FLORENCE
toscana
Florence lies on the Arno River and it is known for its history and its importance in the Middle Ages and in the Renaissance, especially for its art and architecture. A centre of medieval European trade and finance, the city is often considered the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance and was long ruled by the Medici family. In fact, the city has been called the Athens of the Middle Ages. Just here, in the XV century, were put the basis to flourish again the Italian art and culture: thanks to writers like Dante, Petrarca and Machiavelli, the Italian language was born and thanks to the operas of artists like Botticelli, Michelangelo, Donatello, Brunelleschi and many others, it is become one of the artistic capital of the world. The "Historic Centre of Florence" was declared a World Heritage Site by the UNESCO in 1982.
Sites: Basilica of Santa Maria Novella, Pharmacy of Santa Maria Novella, Basilica of San Lorenzo, Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, Giotto's Bell Tower, Baptistery of Saint John, Church of San Marco, Accademia Gallery, Basilica of the Santissima Annunziata, Synagogue and Jewish Museum, Basilica of Santa Croce, Bargello, Basilica of Santa Trinita, Palazzo Vecchio, Uffizi Gallery, Vasari Corridor, Ponte Vecchio (Old Bridge), Palazzo Pitti (Pitti Palace), Boboli Gardens, Basilica of Santa Maria del Santo Spirito, Piazzale Michelangelo, Calcio Fiorentino, Fountain of the Piglet.
Basilica of Santa Maria Novella
Santa Maria Novella is a church in Florence, situated just across the main railway station which shares its name. Chronologically, it is the first great basilica in Florence, and is the city's principal Dominican church. The church, the adjoining cloister, and chapterhouse contain a store of art treasures and funerary monuments. Especially famous are frescoes by masters of Gothic and early Renaissance. They were financed through the generosity of the most important Florentine famiilies, who ensured themselves of funerary chapels on consecrated ground. This church was called Novella (New) because it was built on the site of the X-century oratory of Santa Maria delle Vigne. When the site was assigned to Dominican Order in 1221, they decided to build a new church and an adjoining cloister. The church was designed by two Dominican friars, Fra Sisto Fiorentino and Fra Ristoro da Campi. Building began in the mid-XIII century (about 1246), and was finished about 1360 under the supervision of Friar Iacopo Talenti with the completion of the Romanesque-Gothic bell tower and sacristy. At that time, only the lower part of the Tuscan Gothic facade was finished. On a commission from Giovanni di Paolo Rucellai, a local textile merchant, Leone Battista Alberti designed the upper part of the inlaid black and white marble facade of the church (1456-1470). Alberti attempted to bring the ideals of humanist architecture, proportion and classically-inspired detailing, to bear on the design while also creating harmony with the already existing medieval part of the facade. His contribution consists of a broad frieze decorated with squares and everything above it, including the four white-green pilasters and a round window, crowned by a pediment with the Dominican solar emblem, and flanked on both sides by enormous S-curved volutes.
The vast interior is based on a basilica plan, designed as a Latin cross and is divided into a nave, two aisles with stained-glass windows and a short transept. There is a trompe l'oeil-effect by which this nave towards the apse seems longer than its actual length. The interior also contains corinthian columns that were inspired by the Classical era of Greek and Roman times. The stained-glass windows date from the XIV and XV century, such as XV-century Madonna and Child and St. John and St. Philip (designed by Filippino Lippi), both in the Filippo Strozzi Chapel. Some stained glass windows have been damaged in the course of centuries and had to be replaced. The pulpit, commissioned by the Rucellai family in 1443, was designed by Filippo Brunelleschi and executed by his adopted child Andrea Cavalcanti. This pulpit has a particular significance, because from this pulpit the first attack came on Galileo Galilei, leading eventually to his indicment. The Holy Trinity, situated almost halfway in the left aisle, is a pioneering early renaissance work of Masaccio, showing his new ideas about perspective and mathematical proportions. Its meaning for the art of painting can easily be compared by the importance of Brunelleschi for architecture and Donatello for sculpture. The Filippo Strozzi Chapel is situated on the right side of the main altar. The Strozzi Chapel was the place where the first tale of the Decamerone by Giovanni Boccaccio began, when seven ladies decided to leave the town, and flee fom the Black Plague to the countryside. The choir (or the Tornabuoni Chapel) contains another series of famous frescoes, by Domenico Ghirlandaio and his apprentice the young Michelangelo (1485-1490). In the end of the nave, at a height of 45 meters, there is the Crucifix by Giotto (dated back around 1290), since 2001 after twelve years of restoration, in the position where probably it was until 1421.
Pharmacy of Santa Maria Novella
The Pharmacy of Santa Maria Novella is in Via della Scala, in the complex of Santa Maria Novella. It is no more a pharmacy, but a perfumery that still nowadays continues its commercial activity being open to the public. It is in a very monumental environment, with decorations and ancient pieces of furniture going back to various ages. It keeps also a valuable collections of scientific material, like thermometers, mortars, balances, measures, etc., besides to valuable pharmacy-pots from XV to XVIII century. It is documented that since the 1381 the Dominicans of Santa Maria Novella sold the roses water like a disinfectant, used especially during the epidemic periods. The friars cultivated th medicinal plants (the "Semplici" from the name of the Semplici Garden) in an adjacent garden, distilled herbs and flowers, prepared essences, elixirs, creams, balsams. In XVIII century its products were exported as far as Indies and China. In spite of the XVII-century abolitions, it remained working thanks to Fra Damiano Bensi and in 1866 was rented to the nephew Cesare Augusto Stefani, whose heirs manage still nowadays the activity. Today it is believed the most ancient pharmacy in all Europe, working since near 4 century, as well as one of the most ancient commercial stores in absolute.
