THE CRADLE OF THE RENAISSANCE
Florence
It was the cradle of the Renaissance and the world capital of art in the fifteenth century. It features one of the historic centers and some of the most famous museums in the world. All around it has one of the most iconic and characteristic landscapes on the planet. In Florence everything is spectacular: from the shops to the streets that lead up to the hills immediately behind the most touristic areas, from the most genuine and popular districts, which arise just outside the historic center, to the monuments that tell the soul.
Florence is universally recognized as a city of art, with an inestimable heritage of architecture, paintings, sculptures, historical and scientific memories, which form the fabric of the city, as in a pulsating widespread museum.
The first Florentine artist, or at least active in Florence, is a certain Rusticus, “clericus et pictor”, whose name is mentioned in two notarial parchments of the year 1066 relating to the ancient church of San Pier Maggiore.
The heart of Florence is Piazza della Signoria, with the majestic Palazzo Vecchio, with the gallery of sculptural masterpieces in the Loggia dei Lanzi and the nearby Uffizi Gallery, one of the most renowned art museums in the world. Not far away is the religious center of the cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, with the majestic dome (the largest ever built). At the time of the Grand Duchy, it was said that with his shadow it came to cover all of Tuscany. The huge Cathedral is magnificently equipped with Giotto’s Bell Tower, one of the most beautiful in Italy, and the Baptistery of San Giovanni, with the famous bronze doors among which the golden door of Paradise stands out.
The Arno River, which passes through the city, occupies a place in Florentine history on a par with the people who live there. Historically, the local population has a love-hate relationship with the Arno, which has alternately brought about the advantages of trade and the disasters of floods. Among the bridges that cross it, the Ponte Vecchio is unique in the world, with the characteristic jewelers’ shops in the houses built on it. Crossed by the noble Vasari Corridor, it is the only bridge in the city to have passed unscathed through the Second World War.
Hercules and Cacus, sculpture by Baccio Bandinelli in Piazza della Signoria In addition to the Uffizi, Florence has other museums that would be the main artistic attraction of any other major city in the world: the Accademia Gallery, the Bargello or the Pitti Palace with its eight museums including the Palatine Gallery. The Florentines pride themselves on possessing the best example of beauty in both female (Botticelli’s Venus) and male (Michelangelo’s David) art.
The first Florentine artist, or at least active in Florence, is a certain Rusticus, “clericus et pictor”, whose name is mentioned in two notarial parchments of the year 1066 relating to the ancient church of San Pier Maggiore.
The heart of Florence is Piazza della Signoria, with the majestic Palazzo Vecchio, with the gallery of sculptural masterpieces in the Loggia dei Lanzi and the nearby Uffizi Gallery, one of the most renowned art museums in the world. Not far away is the religious center of the cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, with the majestic dome (the largest ever built). At the time of the Grand Duchy, it was said that with his shadow it came to cover all of Tuscany. The huge Cathedral is magnificently equipped with Giotto’s Bell Tower, one of the most beautiful in Italy, and the Baptistery of San Giovanni, with the famous bronze doors among which the golden door of Paradise stands out.
The Arno River, which passes through the city, occupies a place in Florentine history on a par with the people who live there. Historically, the local population has a love-hate relationship with the Arno, which has alternately brought about the advantages of trade and the disasters of floods. Among the bridges that cross it, the Ponte Vecchio is unique in the world, with the characteristic jewelers’ shops in the houses built on it. Crossed by the noble Vasari Corridor, it is the only bridge in the city to have passed unscathed through the Second World War.
Hercules and Cacus, sculpture by Baccio Bandinelli in Piazza della Signoria In addition to the Uffizi, Florence has other museums that would be the main artistic attraction of any other major city in the world: the Accademia Gallery, the Bargello or the Pitti Palace with its eight museums including the Palatine Gallery. The Florentines pride themselves on possessing the best example of beauty in both female (Botticelli’s Venus) and male (Michelangelo’s David) art.
