"Firenze" a Florence Travel Page by Kid-A

I spent 3 days and 2 nights in Florence (Firenze in Italian) -- the capital of the Italian region of Tuscany. The city lies on the Arno River and it is known for its history and its importance in the Middle Ages and in the Renaissance, especially for its art and architecture.

Florence is known as the cradle of Renaissance for its monuments, churces and buildings.

The best-known site and crowning architectural jewel of Florence is the domed cathedral of the city, Santa Maria del Fiore, known as The Duomo, built by Filippo Brunelleschi.

The dome dominates the view of the city.

The nearby Campanile tower (partly designed by Giotto) and the Baptistery buildings are also highlights. Both the dome itself and the campanile are open to tourists and offer excellent views; The dome, 600 years after its completion, is still the largest dome built in brick and mortar in the world.

At the heart of the city in Piazza della Signoria is Bartolomeo Ammanati's Fountain of Neptune, which is a masterpiece of marble sculpture at the terminus of a still functioning Roman aqueduct.

The Ponte Vecchio (old bridge), whose most striking feature is the multitude of shops built upon its edges, held up by stilts. The bridge also carried Vasari's elevated corridor linking the Uffizi to the Medici residence (Palazzo Pitti). First constructed by the Etruscans in ancient times, this bridge is the only one in the city to have survived World War II intact.

The Uffizi ("offices") itself is located at the corner of Piazza della Signoria, a site important for being the centre of Florence civil life and government for centuries (Signoria Palace is still home of the community government): the Loggia dei lanzi was the set of all the public ceremonies of the republican government. Many well known episodes of history of art and political changes were staged here, such as:

-In 1301, Dante was sent into Exile from here (a plaque on one of the walls of the Uffizi commemorates the event).

-26 April 1478 Jacopo de'Pazzi and his retainers try to raise the city against the Medici after the plot known as The congiura dei pazzi (The pazzi conspiracy) who murdered Giuliano dei Medici and wounded his brother Lorenzo; the florentines seized and hung all the members of the plot that could be apprehended from the windows of the Palace.

-In 1497, it was the location of the Bonfire of the Vanities instigated by the Dominican friar and preacher Girolamo Savonarola

-23 May 1498 the same Savonarola and two followers were hanged and burnt at the stake (a round plate in the ground commemorates the very spot were he was hanged)

-In 1504, it was the original location of Michelangelo's David (now replaced by a reproduction as the original was moved indoors to the Accademia dell'Arte del Disegno), in front of the Palazzo della Signoria (also known as Palazzo Vecchio).

-It is still the setting for a number of statues by other sculptors such as Donatello, Giambologna, Ammannati, Cellini, although some have been replaced with copies to preserve the priceless originals.

The museum, The Accademia dell'Arte del Disegno (often simply called the Accademia) collection's highlights are Michelangelo's David and his unfinished Slaves.

Florence was originally established by Julius Caesar in 59 BC as a settlement for his veteran soldiers. It was named Florentia (Flourishing) and built in the style of an army camp with the main streets, the cardo and the decumanus, intersecting at the present Piazza della Repubblica.

Skip ahead more than a thousand years -- arts, literature and science flourished under good economic conditions. I don't remember the whole story, but we stopped to listen to a tour guide talk about this point in history, mentioning the Medici family, who were bankers to the pope, and held great sway over the city in the 15th Century.

Lorenzo -- the grandson of the first Medici Cosimo de' Medici -- was a great patron of the arts, commissioning works by Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and Botticelli. Lorenzo was also an accomplished musician and brought some of the most famous composers and singers of the day to Florence, including Alexander Agricola, Johannes Ghiselin, and Heinrich Isaac.

///more to come///