Basilica of San Lorenzo
The Basilica of San Lorenzo (Basilica of St. Lawrence) is one of the largest churches of Florence, situated at the centre of the city's main market district, and the burial place of all the principal members of the Medici family from Cosimo il Vecchio to Cosimo III. It is one of several churches that claim to be the oldest in Florence; when it was consecrated in 1393 it stood outside the city walls. For three hundred years it was the city's cathedral before the official seat of the bishop was transferred to Santa Reparata. San Lorenzo was also the parish church of the Medici family. In 1419, Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici offered to finance a new church to replace the XI-century Romanesque rebuilding. Filippo Brunelleschi, the leading Renaissance architect of the first half of the XV century, was commissioned to design it, but the building, with alterations, was not completed until after his death. The church is part of a larger monastic complex that contains other important architectural works: the Old Sacristy by Brunelleschi; the Laurentian Library by Michelangelo; the New Sacristy based on Michelangelo's designs; and the Medici Chapels by Matteo Nigetti. The most celebrated and grandest part of San Lorenzo are the "Cappelle Medicee" (Medici Chapels) in the apse. Above is the Cappella dei Principi (Chapel of the Princes), a great but awkwardly domed octagonal hall where the grand dukes themselves are buried. The style shows Mannerist eccentricities in its unusual shape, broken cornices, and asymmetrically sized windows. At its centre was supposed to be the Holy Sepulchre itself, although attempts to buy and then steal it from Jerusalem failed.
Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore
The Basilica of Santa Maria del Fiore is the cathedral church of Florence. The basilica is notable for its dome designed by Filippo Brunelleschi, its exterior facing of polychrome marble panels in various shades of green and pink bordered by white. The basilica was built on the site of a previous cathedral, Santa Reparata (locals of Florence continued to call the Cathedral by this former name for some time after reconstruction), and was inspired by the new cathedrals in Pisa and Siena. By the end of the XIII century, the X-century-old church of Santa Reparata was crumbling with age. Furthermore, it had become too small in a period of rapid population expansion. Prosperous Florence also wanted to exceeded in size by Saint Peter's Basilica in the Vatican City, Saint Paul's Cathedral in London, the Seville Cathedral, and the Milan Cathedral. The new church was designed by Arnolfo di Cambio in 1296 (although the design was altered several times and later reduced in size). Arnolfo di Cambio was also the famous architect of the church of Santa Croce and the Palazzo Vecchio. He designed three wide naves ending under the octagonal dome, with the middle nave covering the area of Santa Reparata. After Arnolfo died in 1302, work on the cathedral slowed for the following thirty years. The project obtained new impetus, when the relics of San Zanobius were discovered in 1330 in Santa Reparata. In 1331, the "Arte della Lana" (Guild of Wool Merchants) took over exclusive patronage for the construction of the cathedral and in 1334 appointed Giotto to oversee the work. Assisted by Andrea Pisano, Giotto continued along di Cambio's design. His major accomplishment was the building of the bell tower. When Giotto died in 1337, Andrea Pisano continued the building until work was again halted due to the Balck Plague in 1348. In 1349 work resumed on the cathedral under a series of architects, commencing with Francesco Talenti, who finished the bell tower and enlarged the overall project to include the apse and the side chapels. The nave was finished in 1380, and in 1418 only the dome remained incomplete.
The exterior walls are faced in alternate vertical and horizontal bands of polychrome marble from Carrara (white), Prato (green), Siena (red), Lavenza and a few other places. These marble bands had to repeat the already existing bands on the walls of the earlier adjacent baptistery, the Baptistery of Saint John, and Giotto's bell tower. In 1419, the "Arte della Lana" held a competition to design a dome and cupola for the cathedral. The two main competitors were Lorenzo Ghiberti (famous for his work on the "Gate of Paradise" doors at the Baptistery) and Filippo Brunelleschi with Brunelleschi winning and receiving the commission. The building of a stone dome posed many technical problems. Work started on the dome in 1420 and was completed in 1436. It was the first octagonal dome in history to be built without a wooden supporting frame and was the largest dome built at the time (it is still the largest masonry dome in the world). It had been one of the most impressive projects of the Renaissance. The Gothic interior is vast and gives an empty impression. The relative bareness of the church corresponds with the austerity of religious life, as preached by Girolamo Savonarola. Many decorations in the church have been lost in the course of time, or have been transferred to the Museum Opera del Duomo, such as the magnificent cantorial pulpits (the singing galleries for the choristers) by Luca della Robbia and Donatello. The subterranean vaults were used for the burial of Florentine bishops throughout the centuries. Recently the archeological history of this huge area was reconstructed: remains of Roman houses, an early Christian pavement, ruins of the former cathedral of Santa Reparata and successive enlargements of this church. Close to the entrance, in the part of the crypt open to the public, is the tomb of Brunelleschi. That the architect was permitted such a prestigious burial place is proof of the high esteem he was given by the Florentines.
