates of the park. It is a lively market where farmers from the Tuscan countryside sell the food they directly produce, from vegetables to meat, from cheese to fruit and bread. The soundscape is a thick texture of voices and experiences, with few noises from traffic. A real countryside market few steps from the city centre.
Via delle Mulina di Sant'Andrea
Location
Via delle Mulina di Sant'Andrea, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
20th February 2022 - noon
Recorder
Zoom H6 with Roland CS10-EM binaural microphone and Sennheiser MKE600
Description
This recording was taken on the bank of the Arno, in the easternmost part of the city, where a trail for bikes and pedestrians runs along the river. The soundscape is dominated by the rumble of the water, but both anthropic and natural sound markers appear during the recording, making it a diverse and unusual (at least for a city) aural document.
Via Sant'Andrea a Rovezzano
Location
Via Sant'Andrea a Rovezzano, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
20th February 2022 - early afternoon
Recorder
Zoom H6 with Roland CS10-EM binaural microphone and Sennheiser MKE600
Description
Sant'Andrea a Rovezzano is a small village at the border with the municipality of Fiesole and near the northern bank of the river Arno. This recording captures the magic of this beautiful place, that feels like a remote country village even if it is surrounded by a modern and often noisy area. Here the voices of people taking a walk in a sunny Sunday and the many birds (and bees!) announcing the forthcoming spring dominate over the far noises of cars and trains. A cozy soundscape for a cozy place.
Piazza del Carmine
Location
Piazza del Carmine, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
06th March 2022 - late afternoon
Recorder
Zoom H6 with Roland CS10-EM binaural microphone
Description
Piazza del Carmine is a wide square in the Oltrarno, the part of the city centre on the Southern bank of the river Arno. It is a square famous for the church of Santa Maria del Carmine, where visitors can find the beautiful Brancacci chapel. It is also a wide (mostly) empty square where some events are held during summer and where people of this area meet all year long. The soundscape is dominated by the voices of people of any age. A meeting point of stories, habits and lifestyles.
Piazza Santo Spirito
Location
Piazza Santo Spirito, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
06th March 2022 - evening
Recorder
Zoom H6 with Roland CS10-EM binaural microphone
Description
Piazza Santo Spirito is one of the most lively and attended squares of Florence, with lots of bars and restaurants and frequent open air markets. It is often crowded and pleasantly noisy, like during the Sunday afternoon when this recording was taken. Each corner of this rather big square (at least for Florence standards) has a different sound niche, and this field recording tries to explore them all.
Via Luca Giordano
Location
Via Luca Giordano, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
02nd April 2022 - afternoon
Recorder
Zoom H6 with Roland CS10-EM binaural microphone
Description
This recording was taken in the corner of a street between the city centre and the areas of Campo di Marte and Le Cure. There are several railway tracks running along this street, and the trains represent the main soundmark of this recording. Occasionally, some cars and few pedestrians pass by, in a typical urban low fi soundscape.
Viale Giacomo Matteotti
Location
Viale Giacomo Matteotti, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
02nd April 2022 - afternoon
Recorder
Zoom H6 with Roland CS10-EM binaural microphone
Description
Viale Matteotti is one of the largest avenues of the city, linking two important squares such as Piazza della Libertà and Piazzale Donatello. The soundscape is noisy and thick, dominated by the dense traffic jam and from where the voices of the many people crossing this road emerge when the semaphore is red.
Piazza Fra' Girolamo Savonarola
Location
Piazza Fra' Girolamo Savonarola, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
02nd April 2022 - afternoon
Recorder
Zoom H6 with Roland CS10-EM binaural microphone
Description
Piazza Savonarola is a classy and well kept square just outside the city centre. It has a nice garden, surrounded by elegant buildings. It is a meeting place for people of different ages, and its soundscape reflects its lively but low profile nature. It is a good sonic picture of how a Saturday afternoon feels like in a place like this.
Giardino delle Rose
Location
Viale Giuseppe Poggi, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
03rd April 2022 - noon
Recorder
Zoom H6 with Roland CS10-EM binaural microphone
Description
The Giardino delle Rose (Garden of the Roses) is a beautiful garden near Piazzale Michelangelo, with a privileged view on Florence. The garden is enriched by many flowers (not only roses) and works of art from Jean-Michel Folon. During Sundays, this garden is really crowded, and both tourists and locals attend this place. The soundscape is rich, varied and full of different nuances. Listening to recordings like this is like listening to a well told story, something that is not that common in an urban and sound-polluted environment.
Giardino Giapponese
Location
Via dei Bastioni, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
03rd April 2022 - noon
Recorder
Zoom H6 with Roland CS10-EM binaural microphone
Description
The Giardino Giapponese (Japanese Garden) is a peculiar garden contiguous with Giardino delle Rose, and it is a tiny green corner in Japanese style, with water streams, little bridges and an area dedicated to the tea ceremony. Probably the position (inside a wider and crowded garden) and the too impetuous water streams do not help to give an authentic meditative feeling. Despite this, the "imperfect" soundscape of this area is intriguing and different, and it surely deserves a careful listen.
