Piazza delle Erbe before the market opens

Piazza delle Erbe stands on the old Roman forum and has been a market ever since. What sets it apart from other Italian squares is the painting: several of the palace fronts still carry sixteenth-century frescoes, faded to pink and terracotta, and the Torre dei Lamberti rises straight out of one corner.

The square is long and narrow, which means the light runs along it rather than across it. Just after sunrise the sun enters from the east end and lights the painted facades on the north side while the south stays in shade — a clean, directional set-up you cannot get later in the day. The Madonna Verona fountain in the middle and the columned canopy give two natural anchors for a couple.

That early hour is also the only time the paving is visible: stalls go up from about eight and stay until evening, after which the square becomes an open-air bar. If you want the frescoes and the tower without market awnings in front of them, the window is short. In winter it is longer, because the market is smaller and the light arrives later.