Giotto's Bell Tower
Giotto's Bell Tower is one of the showpieces of the Florentine Gothic style. Standing isolated next to the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore and in front of the Baptistery of St. John, this splendid contruction attracts the eye and the admiration of every art lover by its design, rich sculptural decorations and the many-coloured marble encrustations. On the death in 1302 of Arnolfo di Cambio, the first Master of the Works of the Cathedral, and after an interruption of more than thirty years, the celebrated painter Giotto di Bondone was nominated as his successor in 1334. At that time he was 67 years old. Giotto concentrated his energy on the design and construction of a bell tower for the cathedral. The first stone was laid on 1334. His design was in harmony with the polychromy of the cathedral, as applied by Arnolfo di Cambio, giving the tower a view as if it was "painted". When he died in 1337, he had only finished the lower floor with its marble external revetment: geometric patterns of white marble from Carrara, green marble from Prato and red marble from Siena. This lower floor is decorated on three sides with bas-reliefs in hexagonal panels, seven on each side. When the entrance door was enlarged in 1348, two panels were moved to the empty northern side and only much later, five more panels were commissioned to Luca della Robbia in 1437. The number "seven" has a special meaning in Biblical sense: it symbolizes human perfectibility. Through this work, Giotto has become, together with Brunelleschi (dome of the cathedral of Florence) and Alberti (with his treatise De re aedificatoria, 1450), one of the founding fathers of Italian Renaissance architecture. Giotto was succeeded as Master of the Works in 1343 by Andrea Pisano, famous already for the South Doors of the Baptistery. He continued the construction of the bell tower, scrupulously following Giotto's design. He added, above the lower level of Giotto, a second fascia, this time decorated with lozenge-shaped panels. He built two more levels, with four niches on each side and each level, but the second row of niches are empty. Construction came to a halt in 1348, year of the disastrous Black Death. Pisano was replaced in his turn by Francesco Talenti who built the top three levels, with the large windows, completing the bell tower in 1359. All the present works of art in the bell tower are copies. The originals were removed between 1965 and 1967 and are now on display in the Museum of the Opera del Duomo, behind the cathedral.
Baptistery of Saint John
The Baptistery of Saint John is a religious edifice in Florence. Believed to be the oldest building in the city, it is particularly famed for its three sets of magnificent and artistically important bronze doors. It stands in the Piazza del Duomo, just to the west of the Duomo. Until the end of the XIX century all Catholic Florentines were baptized in this church. It has the status of a minor basilica. For a long time, it was believed that the Baptistery was originally a Roman temple dedicated to Mars, the tutelary god of the old Florence. However, excavations in the XX century have shown that there was a first century Roman wall running through the square with the Baptistery. The Baptistery is likely built on the remains of a Roman guard tower on the corner of this wall, or potentially another Roman building. It is however certain that a first octgonal baptistery was erected here in the late IV or early V century. It was replaced or altered by another early Christian baptistery in the VI century. Its construction is attributed to Theodelinda, queen of the Lombards (570-628) to seal the conversion of her husband, king Authari. It was the city's second basilica after San Lorenzo outside the northern city wall, and predates the church Santa Reparata. A new and much larger octagonal baptistery was built in Romanesque style around 1059, evidence of a period of growing economic and political importance of Florence. It was enlarged with a rectangular apse on the west side in 1202.
Between the XIV and the XVI century, three bronze double doors were added, with the bronze and marble statues above them. This gives a good indication that the baptistery, and not the cathedral, was initially in the highest esteem of the Florentines. Recommended by Giotto, Andrea Pisano was awarded the commission to design the first set of doors in 1329. The South Doors were originally installed on the east side, facing the Duomo, but transferred to their present location in 1452. In 1401, a competition was announced by the "Arte del Calimala" (Merchants' Guild) to design the baptistery North Doors. The existing north doors had been a votive offering to spare Florence from a new scourge such as the Black Death in 1348. Seven sculptors competed, Lorenzo Ghiberti, Filippo Brunelleschi, Donatello and Jacopo della Quercia, with 21-years old Ghiberti winning the commssion. In 1425 he got a second commission, this time for the East Doors of the baptistery, on which he and his workshop (including Michelozzo and Benozzo Gozzoli) toiled for 27 years, excelling themselves. These had ten panels depicting scenes from the Old Testament, and were in turn installed on the east side. The "Gates of Paradise" now on the Baptistery are actually gilded bronze reproductions, placed there in 1990 after it was determined that the originals were deteriorating, and could only be saved if they were moved indoors. The original are housed nearby in the "Museo dell'Opera del Duomo", preserved in containers filled with nitrogen.
The vast interior of the Baptistery recalls the interior of the Pantheon in Rome. The interior is rather dark, light entering through small windows in the ambulatory and through the lantern. The interior is divided in a lower part with columns and pilasters and an upper part with an ambulatory. The rectangular apse was faced with mosaics in 1225. The mosaic marble pavement was begun in 1209. The geometric patterns in the floor are complex. Some show us oriental zodiac motifs, such as the slab of the astrologer Strozzo Strozzi. There was an octagonal font, its base still clearly visible in the middle of the floor. This font, which once stood in the church of Santa Reparata, was installed here in 1128. Dante is said to have broken one of the lower basins while rescuing a child from drowning. The font was removed in 1571 on orders from the Grand Duke Francesco I de' Medici. The present, and much smaller, octagonal font stands near the south entrance. It was installed in 1658 but is probably much older. The baptistery is crowned by a magnificent mosaic ceiling. The earliest mosaics, works of art of many unknown Venetian craftsmen (including probably Cimabue), date from 1225. The covering of the ceiling started under the direction of the Franciscan friar Jacopo da Torrita and was probably not completed until the XIV century.