Giardino Piero Filippi
Location
Via dell'Erta Canina, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
03rd April 2022 - early afternoon
Recorder
Zoom H6 with Roland CS10-EM binaural microphone
Description
This recording was taken in a park near Piazzale Michelangelo, in a slightly hidden position. It is the typical example of how a soundscape can change relatively fast, just with the presence or absence of few people. Children playing, teenagers chatting and tourists visiting this area create different variations on the same theme, and make the minimalist soundscape of this place anything but dull.
Giardino della Ciminiera
Location
Via delle Cascine, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
27th May 2022 - afternoon
Recorder
Zoom H6 with Roland CS10-EM binaural microphone
Description
The Giardino della Ciminiera (garden of the chimney) is inside the area of the Manifattura Tabacchi, a former tobacco processing plant and now an evolving area near the Cascine park, featuring museums, cafes, a fashion school, craft workshops and luxury apartments. The soundscape is typical of an area where people meet and have fun, but the position in a green area of the city has an influence, blending the many voices with the sounds of birds and trees. A pleasant dense soundscape that can change a lot by just moving a few meters.
Piazza Santa Maria Novella
Location
Piazza Santa Maria Novella, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
19th June 2022 - noon
Recorder
Zoom H6 with Roland CS10-EM binaural microphone
Description
Piazza Santa Maria Novella is one of most famous squares of Florence. Located in front of Santa Maria Novella church and just few meters from the railway station with the same name, it is one of the gates of access to the city centre. It is always rather crowded, by both locals and tourists. The square often hosts open air markets and different kinds of events, from political demonstrations to live gigs and shows. The soundscape is thus dense and diverse, and it can change by just moving around this rather wide, at least for Florence standards, space.
Piazza dei Ciompi
Location
Piazza dei Ciompi, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
09th September 2022 - afternoon
Recorder
Zoom H6 with Roland CS10-EM binaural microphone
Description
Piazza dei Ciompi is a lively square in the city centre, former seat of the flea market (now in Piazza Annigoni). It is near the area of Sant'Ambrogio, attended both by tourists and locals. The square is not that big, but has different sections, so that the sounds that can be heard are diverse: from children playing football to people drinking a coffee and chatting, from group of tourists walking to locals chilling in the small but cosy garden in the middle of the square.
Piazza Massimo d'Azeglio
Location
Piazza Massimo d'Azeglio, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
09th September 2022 - afternoon
Recorder
Zoom H6 with Roland CS10-EM binaural microphone
Description
Piazza d'Azeglio is a large square at the border of the city centre. It has a wide green area, surrounded by elegant XIX century buildings. The square, due to its big garden, is a meeting point for people of any age, from children playing in the area dedicated to them to adult and old people relaxing or practicing sports. The soundscape during the day is lively and a bit chaotic, and the traffic of the nearby avenues is only a background to the strong human presence of this elegant but popular place.
Ponte Margherita Hack
Location
Ponte Margherita Hack, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
13th September 2022 - afternoon
Recorder
Zoom H6 with Roland CS10-EM binaural microphone
Description
Ponte Margherita Hack is a bridge reserved to the tramway, pedestrians and bicycles. It is placed at the beginning of the area of Novoli and crosses the river Mugnone and a series of streets which run under it. The soundscape is peculiar: the heavy car traffic is a sort of monotonous background rumble, with the tramways passing by and the voices of pedestrians and cyclists as the foreground sounds that appear every now and then.
San Salvi
Location
Via Andrea del Sarto, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
22nd September 2022 - morning
Recorder
Zoom H6 with Roland CS10-EM binaural microphone
Description
The area of San Salvi is a wide walled zone that formerly hosted the asylum of Florence. The many buildings inside this protected area were assigned to different kinds of patients, according to their mental illness. Nowadays it is a heterogeneous area where there are a primary school, many different clinics, a place dedicated to art and theatre and various abandoned buildings. Near the school, which is also next to the entrance, the soundscape is chaotic and dominated by children and cars (plus the train passing by), while in the other parts of this area there is almost silence, interrupted by few cars and people every now and then.
Via Giuseppe Galliano
Location
Via Giuseppe Galliano, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
12th October 2022 - afternoon
Recorder
Zoom H6 with Roland CS10-EM binaural microphone
Description
Via Galliano is a long street that links the city centre to the area of Piazza Puccini and Novoli. It is a street that features houses, offices and shops, so it is attended by different kinds of people for different needs. The resulting soundscape, even if it is basically rather predictable and not so exciting, has some interesting moments, and the diversity of the people we were talking about is well represented in this recording.
Prato delle Cornacchie
Location
Viale dell'Aeronautica, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
29th October 2022 - afternoon
Recorder
Zoom H6 with Roland CS10-EM binaural microphone
Description
Prato delle Cornacchie ("Meadow of the Crows") is a wide green area inside the park of the Cascine. It is attended by many people, especially during summer, when one can often find live gigs and open air cinema. Throughout the rest of the year, it remains a place where people can meet, play, relax and bring their pets. The soundscape is originated from a strong intersection between an antrophonic part and a biophonic one, and it gives and lively and diverse picture of this beautiful place not far from the city centre.
