A walk through Chinzica, the part of the city south of the river, takes you through narrow alleyways and some wider streets that follow the paths of medieval carraie, streets wide enough for carts.
The name Chinzica was given to this part of town by the Longobards. In its meaning of “ditch” it well described the low-lying area, some of it marshy, along the left bank of the Arno.
From tiny piazza dei Grilletti you can walk along via della Nunziatina, that took its name from the 16th century oratory of SS. Annunziata on the south side of piazza dei Grilletti, suppressed in the 1780s, then on through the medieval streets of via dei Garofani and via dell’Occhio, and admire the brickwork medieval houses in via delle Belle Donne, or peep through the gate into the large garden of Palazzo Mastiani, on via della Nunziatina.
This garden, once belonging to the Rosselmini family, extended southwards along the entire block; there was a lake with an island in the centre and a hillock with false ruins in the Romantic style.