| Page Views: 176 Last Visit to Florence: August, 2007 | Firenze by Aitana - last update: Mar 25, 2009 |
Florence is a city full of charm, where you breath history in every corner. It is a nice place to walk, you can go on foot everywhere.
What to do in Florence? Visit museums, walk and admire the palaces and towers, Piazza de la Signoria, Palazzo Vecchio, cross the Ponte Vecchio, visit the Duomo and other churchs, go shopping...
There is a fantastic view of Florence from Piazzale Michelangelo, climbing towards San Miniato al Monte. |
| Ponte Vecchio from Uffizi Gallery |
|  | Museums The star of the florentine museums is the Uffizi Gallery. Other museums are also interesting, but this is the one where there are quite a lot of masterpieces. Reserve at least to hours to contemplate paintings of Cimabue, Giotto, Leonardo da Vinci, Botticelli, Michelangelo, Piero della Francesca, Raphael, Caravaggio, Rubens, Rembrandt, Dürer, Goya... As there are usually long queues, it is advisable to reserve the tickets by phone or on the internet.
The Accademia Gallery is worth a visit because of the David and some unfinished sculptures of the great master Michel Angel.
The Museum of the History of Science is large and interesting, though I missed some explanations about certain mechanisms, experiments, etc.
Other museums we visited were in Palazzo Pitti, where we admired the architecture and the rooms decoration as much as the works of art; and the Museum of the Cathedral works, which houses works that were destinated to the decoration of the Duomo. |
| Ceiling of the Baptistery |
| | Duomo The group of the Cathedral Santa Maria dei Fiore (The Duomo), the Campanile tower and the Baptistery is impressing. There are excellent views from the Dome and the Campanile.
The exterior walls of the three buildings are faced in bands of polychrome marble, alternating white (from Carrara), green (Prato) and red (Siena).
The Baptistery has three splendid sets of bronze doors. Inside, there is a mosaic marble pavement with geometric patterns. But the most impressing for me was the mosaic ceiling. It depicts the Last Judgment, with a majestic Christ. There are also scenes of the Bible: Genesis, the life of Christ, Saint John the Baptist.
La Santa Croce is also interesting as is the burial place of many illustrious Italians. |
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| Pros: | "So much art and history!" | | Cons: | "Works of art spread in too many museums" |
Aitana's Florence Travel Tips
| Overview | Things to Do
Tips: 6 - Photos: 11 | | | | Restaurants | Hotels & Accommodations | | | | Nightlife | Off The Beaten Path | | | | Tourist Traps | Warnings Or Dangers | | | | Transportation | Local Customs | | | | Packing Lists | Shopping | | | | Sports Travel | General Tips |
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