The Santa Croce quarter, in the southeast of the historic centre, gathers around the vast Franciscan basilica that serves as Italy's pantheon, holding the tombs of Michelangelo, Galileo, Machiavelli, and Rossini, with Brunelleschi's serene Pazzi Chapel in its cloister. The broad piazza in front has long been a stage for festivals and the rowdy historic football match, the calcio storico, played here each June.
Traditionally the leather-working district, the quarter is full of workshops and the famous Scuola del Cuoio leather school behind the church. The streets toward the river and Sant'Ambrogio are among the most enjoyable in the city for an unhurried wander, with good trattorie and a less polished, more local feel than the area around the Duomo.