Cimitero di Trespiano
Location
Via Bolognese, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
02nd November 2022 - late morning
Recorder
Zoom H6 with Roland CS10-EM binaural microphone
Description
The Trespiano cemetery is the biggest cemetery of Florence, built in 1784 on the hills near Florence, in the small village of Trespiano, belonging to the quarter of Campo di Marte. This recording was taken on November, 2nd, which is All Souls' Day, when people bring flowers to the dead. Since it is not holiday in Italy (while November 1st is), the cemetery was only moderately crowded, so the soundscape has also many moments of silence, only interrupted by birds and far sounds. The cars' noises are due both to a bus that runs inside the cemetery and to a few hearses.
Presidio Ospedaliero Palagi
Location
Viale Michelangiolo, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
19th December 2022 - early afternoon
Recorder
Zoom H6 with Roland CS10-EM binaural microphone
Description
This recording was taken around the hospital Piero Palagi, a public hospital in the southern part of the city, on the hills near Piazzale Michelangelo. It is a complex made up of several buildings, and it is mainly dedicated to specialist visits, clinical tests and day hospital surgery. The surrounding environment is mixed and very interesting, with car parkings and roads going up and down the hill the hospital is built upon. The soundscape is rather predictable, but it is interesting to notice the lack of ambulances, since this hospital is not used for emergencies. Moreover, the distribution of sounds is rather uneven, since there are some places, far from the main entrance of the hospital, that are in open countryside, creating a sudden contrast between an urban and a rural soundscape.
Firecrackers on New Year's Day
Location
Via Maragliano, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
01st January 2023 - night
Recorder
Zoom H6 with XY microphone
Description
This recording was taken few minutes after midnight, on the night between 31st December 2022 and 01st January 2023. Rather than a documentation of a place (even if it of course it was taken in a specific place, namely the area of San Jacopino), it documents the heavy use of firecrackers (and a few fireworks) to greet the arrival of the new year. The resulting soundscape is obviously noisy and chaotic, but the alternation between louder (and nearer) firecrackers and softer ones seems to follow a predetermined and organized score.
Piazzale di Porta Romana
Location
Piazzale di Porta Romana, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
06th September 2023 - late morning
Recorder
Zoom H6 with Roland CS10-EM binaural microphone
Description
Porta Romana is the southernmost gate in the medieval walls of Florence. From here a road to Siena and Rome (hence the name) begins. The square in front of the gate is a dense crossroad where different streets join, and it is still a sort of border between the city centre and the suburbs. The soundscape is chaotic and dominated by the cars, but the typical traffic noise is mitigated by the many pedestrians that live this place, even if for only few minutes, just the time to wait for a bus or to buy stuff in one of the many shops that can be found here.
Via Antonio del Pollaiolo
Location
Via Antonio del Pollaiolo, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
02nd October 2023 - afternoon
Recorder
Zoom H6 with Roland CS10-EM binaural microphone
Description
Via del Pollaiolo is one of the main streets between the area of Isolotto and the area of Legnaia. It is a long road that leads from the borders of the city centre to the outer part of the city, towards Scandicci and the highway. Along the street there are several shops and other facilities, so there are lots of vehicles passing by but also many people who come here for various needs. The soundscape reflects this duality, being strictly antropophonic but featuring both people and cars.
Giardino Vittime di Via Fani
Location
Lungarno Aldo Moro, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
15th October 2023 - morning
Recorder
Zoom H6 with Roland CS10-EM binaural microphone
Description
This recording was taken into a long and narrow green area in front of the river Arno, dedicated to the victims of a terrorist attack happened in Italy in 1978. The soundscape was recorded during a Sunday morning when a flea market was being held, and a lot of people were attending it. The vibrant atmosphere is reflected in the many different voices that can be heard during this pleasant walk along the bank of the Arno.
Giardini di Bellariva
Location
Lungarno Aldo Moro, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
15th October 2023 - morning
Recorder
Zoom H6 with Roland CS10-EM binaural microphone
Description
This garden is located in front of the Lungarno, in the quarter of Campo di Marte. It features some green areas to relax, a kiosk where you can eat and drink and some sports facilities. The soundscape is predominantly antropophonic: people chatting while drinking at the kiosk and a football match between two children teams are the main sound sources of this simple yet varied Sunday morning soundscape.
Giardino di Via del Mezzetta
Location
Via del Mezzetta, Florence - Italy
Map
Date
30th March 2024 - morning
Recorder
Zoom H6 with Roland CS10-EM binaural microphone
Description
This garden is located in the quarter of Campo di Marte, towards the eastern border of the municipality. The garden is located in a residential area, frequented but not crowded, even on a Saturday morning like the one when the recording was made. In the resulting soundscape, you can hear birdsong, interspersed with human voices (mostly children's) and light car traffic. It's a soundscape in the heart of the city, yet it feels like it's coming from a playground in a countryside village.