A large, plane-shaded square in the Oltrarno on the south bank of the Arno, and one of the few open spaces in central Florence that still works mainly as a neighbourhood meeting place. It is dominated by the Basilica di Santo Spirito, the last church designed by Filippo Brunelleschi, whose blank eighteenth-century facade conceals an interior of grey pietra serena colonnades long regarded as a model of Renaissance proportion. A fountain stands at the centre, market stalls occupy part of the square on weekday mornings, and the surrounding streets hold artisan workshops, cafes and bars whose customers fill the church steps at night. The square itself is open at all hours and free; the basilica keeps separate visiting hours.