Florence is recognized worldwide as the "cradle of the Renaissance" (the culla del Rinascimento) for its monuments, churches and historic buildings.
To take advantage of these marvels during a relaxing stay, the surroundings of Florence are home to magnificent holiday residences nestled in the Tuscan countryside. Palaces, castles, ancient farmhouses, lodges, villas and apartments which are available for seasonal rentals to accommodate holidaymakers eager for beauty, calm and voluptuousness. To visit Florence, nothing beats renting a cottage in Chianti or the Tuscan hills.
The historical riches of Florence
Florence's best-known site is the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, known as the "Duomo", whose dome was built by Filippo Brunelleschi. The dome, 600 years after its completion, is still the largest brick-and-mortar dome in the world. The nearby Campanile, partly designed by Giotto, and the buildings of the Baptistery are also worth seeing. The city center is surrounded by medieval walls which were built in the 14th century to defend the city. In the heart of the city, in Piazza della Signoria, is the Fountain of Neptune (1563-1565) by Bartolomeo Ammannati, a masterpiece of marble sculpture located at the terminus of a functioning Roman aqueduct.
The plan and structure of the city date back in many ways to Roman times, when it was designed as a garrison colony. Most of the city was built during the Renaissance, but there are also traces of medieval, baroque and neoclassical architecture.
Florence contains several palaces and buildings from different eras. The Palazzo Vecchio is the town hall of Florence and also an art museum. This large, crenellated Romanesque palace-fortress overlooks the Piazza della Signoria with its copy of Michelangelo's Statue of David, as well as the gallery of statues in the adjacent Loggia dei Lanzi. The Palazzo della Signoria (also called Palazzo Vecchio) facing it still houses the municipal government. Many important episodes of local history have taken place there.
The Arno River, which crosses the old town, is a character in Florentine history like many of its inhabitants.
One of its bridges in particular is remarkable: the Ponte Vecchio (the old bridge), whose most striking feature is the multitude of shops built on its edges. The bridge also carries the Corridoio Vasariano linking the Uffizi Museum to the Medici residence, Palazzo Pitti.
The city of art lovers
The Palazzo Vecchio as well as the Duomo are the two buildings that dominate the landscape.
There are also many museums and art galleries where some of the world's most important works of art are kept. The city is one of the best-preserved centers of Renaissance art and architecture in the world and features a high concentration of art, architecture and culture. Nearby is the Uffizi Gallery, one of the finest art museums in the world, established by a large bequest from the last member of the Medici family, which displays a very large collection of Florentine art.
The Galileo Museum, located on the banks of the Arno, not far from the Uffizi Palace, is the new name of the Museum of the History of Science in Florence. Cosimo de Medici, founder of the dynasty, was a protector of the arts and sciences, his descendants, Grand Dukes of Tuscany, did the same. In this museum, a collection of his most important inventions, including the glasses of the scientist Galileo (1564-1642). And let's not forget this famous sentence during his trial: "And yet it turns".
The Galleria dell'Accademia houses a collection of Michelangelo, including the David. Other museums and galleries include the Bargello, which focuses on sculptures by artists such as Donatello, Giambologna and Michelangelo; the Palazzo Pitti, which houses many Renaissance works, including several by Raphael and Titian. The beautifully landscaped Boboli Gardens adorned with numerous sculptures are adjacent to the palace.
The beautiful Tuscan countryside conceals, a few kilometers from Florence, the Medicean villas in which one finds, through the gardens which surround them, all the refinement of the Renaissance.
And for lovers of Michelangelo, the Casa Buonarroti, built by Leonardo, nephew of Michelangelo (1475-1564) and heir to the Master. It houses the first two works of the great sculptor, drawings and sketches in terracotta.
There are several churches and religious buildings in Florence: the Basilica of San Lorenzo, which is one of the largest churches in the city and the burial place of the main members of the Medici family, the most powerful family in Florence from the 15th in the 18th century, with statues of Michelangelo, the Basilica of Santa Croce, the main Franciscan church in the city is the burial place of some of the most illustrious Italians, such as Michelangelo, Galileo, Machiavelli or Rossini…
You can see that there is plenty to do for a tourist with a passion for the Renaissance period and art in general, and architecture, sculpture and painting in particular. And you will find the typical holiday cottage of your dreams nearby… Tuscany and Florence, your next holiday destination!