Church of San Marco
San Marco is a religious complex in Florence. It comprises a church and a convent. The convent, which is now a museum, has three claims to fame: during the XV century it was home to two famous Dominicans, the painter Fra Angelico and the preacher Girolamo Savonarola. Also housed at the convent is a famous collection of manuscripts in a library built by Michelozzo. The church was consecrated in 1443, in the presence of Pope Eugene IV. It has a single nave with side chapels designed in the late XVI century by Giambologna, and housing paintings from the XVI-XVII centuries. In the late XVII century the tribune and the carved ceiling were also realized. A further renovation was carried on in 1678 by Pier Francesco Silvani. The facade, in Neo-Classical style, was built in 1777-1778. Among the artworks, the most ancient is a XIV-century crucifix in the counter-facade. Michelozzo built for Cosimo de' Medici a sober, though comfortable, Renaissance edifice, including the elegant cloister and, above all, the Library, which, under the reign of Lorenzo il Magnifico became one of the favourite meeting points for Florentine humanists such as Poliziano and Pico della Mirandola, who could conveniently consult here texts in Latin and Greek language.
Accademia Gallery
The Accademia Gallery was the first academy of drawing in Europe. It was founded in 1561 with high patronage of the Medici, specifically that of Cosimo I, by Giorgio Vasari, Agnolo Bronzino and Bartolomeo Ammannati, three of the central artists of Mannerism. At first the academy met in the cloister of the Church of the Santissima Annunziata. It was taken for granted at the outset that all the members of the Accademia were male; when the Accademia welcomed Artemisia Gentileschi to membership, it was a signal honor to a woman. Pietro Leopoldo, Grand Duke of Tuscany, decreed in 1784 that all the schools of drawing in Florence be combined under one roof, under the direction of the Accademia, now renamed "Accademia di Belle Arti Firenze" (Academy of Fine Arts Florence) and that it was to contain a gallery of paintings by old masters to help the studies of the young artists. The Accademia and the adjoining Gallery still occupy the premises that were assigned in via Ricasoli, a former convent and hospice. The Grand Duke also decided to include among the arts protected in this way, a conservatory of music (the Cherubini Conservatory) and, more extraordinary, a school of art restoration ( the "Opificio delle Pietre Dure"). The Gallery of the Accademia di Belle Arti houses the orginal David of Michelangelo since 1873. The sculpture was allegedly brought to the Accademia for reasons of conservation, although other factors were involved in its move from its previous outdoor location on Piazza della Signoria. The original intention was to create a "Michelangelo Museum", with original sculptures and drawings, to celebrate the fourth centenary of the artist's birth. Among the notable Renaissance works on display are an outstanding collection of XV and XVI century Florentine paintings by Paolo Uccello, Domenico Ghirlandaio, Sandro Botticelli and Andrea del Sarto and, from the High Renaissance, Giambologna's original plaster for the Rape of the Sabine Women.
Basilica of the Santissima Annunziata
The Basilica of the Santissima Annunziata (Basilica of the Most Holy Annunciation) is a Roman Catholic minor basilica and the mother church of the Servite order. It is located at the northeastern side of the Piazza Santissima Annunziata. The church was founded in 1250 by the seven original members of the Servite order. In 1252, a painting of the Annunciation, which had been begun by one of the monks but abandoned in despair because he did not feel he could create a beautiful enough image, was supposedly completed by an angel while he slept. This painting was placed in the church and became so venerated that in 1444 the Gonzaga family from Mantua financed a special tribune. Michelozzo, who was the brother of the Servite prior, was commissioned to build it, but since Ludovico II of Gonzaga had a special admiration for Leon Battista Alberti, Alberti in 1469 was given the commission. His vision was limited, however, by the pre-existing foundations. Contruction was completed in 1481, after Alberti's death. Though the space was given a Baroque dressing in the XVII century, the basic scheme of a domed circular space flanked by altar niches is still visible. The facade of the church was added in 1601 by the architect Giovanni Battista Caccini, in imitation of Brunelleschi's facade of the Foundling Hospital, which defines the eastern side of the square. The organ (1628) is the oldest in Florence and the second oldest in Italy.
