Florence

Overview of florence, italy.

Florence, Italian Firenze, Latin Florentia, city, capital of Firenze provincia (province) and Toscana (Tuscany) regione (region), central Italy. The city, located about 145 miles (230 km) northwest of Rome, is surrounded by gently rolling hills that are covered with villas and farms, vineyards, and orchards. Florence was founded as a Roman military colony about the 1st century bce, and during its long history it has been a republic, a seat of the duchy of Tuscany, and a capital (1865–70) of Italy. During the 14th–16th century Florence achieved preeminence in commerce and finance, learning, and especially the arts[1].

Florence, or Firenze, is the capital of the famous Italian region of Tuscany. It is one of the most visited cities in Italy, attracting approximately ten million tourists every year. This online Florence travel guide will inform you about all the Attractions in the Tuscan capital and provide you with some useful tips to make a visit to the city as successful as possible. For example, it is advisable to book and reserve your tickets in advance to avoid long queues. When you take this information and tips to yourself, you are assured of a successful city trip to the city of the Renaissance, Florence! [2].

Located near Piazza del Duomo, Piazza della Signoria is another important Florentine square. This L-shaped square is home to Florence’s town hall, Palazzo Vecchio, as well as the Loggia dei Lanzi, an open-air gallery, which features stunning arches and Renaissance sculptures[3].

Cultural highlights of florence, italy.

Visiting Florence leaves lovers of art and good living with rich memories. And while much of the great art of the Renaissance remains here, the influence of that cultural explosion — the Florentine Renaissance — reverberates throughout the world and for that, we can be thankful[4].

As the Cradle of the Renaissance and home to some of the world’s best in art, fashion, food, and architecture, the culture of Florence, like the rest of Italy, is absolutely brimming with culture. What sets Florence apart, however, can be summed up in two words that best encapsulate what the city offers – unparalleled beauty[3].

The Piazza del Duomo is the cultural heart of Florence. A large square, this is the most visited location in Florence and features such architectural masterpieces as the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, Giotto’s Bell Tower, and the Baptistery of St. John. The Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, also referred to as the Duomo, is considered to be one of the most beautiful churches in Italy, and its dome was the largest in the world for many centuries. Showcasing Gothic and Renaissance elements, the Duomo represents the flowering of the Renaissance movement and is an indelible symbol of Florence[3].

Medieval florence, italy.

In the beginning, Florence was a fortified camp called Florentia that lay on the Via Cassia, a Roman road that ran between the foothills of the Apennines and the western coast of Italy, on the Tyrrhenian sea. It was the principal route between Rome and the North[5].

Florence, Italy is often referred to as the Cradle of the Renaissance, representing the rebirth of the realms of art and science between the 14th and 17th centuries. The height of the city’s artistic development came in the 15th century, when the Medici, Florence’s prominent banking family, devoted an astronomical amount of funds into garnering the talents of the city’s architects, sculptors, painters and writers. Florence flourished as a center of influence for all of Italy, and thriving artists from all over flocked to the city. As a result, Florence today is a treasure trove of artistic and architectural gems, the masterpieces of defining artists of the Renaissance such as Michelangelo and Da Vinci displayed in internationally renowned museums and art galleries. These six pieces of Italian Renaissance art that record the vibrant history of the era cannot be missed by history buffs and art enthusiasts visiting the city of Florence[6].

Across the street from the Duomo Museum is Florence’s famous cathedral. Boasting the first great dome built in Europe in more than a thousand years, the Duomo marked the start of the architectural Renaissance (later inspiring domes from the Vatican to the American Capitol). Designed by Filippo Brunelleschi, the immense dome — taller than a football field on end — rose in rings. First, he created part of the big white ribs, then filled in the space with interlocking bricks. When one ring was complete and self-supporting, he moved the scaffolding up and built another[7].

Florentine renaissance art.

Florence was the birthplace of High Renaissance art, which lasted from 1450 to 1527. While Medieval art focused on basic story telling of the Bible, Renaissance art focused on naturalism and human emotion. Medieval art was abstract, formulaic, and largely produced by monks whereas Renaissance art was rational, mathematical, individualistic, consisted of linear perspective and shading (Chiaroscuro) and produced by specialists (Leonardo da Vinci, Donatello, Michelangelo, and Raphael). Religion was important, but with this new age came the humanization of religious figures in art, such as Expulsion from the Garden of Eden, Ecce Homo (Bosch, 1470s), and Madonna Della Seggiola; People of this age began to understand themselves as human beings, which reflected in art. The Renaissance marked the rebirth of classical values in art and society as people studied the ancient masters of the Greco-Roman world; Art became focused on realism as opposed to idealism[8].

Gilded Gothic altarpieces, like this Annunciation by the Sienese master Simone Martini, must have dazzled the faithful in the 1300s. The stars of the Florentine class of 1500 are all here: Leonardo da Vinci’s Annunciation is exquisite. Michelangelo’s Holy Family shows he can do more than carve statues. And Raphael, considered a synthesis of the power of Michelangelo and the grace of Leonardo, captures a delicate moment in his Madonna of the Gold Finch. And the collection follows art after the Renaissance with masterpieces like Parmigianino’s slippery Lady with the Long Neck[4].

Sandro Botticelli’s paintings like ‘Primavera’, ‘The birth of Venus’ and ‘Adoration of the Magi of 1475’ are some of its most famous artworks. The museum is also home to Michelangelo’s ‘The Holy Family (Doni Tondo)’, Leonardo da Vinci’s ‘The Annunciation’ and ‘Adoration of the Magi’, Titian’s ‘Venus of Urbino’, Caravaggio’s ‘Medusa’ and many more world-class masterpieces[9].

Roman florence, italy.

There is only a little of Florentia left nowadays; the ruins of the theatre are under Palazzo Vecchio, some ruins of the public baths are under Torre della Pagliazza, there are other ruins under the cathedral of Saint Mary of the Flower and the baptistery, and in via del Proconsolo it’s possible to see where the towers were. The Florence Museum, which closed in 2010, hosted a miniature model of Florentia as well as Etruscan and Roman diggings[10].

From today’s Piazza Donatello in an easterly direction towards the Affrico torrent there was probably an Etruscan-Roman urban agglomeration which was the expansion towards the Arno of the Roman Fiesole in defense of the Etruscan bridge which crossed the Arno at the height of today’s Rovezzano, already mentioned by medieval historians such as Giovanni Villani[11].

Towards the south Florentia bordered with an area of villas and thermal baths, an area that still bears the name of Bagno a Ripoli, a municipality of Chianti, contiguous to today’s city, but in Roman times a place of leisure and rest as can be seen from the discovery of villas and thermal complexes. But the most interesting evidence of Roman Etruria is the archaeological area of Fiesole, with the theater almost intact and the baths, already from the Republican era, which were embellished under the emperors Claudius and Septimus Severus[11].

Archaeological evidence from the area suggests that the Roman residents of the Fiesole region were probably more affluent than their counterparts in the city of Florentia. Excavations of the area have revealed luxurious villas, thermal baths, and other luxuries associated with the wealthy. The discovery of a Claudian inscription, dedicated to the emperor Claudius, also indicates that the people of Fiesole had an affinity for imperial Roman culture.

The excavations also uncovered a number of artifacts that suggest the area was home to a variety of craftspe

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