www.Florence-Traveller.com - Itineraries

Tuscan Trendsetter

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0100

A favorite international tourist destination, filled to the brim with artistic masterpieces, Florence is a city in which the cultural ferment which began in the middle ages has never stopped. From art to fashion, sport to photography, the "city of the lily" excels in just about every field imaginable, and hosts numerous events to celebrate them. One of the most important is "Pitti Immagine", the Florentine fashion fair held to coincide with the international calendar of designer fashion shows. Although Pitti Immagine Uomo and Pitti Immagine Bimbo are the best known of the events organized, the fair also showcases the latest from the world of perfumes, interior decoration, textiles and leather.

Whilst there are those who choose to take a holiday in Florence in order to catch the latest fashion trends, there are others who come to the Tuscan capital attracted by its sporting traditions. A forerunner in many areas of life, Florence was the birthplace of the Calcio...

Beyond the Gates

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 00:00:00 +0200

Hidden treasures tucked away in country churches and small civic museums, villas built as the recreational resorts and sumptuous rural palaces of the Medici dynasty: just some of the surprises which await the visitor who ventures beyond the walls of Florence and travels into the countryside which surrounds the Tuscan capital.

Heading west of Florence, after just a few kilometers, travelers find themselves in the heart of Chianti. The Regional Wine Museum, in the pretty little town of Carmignano, is the perfect place in which to learn how the wines of one of Italy's most famous wine producing regions are made and even enjoy a glass or two of Bacchus' favorite tipple. Whilst in Carmignano, art lovers should be sure to visit the Church of San Michele, in which a splendid work by Jacopo Carrucci, better known as Pontormo, takes pride of place. Painted in 1537, Pontormo's Visitation is widely considered to be one of the finest examples of Italian mannerism.

Not far from Carmignano lie...

Dante's Florence

Sat, 30 May 2009 00:00:00 +0200

Florence is not only one of the most beautiful Italian cities, is is also the birthplace of the Italian language, paternity of which is widely attributed to Dante Alighieri, who lived in the Tuscan capital and wrote many of his most important works, including his Divine Comedy, here. This tour of Florence commences in the quarter of the city where the poet lived between the 13th and 14th century, visiting the many places linked to Dante and to a period of time when the city was theater of bitter conflict between the Guelphs and the Ghibellines, factions which supported the Papacy and the Holy Roman Empire respectively.

We make our first stop at the Casa di Dante, a museum which recounts the life and works of the great artist. The building is located, if not exactly in the same palazzo where Dante lived, in the same street, as can be ascertained by various documents written by the poet. The museum is situated right in the center of Florence, just steps away from the Church of Santa...

Parks & Gardens of Florence

Tue, 17 Mar 2009 00:00:00 +0100

Florence, one of the world's most beautiful cities, never fails to impress the visitor with the quantity of artistic masterpieces to be found within its walls. This said, ideally a tour of the Tuscan capital should not be confined to endless hours spent inside its churches, palazzi, museums and galleries (let alone queuing to get in) and at least one sunny day should be spent outside, wandering through Florence's historic parks and gardens.

Right next to the entrance of Palazzo Pitti, gates lead to the city's most famous garden: the Giardino di Boboli. The garden, one of Italy's most stunning 16th century formal gardens, was built on a triangular plan with two steeply sloping orthogonal axes joining at the height of the Fountain of Neptune and adorned with any number of statues, fountains, and artificial caves. From its terraces a quite magnificent view of the city can be admired.

In the Giardino dei Semplici, managed by the University of Florence, the officinal species to which...

Santa Croce: Heart of Florence

Wed, 09 Jan 2008 00:00:00 +0100

The Santa Croce district is the expression of Florence's political and economic power; an area of the city populated by immense Palazzi, imposing tower houses and, of course, the great Gothic Basilica of Santa Croce. Construction of the Basilica of Santa Croce, built beyond the perimeter walls of the old medieval city, was initiated in the 13th century by Arnolfo di Cambio, although building work was not completed until 1385. The principal chapels, adorned with frescoes painted by Giotto, are a perfect example of Franciscan simplicity. The church is home to a great number of important sculptures, including Donatello's Annunciation of 1435 and the funeral monuments dedicated to Michelangelo, Machiavelli, Galilei and other illustrious personages. To the right of the Basilica lies the Pazzi Chapel, a charming renaissance edifice designed by Brunelleschi, and the Museum of Santa Croce, in which to admire a number of artistic masterpieces, including the wooden crucifix painted by Cimabue...

San Giovanni and the Magic of Florence

Wed, 02 Jan 2008 00:00:00 +0100

Florence conserves, with its incredible number of historic buildings and monuments, the splendour of a city which deliberately cancelled the traces of its Roman past. In Piazza San Giovanni we find the symbol of the city: the Cathedral of S.Maria del Fiore, the third largest cathedral in the world after that of S. Pietro in Rome and London's St Paul's.

Florence Cathedral was designed by Arnolfo di Cambio, on the site of the 5th century church of Santa Reparata. In 1431 Brunelleschi commenced the construction of the cathedral's immense dome. Inside there is a fabulous marble pavement dating back to the 16th century, frescoes by Paolo Uccello and Andrea Castagno and a spectacular stained glass window designed by Lorenzo Ghiberti in the year 1400. The 85 meter high bell tower, faced with polychrome Tuscan marble, was designed by Giotto in 1334 and completed by Andrea Pisano in 1359.

Near to the Cathedral lies the Baptistery: the oldest building in Florence, the doors of which were...