Florence
Heart of the Italian literature (thanks to the three great
writers of the Quattrocento: Dante, Petrarch and Boccacio)
and of the Renaissance Art , the capital of the Tuscany
captivates the visitor with the tracks of its gorgeous
past. In the Middle Ages, it was the intellectual center
of the country. In the fifteenth century, the Medici family,
that governed it during centuries, took the city to its
maximum splendor. In medieval times, it was structured
in four districts or "quartieri" divided by
the Arno river, that can be taken as reference to visit
the city. They are: Santa Maria Novella, San Giovanni,
Santa Croce and Santo Spirito. Santa Maria Novella has
since early twentieth century a railway station that is
a faithful reflection of the first works of the rational
architecture. From there, the visitor accedes to one of
the greatest works of the Florentine art: the church of
Santa Maria Novella. Initiate in 1246 by the Dominican
friars, in the construction participated artists like
Leon Battista Alberti, author of the facade of gothic
Romanesque style, Filippo Lippi and the brilliant Giotto,
that gave Florence as legacy its famous crucifix. Among
its rooms, it’s outstanding the Capitular Room,
known as the "Spaniards Room". The church of
Santa Trinidad (eleventh century), and the Strozzi Palace
are other places of interest in the zone.
From Piazza Santa Maria Novella, crossing the street of
Cerretani, the visitor gets at the Piazza San Giovanni,
in the district of the same name and entrance to the emblematic
Duomo Square, that lodges the gothic cathedral of Santa
Maria dei Fiori constructed on the old basilica of Santa
Reparata, and that was initiated by Arnoldo di Cambio
at the beginning of the thirteenth century. The elegant
cupola, added in the fifteenth century is the work of
Brunelleschi. The belfry, located at its right, was created
by Giotto in 1334. The facade was not completed until
half-full of the eighteenth century. In front of the Duomo
is located the baptistery of San Giovanni, of Florentine
Romanesque style.
Its bronze door, that recreates images of the Paradise,
is the work of Andrea Pisano and Lorenzo Ghiberti. Numerous
works scattered between the cathedral, belfry and baptistery
are kept in the museum of the Duomo.
Other places of inescapable visit in the district are
the gallery dell´ Accademia, that kept the original
"Kidnapping of the Sabinas", of Juan Bolonia,
and the famous David de Michelangelo. Other places of
interest are the palace of Medici Riccardi and the basilica
of San Lorenzo, where it can be seen the chapels of the
Medici with the funeral rests of the family. It’s
worth a visit to the first public library of the Renaissance
upon the convent of San Marcos, and the museums of the
university of Florence, founded by the Medici.
Piazza Della Signora, in the district of Santa Croce,
is presided over by the Vecchio palace and the Gallery
of the Offices. The Vecchio palace was created in 1299
as residence of the prioress by Arnolfo Di Cambio. The
gorgeous tower of 94 meters of height was added later.
In its interior it’s "The Hall of the Five
Hundred", the cabinet of Francisco I, the Room of
the Elements and the Gigli Room.
On Piazza Della Signora arises one of the best samples
of late gothic: the Loggia dei Lanzi. Between the works
found in this porch constructed at the end of the fourteenth
century, the visitor found the Perseo of Cellini and a
copy of the "Kidnapping of the Sabinas" of Juan
de Bologna, since the original is in the gallery of the
Academy.
The Gallery of the Offices, one of the greatest museums
of Italy, was founded by Francisco I of Medici. The building
consists of two plants: the superior, constructed in pure
neo-classic style, and the inferior one, with a gallery
porticada with statues of illustrious characters. To avoid
the Medici the walk through the piazza in order to enter
the gallery, was created a runner known like "Vasario",
that join the gallery with the Pitti palace, home of the
influential family. Throughout the runner, that also goes
to the Ponte Vecchio, the oldest bridge of Florence, a
series of the Medici self-portraits were placed.
The gallery conserves true works of art of Italian painters
of the thirteenth to eighteenth centuries such as Giotto,
Boticelli, Leonardo, Rubens, Raphael and Caravaggio. Other
places of interest are the French Basilica of Santa Croce
and the chapel of the Pazzi, by Brunelleschi.
The district of Santo Spirito, located to the other side
of the Arno river, takes its name from the church created
by Brunelleschi, one of the most beautiful of the Renaissance.
Other places that deserve their own visit are the Brancacci
chapel, located within the church of Santa Maria of the
Carmine, famous anywhere in the world to contain the frescos
of Masaccio, and the Pitti palace, with the Palatine gallery,
that kept works of art from the fifteenth to eighteenth
centuries. We do not have either to forget the Piazza
Michelangelo, with copies of the David and four statues
of the tombs of the Medici and the museum of Bardini,
that lodges a collection of objects of art left in inheritance
to the city by the Bardini antique dealer.
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