Synagogue and Jewish Museum
The magnificent Great Synagogue in Florence, one of the most beautiful in Europe, was established thanks to the money donated by David Levi, a member of the local Jewish community. The syangogue was built according to the plans of architects Marco Treves, Mariano Falcini and Vincenzo Micheli, winners of the competition published by the Community Council in 1874. The construction continued for eight years between 1874 and 1882 within a public park on Via Farini, in the Santa Croce district, not far from the historic centre of the city. The synagogue is an example of the new monumental building that expressed the change in the way of life and thinking of European Jews during the Emancipation. After the French Revolution (1789), Western and Central European Jews were gradually granted civil rights; they were allowed to travel freely without special permits, and many new financial and social prospects were open to them. The Jews looked for ways to express these changes: the hundreds of synagogues built throughout Europe during the XIX century are impressive evidence of this desire. The builders of these synagogues were not longer restricted as to location and height, and had no fear sounds of worshipers at prayer would anger the non-Jewish inhabitants or government. It was a display of power by an affluent and liberated community. Motifs from the past and a mixture of styles predominated at that time in European architecture. As it was intended to serve the local Sephardi community of Florence, the design selected for the Great Synagogue of Florence includes many architectural motifs that have been borrowed from the Moorish traditional architecture of Spain. Marco Treves, the only Jew among the team of architects, is though to have been the main artistic force of the three, although some professors of the Florentine Academy were also consulted. On top of the Great Synagogue of Florence is an massive central dome that rises to a great height inspired as many other elements in the building by the edfice of the Hagia Sophia church in Constantinople (Istanbul). The facade uses two distinct types of marble in order to harmonize with the surrounding architecture and has two octagonal turrets, between which are three horseshoe-arched entrances. The windows and arches of the interior and their ornamentation are also reminiscent of the Moorish style, while the motifs appearing throughout the structure are inspired by a variety of sources. However, the general impression is one of a mostly Moorish style structure. The synagogue was damaged in August 1944 when the retracting Germans and Italian Fascists tried to destroy it. Their plot failed mainly thanks to Italian partisans who managed to diffuse most of the explosives. After WW2 it was renovated and restored and is open to worshipers, but even today bayonet marks are evident on the doors of the Holy Ark, dating from the WW2 days when the building was desecrated and used as a stable and warehouse. A stone monument outside the synagogue commemorates the names of 284 Jews deported from Florence during the Holocaust. The furniture, frescoes, the library and all 90 Torah scrolls suffered greatly when the synagogue was again damaged during the catastrophic flooding of 1966. It was later restored thanks to contributions from many communities in Italy and abroad. In the first floor it houses a Jewish Museum, founded in 1981, that tells the story of the Jews in Florence. It is possible to see also various Jewish holy objects, some dating to XV century.
Basilica of Santa Croce
The Basilica of Santa Croce (Basilica of the Holy Cross) is the principal Franciscan church in Florence, and a minor basilica of the Roman Catholic Church. It is situated on the Piazza di Santa Croce. The site, when first chosen, was in marshland outside the city walls. The Basilica is the largest Franciscan church in the world. Its most notable features are its sixteen chapels, many of them decorated with frescoes by Giotto and his pupils, and its tombs and cenotaphs. The construction of the current church, to replace an older building, was begun in 1294, possibly by Arnolfo di Cambio, and paid for by some of the city's wealthiest families. It was consecrated in 1442 by Pope Eugene IV. The building's design reflects the austere approach of the Franciscans. The floorplan is an Egyptian or Tau cross (a symbol of St. Francis), with a nave and two aisles separated by lines of octagonal columns. To the south of the church was a convent, some of whose buildings remain. In the "Primo Chiostro", the main cloister, there is the "Cappella dei Pazzi", built as the chapter house between 1442 and 1446 and finally completed in the 1470s. Filippo Brunelleschi (who had designed and executed the dome of the Duomo) was involved in its design which has remained rigorously simple and unadorned. The Basilica became popular with Florentines as a place of worship and patronage and it became customary for greatly honoured Florentines to be buried or commemorated there. Some were in chapels "owned" by wealthy families such as the Bardi and Peruzzi. It is the burial place of some of the most illustrious Italians, such as Michelangelo Buonarroti, Galileo Galilei, Nicolò Machiavelli, Ugo Foscolo, Guglielmo Marconi and Enrico Fermi, thus it is known also as the Pantheon of the Italian Glories.
Bargello
The Bargello, also known as the Bargello Palace or "Palazzo del Popolo" (Palace of the People) is a former barracks and prison, now an art museum. The word "Bargello" appears to come from the late Latin bargillus: castle or fortified tower. During the Italian Middle Ages it was the name given to a military captain in charge of keeping peace and justice (hence "Captain of justice") during riots and uproars. In Florence he was usually hired from a foreign city to prevent any appearance of favoritism on the part of the Captain. The position could be compared with that of a current Chief of police. The Bargello palace was built to house first the "Capitano del Popolo" and later, in 1261, the "Podestà", the highest magistrate of the Flroence City Council. This "Palazzo del Podestà", as it was originally called, is the oldest public building in Florence. This austere crenellated building served as model for the construction of the "Palazzo Vecchio". In 1574, the Medici dispensed with the function of the Podestà and housed the Bargello, the police chief of Florence, in this building, hence its name.
It was employed as a prison; executions took place in the Bargello's yard until they were abolished by Grand Duke Peter Leopold in 1780, but it remained the headquarter of the Florentine police until 1859. When Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor Peter Leopold was exiled, the makeshift Governor of Tuscany decided that the Bargello should no longer be a jail, and it then became a national museum. The Bargello opened as a national museum ("Museo Nazionale del Bargello") in 1865, displaying the largest Italian collection of Gothic and Renaissance sculptures (XIV-XVII century). The museum houses masterpieces by Michelangelo, such as his Bacchus, Pitti Tondo (or Madonna and Child), Brutus and David-Apollo. Its collection includes also the famous Donatello's David.
Basilica of Santa Trinita
The Basilica of Santa Trinita ("Holy Trinity") is a church in central Florence. It is the mother church of the Vallumbrosan Order of monks founded in 1092 by a Florentine nobleman. Nearby is the famous Ponte Santa Trinita over the river Arno. Even though the Italian word for trinity is "trinità", with an accent indicating stress on the last vowel, the florentine pronunciation puts the stress on the first vowel, and the name is therefore written without an accent; sometimes, it is accented as "trìnita" to indicate the unusual pronunciation. The current church was constructed over XI-century churches in 1258-1280. Multiple reconstructions occurred thereafter. The church has approximately 20 chapels, which contain a noterworthy amount of artworks. The most significant are the Sassetti and the Bartolini-Salimbeni which contain frescoes by Domenico Ghirlandaio and the XIV-century artist Lorenzo Monaco respectively.
