It was April 1879 when Florence inaugurated its first horse-drawn tramway, linking the city centre to Peretola before extending to reach Prato and Poggio a Caiano a year later. The city’s old tram network ground to a halt in 1958 with the arrival of buses and the damage inflicted by the Second World War. Now, in 2022, with sustainability in mind and years of development, Florence has two tramlines with another two in the works.
Visitors and residents can find out all about Florence’s tram system by visiting www.firenzetramvia.it, a new website launched by the city council that provides details about existing and future lines, ongoing construction sites and a link to IF-Infomobility, the official app that keeps commuters informed about public transportation in Florence.
Today’s trams
Opened on February 14, 2010, Line T1 “Leonardo” currently runs between Scandicci, Firenze Santa Maria Novella train station and the city’s main Careggi hospital, while the T2 “Vespucci” line, which was opened in February 2019, connects Florence’s Peretola airport with piazza dell’Unità d’Italia, just a five-minute walk to piazza Duomo.
Tomorrow’s trams
Plans are in the pipeline to extend Line T2 as far as piazza della Libertà (connecting with metropolitan buses) and piazza San Marco, near to Michelangelo’s David in the Accademia Gallery. Once this expansion has been completed, work is expected to begin on Line 3 between piazza della Libertà and Bagno a Ripoli to the east of the city before then adding a further branch of the same line between piazza della Libertà and Rovezzano. Line 2.2 (undergoing a technical and economic feasibility study) would continue the tramline from the airport as far as Castello train station, Sesto Fiorentino and the out-of-town university campus. Line 4, on the other hand, will connect the current Line 1 with the Porta al Prato-Leopolda area and the Le Piagge neighbourhood on the west side of Florence before being extended out to Campi Bisenzio.
Florence tram facts
Service starts at 5:30 and stops at 0:30.
The headway is 4 minutes from 7:30 to 20:30 and 6 minutes at other times.
A journey from end to end of Line 1 takes 23 minutes.
A journey from end to end of Line 2 takes 22 minutes.
Tramvia Ovunque Firenze. The new brand identity for Florence’s tram system.
