Florence, Italy

(2009) Florence (Firenza) is well known for its history and importance in the Middle Ages and in the Renaissance. It was here in Florence that in the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries, Europe woke up from a cultural slumber of the Middle Ages where modern art and most significant and most captivating architecture developed. This cultural revolution was financed in large part by the Medicis, Florence's ruling family throughout much of the Renaissance, who used their banking wealth to foster the arts. Florence is considered the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance (or cradle of the Renaissance) with its amazing monuments, churches, and buildings and museums housing major paintings and sculptures of the period.


Florence is a fairly compact city that is best maneuvered on foot. Located in the heart of Tuscany, the Arno River cuts through the old part of the city, centro storico (historic center). No major sights are more than 20-25 minute walk apart. If you are staying outside of Florence and arrived by train, you probably embarked at the Santa Maria Novella station. If you walk straight ahead from the train station, you will come upon via Panzani which becomes via de'Cerretani, that leads about 1640 feet total into Piazza del Duomo, the center of the city from the tourist's perspective.


It is here at the Piazza del Duomo is Florence's religious heart with the Duomo Group: Giotto's lithe belltower, the Bapistry's Gates of Paradise and Byzantine mosaics, and the huge Gothic Duomo (Cattedrale de Santa Maria del Fiore) under Brunelleschi's red tiled dome with double shell construction and unsupported that were miraculous Renaissance engineering and architecture. The exterior is dressed with green marble from Prato, pink from the Maremma, and white from Carrara, and has several elaborate doors and statues by Michelangelo and Donatello. The interior dome is decorated with impressive frescoes painted by Vasari and Zuccari. Buy a ticket and climb up the 463 steps of the dome to the marble lantern and dramatic outlook points at the top.

In front of the Duomo, is the Baptistry of John the Baptist, from the 11th century, and is one of Florence's oldest buildings. The exterior too similar to the Duomo is made of green and white marble from Prato and has three sets of gilded bronze door reproductions (the originals are in the Duomo Museum) known as Gates of Paradise as dubbed by Michaelangelo depicting scenes from the Old Testament in three dimensional relief. The interior of the Baptistry are some mosaics and a marble pavement of the zodiac.


The Duomo Campanile (bell tower) is known as Giotto's tower. The bas-reliefs that decorate the exterior are copies of "Lily of Florence" started by Giotto, continued by Andrea Pisano, and finished by Francesco Talenti. The view at the top of the Campanile is equal to the Duomo but with only 414 steps. After the three monuments, behind the cathedral is the Museo Dell'Opera Del Duomo where all the Duomo's original art treasures are kept including Donatello's exotic wooden statue of Mary Magdalen and Michelangelo's final Pieta sculpted when he was more than 75 years old.


There are 3 primary museums that are not to be missed while in Florence.

The Galleria Dell'Accademia is the home of Michelangelo's proud and massive David (1501-4) stands pensively at the end of a corridor beneath the rotunda. David was originally commissioned by the Opera del Duomo of Florence to be placed as a decoration in the Cathedral. It was eventually placed in front of the Palazzo Vecchio until it was brought to this museum in 1873 allegedly for conservation reasons. The statue's perfect modelling, the calm and determined strength of the expression and its imposing size have made Michelangelo's David one of the best-known and the sculptor's greatest work of art in the world. His unfinished sculptures of the Slaves group are also displayed in this museum in addition to a unique collection of gold-background panels and many religious paintings by painters from the 13th century.


The Uffizi Gallery contains the rich artistic heritage of the Renaissance. Four centuries of artistic development are housed in an impressive 45 room building originally commissioned by Duke Cosimo de'Medici to house the city's administrative offices (uffizi). Visitors can spend 3-4 hours at the Uffizi Gallery. First head towards the Botticelli rooms (10-14) to view his famous Birth of Venus on a half shell painted in 1486. Besides Botticelli, 1,700 works from Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Giotto, Caravaggio, Titian, Raphael, Simone Martini, Filippi Lippi and other Italian masters are on display in rooms throughout the gallery.


Begun in 1458 on the other south side of the Arno River is the Pitti Palace. the largest palazzo in Florence The palace was built in 1458 by Luca Pitti, a wealthy banker, that was later occupied by the ruling Medici family and the Royal House of Savoy. The enormous mansion now houses eight different galleries including Galleria Palatina, frescoed by Pietro da Cortona. with late Renaissance/early Baroque paintings. The Uffizi also contains one of the world's best collections of Raphaels and Titians. The mansion is all backed by the Boboli Gardens, a huge park on a hillside, requires a separate admission fee to be able to take the beautiful and idyll walk through the gardens and fountains and have a great vantage point to a view of Florence.


The museums are usually crowded especially during high tourist season. The wait at any of these museums can be an hour or more simply to enter. It is recommended that you have a time and date reservation at any of the museums of interest to avoid the long queues.

Two sites where you pre-plan your trip and make your museum reservations online are:

http://www.florence-museum.com/
http://en.firenze.waf.it/

If you forget to make your reservations online prior to your trip and you don't have access to the internet, you can also call the local reservation line: 055-294883.


Florence's most famous square is Piazza della Signoria, the heart of the historic center and a free open-air sculpture exhibit. The Loggia della Signoria holds some important statues including a copy of Michelangelo's David, where the original once stood before it was moved to Galleria dell'Accademia, and Ammannati's Neptune fountain. The only original is Bandinelli's Hercules (1534). The piazza has been Florence's political center since the Middle Ages and Florence's town hall, Palazzo Vecchio, dominates the piazza with its fortress architecture. The palazzo contains elaborately decorated public rooms and private apartments. Around the piazza are cafes and restaurants.

Pay your respects to the artistic luminaries buried at Santa Croce (Holy Cross) which is Florence's "Westminster Abbey". East of the Duomo, this basilica contains the tombs of the Tuscan geniuses Michelangelo, Machiavelli, Rossini and Galileo, Giotto frescoes to the right of the altar and a renowned leather school. There is a Renaissance chapel designed by Brunelleschi and a small museum with a Last Supper by Taddeo Gaddi and Cimabue's Crucifix.



Ponte Vecchio (Old Bridge) is the oldest of Florence's six bridges at the narrowest point of the Arno River and one of the city's best known images. The row of shops hanging from both sides of the bridge and held up by stilts have housed both gold- and silversmiths since the 16th century. The bust of Benvenuto Cellini who was the ingenious Florentine goldsmith and sculptor is also on display at Ponte Vecchio.


Italians are masters of industrial design from Ferraris to funky Alessi tea kettles. In the Piazza di San Lorenzo, the famous San Lorenzo outdoor market offers leather goods, fashion items, and marbled paper adjacent to a food market. Ferragamo's flagship store and museum is located on Via dei Tornabuoni close to the Gucci leather goods shop that first opened in 1904. For those that enjoy shopping for high fashion at a relative bargain, don't miss out on visiting the Prada outlet which is located outside of Florence in Montevarchi. Arrive early in the day if you choose to go for some incredible deals of Prada merchandise in this back-of-a-factory complex off the A1 tollway.