Palazzo Vecchio
The "Palazzo Vecchio" (Italian for Old Palace) is the town hall of Florence. This massive, Tuscan Gothic, crenellated fortress-palace is among the most impressive town halls of Tuscany. Overlooking the Piazza della Signoria with its copy of Michelangelo's David statue as well the gallery of statues in the adjacent "Loggia dei Lanzi", it is one of the most significant public places in Italy. Originally called the "Palazzo della Signoria", after the Signoria of Florence, the ruling body of the Republic of Florence, it was also given several other names: "Palazzo del Popolo", "Palazzo dei Priori", and "Palazzo Ducale", in accordance with the varying use of the palace during its long history. The building acquired its current name when the Medici duke's residence was moved across the Arno to the Palazzo Pitti. In 1299, the commune and people of Florence decided to build a palace, worthy of the city's importance and giving greater security, in times of turbulence, to the magistrates. Arnolfo di Cambio, the architect of the Duomo and the Santa Croce church, began constructing it upon the ruins of "Palazzo dei Fanti" and "Palazzo dell'Esecutore di Giustizia", once owned by the Uberti family. Arnolfo di Cambio incorporated the ancient tower of the Foraboschi family (the tower then known as "La Vacca" or "The Cow") as the substructure of the tower into its facade; this is why the rectangular tower is not directly centered in the building. This tower contains two small cells, that, at different times, imprisoned Cosimo de' Medici (the Elder) (1435) and Girolamo Savonarola (1498). The tower is named after is designer "Torre d'Arnolfo" (Arnolfo's Tower). The solid cubicle shaped building is enhanced by the simple tower with its Lederle clock. Although most of the Palazzo Vecchio is now a museum, it remains the symbol of local government: since 1872 it has housed the office of the mayor of Florence, and it is the seat of the City Council. Michelangelo's David also stood at the entrance from its completion in 1504 to 1873, when it was moved to the Accademia. A replica erected in 1910 now stands in its place, flanked by Baccio Bandinelli's Hercules and Cacus.
One of the most beautiful room in Palazzo Vecchio is the "Salone dei Cinquecento". This imposing chamber was built in 1494 by Simone del Pollaiolo, on commission of Savonarola who, replacing the Medici after their exile as the spiritual leader of the Republic, wanted it as a seat of the Grand Council ("Consiglio Maggiore") consisting of 500 members. Later the hall was enlarged by Giorgio Vasari so that Grand Duke Cosimo I could hold his court in this chamber. During this transformation famous (but unfinished) works were lost, including the Battle of Cascina by Michelangelo and the Battle of Anghiari by Leonardo. Leonardo da Vinci was commissioned in 1503 to paint one long wall with a battle scene celebrating a famous Florentine victory. He was always trying new methods and materials and decided to mix wax into his pigments. Leonardo had finished painting part of the wall, but it was not drying fast enough, so he brought in braziers stoked with hot coals to try to hurry the process. As other watched in horror, the wax in the fresco melted under the intense heat and the colors ran down the walls to puddle on the floor. Michelangelo never even got past making the preparatory drawings for the fresco he was supposed to paint on the opposite wall (Pope Julius II called him to Rome to paint the Sistine Chapel), and the master's sketches were destroyed by eager young artists who came to study them and took away scraps. The surviving decorations in this hall were made between 1555 and 1572 by Giorgio Vasari and his helpers, among them Livio Agresti from Forlì. They mark the culmination of mannerism and make this hall the showpiece of the palace. The ceiling consists of 39 panels also constructed and painted by Vasari and his assistants, representing Great Episodes from the life of Cosimo I, the quarters of the city and the city itself and towards the center is the apotheosis: Scene of His Glorification as Grand Duke of Florence and Tuscany.
Uffizi Gallery
The Uffizi Gallery, one of the oldest and most famous art museum in the world, is housed in the Palazzo degli Uffizi. Building of the palace was begun by Giorgio Vasari in 1560 for Cosimo I de' Medici as the offices for the Florentine magistrates, hence the name "uffizi" (offices). Construction was continued to Vasari's design by Alfonso Parigi and Bernardo Buontalenti and ended in 1581. The courtyard is so long and narrow, and open to the Arno River at its far end through a Doric screen that articulates the space without blocking it, that architectural historians treat it as the first regularized streetscape of Europe. Vasari, a painter as well as architect, emphasized the perspective lenght by the matching facades' continuous roof cornices, and unbroken cornices between storeys and the three continuous steps on which the palace-fronts stand. The Palazzo degli Uffizi brought together under one roof the administrative offices, the Tribunal and the state archive ("Archivio di Stato"). The project that was planned by Cosimo I, Grand Duke of Tuscany to arrange that prime works of art in the Medici collections on the noble floor was effected by Francesco I, who commissioned from Buontalenti the famous "Tribuna degli Uffizi" that united a selection of the outstanding masterpieces in the collection in an ensamble that was a star attraction of the Grand Tour. Over the years, further parts of the palace evolved into a display place for many of the paintings and sculptures collected by the Medici family or commissioned by them. Because of its huge collection, some of its works have in the past been transferred to other museums in Florence. In 1993, a car bomb exploded in Via dei Georgofili and damaged parts of the palace, killing five people. The most severe damage was to the Niobe room, the classical sculptures and neoclassical interior of which have been restored, although its frescoes were damaged beyond repair. The identity of the bomber (or bombers) has never been established, although some suspect the Mafia. Today the Uffizi is one of the most popular tourist attractions of Florence. Among the major artists there are the most great names of the Italian art: Giotto, Piero della Francesca, Paolo Uccello, Botticelli (for example the famous "Birth of Venus"), Leonardo, Michelangelo (for example the "Doni Tondo"), Raffaello, Pontormo, Tiziano, Caravaggio.
