"Tuscan Renaissance City" a Florence Travel Page by bpwillet

I headed to Florence in December. Mainly because a friend of mine was studing there. It gave me an excuse to go there and meet up with people before they left. I expected to see wide open plazas, lots of cafe's lining the streets and boutiques filled with the latest runway fashions. Florence was all of that and more. I woke up everyday to the sound of the bells of the Duomo just outside my hotel room. This city went beyond all my expectations. I didn't realize what I was going to see until I started learning more about what an incredible spot this city holds in history. Most of it can be explored on foot and I was very pleased with what I discovered.
I have studied great works of art by those who have made art not only expressive but beautiful. I never thought I would actually see some of these things in reality-Michelangelo's "David", Botticelli's "Birth of Venus" and "Primavera". Not only did the masterpieces of art amaze me but also the buildings for spiritual reflection and awe, and political position. So many different periods and styles are expressed in Florence. The magnificence of the duomo has always intrigued me and has become a very identifiable marker of Florence. Then there is the food. I love Italian food but partaking in some of the authentic flavors and dishes in that area of Tuscany was incredible. Quickly Florence became one of my favorite European cities. I hope you will see a glimpse into why this may be true.

Originally the area of Florence was inhabited in prehistoric times and by populations of Etruscans. It was one of Caesar's colonies, and development began around 59AD. It was enclosed in walls which saw extensive additions to the city planning throughout history. The River Arno was outside the original city walls. Florence was situated to be a part of major lines of communication of trade and farther colonies to the north with Rome. This position helped to gain power in economics and trade and the spread of Christianity in the early 2nd century. Strategically sought by opposing sides during the Gotho-Byzantine War, eventually it succumbed in the 500's . Florence fell to the Lombards at the end of the 6th century and saw a decline of the city, eventually brining a feudal system by the 8th century. Florence once again became an important city in the Middle Ages and was involved in numerous religious and political struggles. Most outstanding monuments were its religious structures whose numbers almost tripled in a few hundred years. Florence became a principal center for Tuscany, and urban and social growth occured rapidly. Byt the 14th century nre political struggles between the merchants and the nobles insued and magnificent building projects slowed. The Medici's were a very influencial family and renewed Florence's politcal, economical, and artistic desires. It was this time that the expressive arts became charged magnificent works created. Florence experienced many ebbs and flows of economic status and political restructuring.

With its economic status and relative peace, Florence had the makings of a great spiritual, and artistic renewal, demonstrated by the amazing works of art created there. Literary culture, the sciences, arts all seem to come together in one sense of being and purpose. Buildings were created to demonstrate the wealth and power of the city (Palacio Vecchio) and even religious structures can be characterized by the grandness of their buildings (Santa Croce). This is also the time when true public meeting places and plazas were developed into city planning. Differences in ideology also came about within the works of thinkers like Machiavelli and his ideas of state.