Florence, the cradle of Renaissance, is a very beautiful town with a lot of interesting and amazing landmarks. A classic walking tour is probably the best way to start a stay in Florence and perfect if this is your first time in town. With me as your local guide I’m sure you will experience the city in a completely different way. Not as a tourist, but as a part of the city.
We will of course cover all the main sites in Florence such as the Cathedral area, where we will be impressed by one of the biggest Cathedrals in the world, Santa Maria del Fiore. It was started in 1296, but only completed over a century later and it’s still today an active church with daily masses. Let’s also get overwhelmed by Brunelleschi’s Dome, Giotto’s Belltower and the fantastic Gates of Paradise of the Baptistery.
We stroll through the Medieval area where the poet Dante grew up
We visit the amazing Piazza Signoria with the austere city hall, Palazzo Vecchio. The square is sort of an outdoor museum thanks to the marvelous statues (Neptune, Perseus, Hercules, the Rape of the Sabines, the copy of David et.c) which in large part represent the power of the Medici family.
On our way to the oldest bridge in town, Ponte Vecchio, famous for its jewelry shops, we will pass the largest art museum in Italy, the Uffizi Gallery, and we will not miss the Vasarian corridor which goes above our heads from the city hall to the Pitti Palace.We will take a look at the flea market called the Porcellino Market with the wild boar fountain, Piazza della Repubblica, Via Tornabuoni (the 5th Avenue of Florence) and we will also see the charming area around the Dominican church Santa Maria Novella.
But what would Florence be without the legacy of the Medici family?
300 years ruling our town leave traces. The Medici dynasty completely died out in 1743. Luckily for us though the last descendent of the family knew what she was doing. When Gian Gastone, the last grand duke of Tuscany, passed, his sister Anna Maria Luisa signed what we call the “Family Pact”. In this sort of testament she left everything her family owned to the florentines. Thanks to this memorable initiative Florence boasts one of the greatest art collections in the world and yearly millions of visitors come here just to admire all these incredible masterpieces.