Vasari Corridor
The Vasari Corridor is an elevated path which connects Palazzo Vecchio to Palazzo Pitti, passing over the Uffizi Gallery and the Ponte Vecchio. The Vasari Corridor was built in 5 months by order of Grand Duke Cosimo I de' Medici in 1565, under design by Giorgio Vasari. The work was commissioned in connection with the marriage of Cosimo's son, Francesco, with Johanna of Austria. The idea of an elevated path was motivied by the Grand Duke's need to move freely from their residence to the government palace, in a city in which his new consensus was not so solid after the abolition o fthe Republic of Florence. The meat market of Ponte Vecchio was moved to avoid the Grand Duke its smell at the passage, its place being taken by the goldsmith shop that still occupy the bridge. At the latter extremity, the corridor was forced to pass around the Manneli's Tower, after the staunch opposition of that family to its destruction. In the middle of Ponte Vecchio the corridor is characterized by a series of panoramic windows facing the Arno, in direction of the Ponte Santa Trinita. These replaced the smaller windows of the original construction in 1939, by order of Benito Mussolini. After the Ponte Vecchio the Corridor passes over the loggia of the church of Santa Felicita: in that point it had a balcony, protected by a thick railing, facing the interior of the church, in order to allow the Grand Duke family to follow the celebrations without mixing with the populace. In its Uffizi trait the Vasari Corridor is used as exhibition of the Portrait Gallery of the Museum collection.
Ponte Vecchio (Old Bridge)
The Ponte Vecchio (Italian for Old Bridge) is a Medieval bridge over the Arno River, noted for still having shops built along it, as was once common. Butchers initially occupied the shops; the present tenants are jewelers, art dealers and souvenir sellers. The bridge spans the Arno at its narrowest point where it is believed that a bridge was first built in Roman times, when the Via Cassia crossed the river at this point. The Roman piers were of stone, the superstructure of wood. The bridge first appears in a document of 996. After being destroyed by a flood in 1117 it was reconstructed in stone but swept away again in 1333 save two of its central piers. It was rebuilt in 1345, Giorgio Vasari recorded the tradition in his day, that attributed its design to Taddeo Gaddi, besides Giotto one of the few artistic names of the XII-century still recalled two hundred years later. Modern historians present Neri di Fioravanti as a possible candidate. Sheltered in a little loggia at the central opening of the bridge is a weathered dedication stone, which once read. The bridge consists of three segmental arches. It has always hosted shops and merchants who displayed their goods on tables before their premises, after authorization of the Bargello. The back shops ("retrobotteghe") that may be seen from upriver, were added in the XVII century. It is said that the economic concept of bankruptcy originated here: when a merchant could not pay his debts, the table on which he sold his wares (the "banco") was physically broken ("rotto") by soldiers, and this practice was called "bancorotto" (broken table; possibly it can come from "banca rotta" which means "broken bank"). Not having a table anymore, the merchant was not able to sell anything.
Palazzo Pitti
The Palazzo Pitti is a vast mainly Renaissance palace in Florence. It is situated on the south side of the River Arno, a short distance from the Ponte Vecchio. The core of the present palace dates from 1458 and was originally the town residence of Luca Pitti, an ambitious Florentine banker. It was bought by the Medici family in 1539 and later became the chief residence of the ruling families of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, becoming a great treasure house as various generations amassed paintings, plate, jewellery and luxurious possessions. In the late XVIII century the palace was used as a power base by Napoleon, and later served for a brief period as the principal royal palace of the newly-united Italy. Together with its contents, it was given to the Italian people by King Victor Emmanuel III in 1919, and its doors were subsequently opened to the public as one of Florence's largest art galleries. The palace is now the largest museum complex in Florence with works by Raffaello, Tiziano, Correggio, etc.
Boboli Gardens
The Boboli Gardens form a famous park in Florence, that is home to a distinguished collection of sculptures dating from the XVI through the XVIII centuries, with some Roman antiquities. The Gardens, behind the Pitti Palace, are some of the first and most familiar formal XVI century Italian gardens. The mid-XVI-century garden style, as it was developed here, incorporated longer axial developments, wide gravel avenues, a considerable "built" element of stone, the lavish employment of statuary and fountains, and a proliferation of detail, coordinated in semi-private and public spaces that were informed by classical accents: grottos, nympheums, garden temples and the like. The openness of the garden, with an expansive view of the city, was unconventional for its time. The garden lacks a natural water source. To water the plants in the garden, conduit was built from the nearby Arno river to feed water into an elaborate irrigation system. The primary axis, centered on the rear facade of the palace, rises on Boboli Hill from a deep amphitheater that is reminiscent in its shape of one half of a classical hippodrome or racecourse. At the center of the amphitheater and rather dwarfed by its position is the Egyptian obelisk brought from the Villa Medici at Rome. This primary axis terminates in a fountain of Neptune. At the top are the panoramic views of Florence. Giulio Parigi laid out the long secondary axis at a right angle to the main one, which leads down through a series of terraces and water features, with the bosquets on either side. In 1617 he constructed the Grotto of Vulcan ("Grotticina di Vulcano"). The gardens have passed through several stages of enlargement and restructuring work. The Large Grotto's statues continue to be remarkable examples of Mannerist architecture and culture. Decorated internally and externally with stalactites and originally equipped with waterworks and luxuriant vegetation, the fountain is divided into three main sections. The first one was frescoed to create the illusion of a natural grotto, that is a natural refuge to allow shepherds to protect themselves from wild animals; it originally housed "The Prisoners of Michelangelo" (now replaced by copies), statues that were first intended for the tomb of the Pope Julius II. Other rooms in the Grotto contain Giambologna's famous Bathing Venus and an XVIII-century group of Paris and Helen by Vincenzo de Rossi.
Basilica of Santa Maria del Santo Spirito
The Basilica of Santa Maria del Santo Spirito (St. Mary of the Holy Spirit) is one of the main churches in Florence. Usually referred to simply as Santo Spirito, it is located in the Oltrarno quarter, facing the square with the same name. The building on the interior is one of the pre-eminent examples of Renaissance architecture. The current church was constructed over the pre-existing ruins of an Augustian convent from the XIII century, destroyed by a fire in 1471. Filippo Brunelleschi began designs for the new buildings as early as 1444. After his death in 1446, the works were carried on by his followers Antonio Manetti, Giovanni da Gaiole and Salvi d'Andrea; the latter was also responsible for the construction of the dome. Unlike San Lorenzo, where Brunelleschi's ideas were thwarted, here, his ideas were carried through with some degree of fidelity, at least in the ground plan and up to the level of the arcades. The Latin cross plan is so designed to maximize the legibility of the grid. The contrast between nave and transept that caused such difficulty at San Lorenzo was here also avoided. The side chapels, in the form of niches all the same size (forty in all), run along the entire perimeter of the space. Brunelleschi's facade was never built and left blank. In 1489, a sacristy was built to the left of the building and a door was opened up in a chapel to make the connection to the church. A Baroque baldachin with polychrome marbles was added by Giovanni Battista Caccini and Gherardo Silvani over the high altar, in 1601. The church remained undercorated until the XVIII century, when the walls were plastered. The church has 38 side chapels (two chapels having been given over the doors), which contain a noterworthy amount of artworks. The most significant is the Bini-Capponi Chapel, housing the St. Monica Establishing the Rule of the Augustinian Nuns painting by Francesco Botticini. The Corbinelli chapels works are by Andrea Sansovino, Cosimo Rosselli and Donnino and Agnolo del Mazziere. In the chapels of the transept are frescoes by Filippo Lippi. Also in the transept is a choir from which the Frescobaldi Marquisses could partecipate to the rites without being seen by the crowd. Michelangelo Buonarroti was guest of the convent when he was seventeen years old, after the death of his protector Lorenzo de' Medici. Here he could make anatomical studies on the corpses from the convent's hospital; in exchange, he sculpted a wooden crucifix which was placed over the high altar. Today the crucifix is in the octagonal sacristy that can be reached from the left, west aisle of the church.
Piazzale Michelangelo
Piazzale Michelangelo is a famous square with a magnificent panoramic view of Florence, and is a popular tourist destination. It was built in 1869 and designed by architect Giuseppe Poggi. The square is a tribute to Michelangelo and contains copies of some of his most famous works such as a bronze David in the middle of the square. The panorama embraces the heart of Florence, from the Belvedere Fortress to Santa Croce passing through the lungarni and the Florence's bridges, above all the Ponte Vecchio (Old Bridge); among all stand out the Cathedral, the Palazzo Vecchio, the Bargello and the octagonal bell tower of the Florentine Abbey, without forget the hills around Florence.
Calcio Fiorentino
Calcio Fiorentino was an early form of football that originated in XVI-century Italy. The Piazza Santa Croce is the cradle of this sport, that became known as "Giuoco del Calcio Fiorentino" (Florentine kick game) or simply "Calcio" (kick). The official rules of calcio were published for the first time in 1580 by Giovanni de' Bardi, a Florentine count. Just like Roman harpastum, it was played in teams of 27, using both feet and hands. Goals could be scored by throwing the ball over a designated spot on the perimeter of the field. The playing field is a giant sand pit with a goal running the width of each end. There is a main referee, six linesmen and a field master. Each game is played out for 50 minutes with the winner being the team with the most points or "cacce". Originally, calcio was reserved for rich aristocrats, who played every night between Epiphany and Lent. In the Vatican, even Popes, such as Clement VII, Leo XI and Urban VIII were known to play. The sport was not played for around two hundred years but then revived in the twentieth century when organized games began again in 1930. Today, three matches are played each year in Piazza Santa Croce, in the III week of June. The Calcio Fiorentino is always characterized by a strong competitiveness that sometimes crosses the border in violent fights. It is for this reason that every year we have the uncertainty of the organisation of the event.
Fountain of the Piglet
First to say goodbye to the beautiful Florence, it is obbligatory to visit the Fountain of the Piglet that, as the popular tradition wants, will bring you luck. The Fountain of the Piglet is one of the most famous monuments in Florence, situated adjacent the "Loggia del Mercato Nuovo", near the Ponte Vecchio. The name of the fountain (of the Piglet) is not appropriate because it represents a wild pig. The popular tradition wants that touch the nose of the piglet bring luck. You must put a coin in the mouth of the piglet and, after you have rubbed its nose, if the coin, falling, crosses the grating, it will bring you luck.
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