Tours
If I were to name the most Florentine square of all, it would undoubtedly be Piazza SS. Annunziata. Adorned with the Brunelleschi-style loggia, expanded over the centuries on three sides of the square for harmony and completeness, it features the Basilica dedicated to the Virgin—still the heart of Florentine spirituality. The square is also home…
As a hub of Dominican religiosity, the Basilica, steeped in history, engages in a captivating dialogue with the adjacent contemporary Santa Maria Novella Station. The latter, a recent creation by the Tuscan Group under the guidance of Giovanni Michelucci, complements the Basilica, creating a unique fusion of 20th-century design and 14th-century grandeur. This interaction represents…
The Medici Museum is housed within the Brunelleschi Rotunda, once the seat of the University of Florence and later, for a long time, closed to the public. The building, particularly unique for its round plan, was designed by Filippo Brunelleschi in 1434, commissioned by the heirs of Pippo Spano, a military leader of the Florentine…
You’ve likely passed by Santa Felicita countless times, the charming little church on the left after crossing Ponte Vecchio. Perhaps you found it closed or lingered before the Barbadori Capponi Chapel, a masterpiece adorned by Pontormo and his apprentice, Bronzino, capturing the wonders of 16th-century Florence. Yet, did you know that Santa Felicita holds countless…
Vasco Pratolini was born in Florence, in via de’ Magazzini, on October 19, 1913. Via de’ Magazzini is a narrow and long street, like all those in medieval Florence. From the majestic Piazza della Signoria, via de’ Magazzini is a dark alley, where the dense tower houses create an urban fabric with tight meshes. Nothing…
Florence is a city full of a thousand surprises. You can find everything in Florence. Just look for it, keep your eyes wide open, and your mind alert. For example, did you know that there are ghosts wandering around? Yes, yes, real ghosts. They don’t show themselves, but if we’re clever and attentive, we might…
Boboli Garden was the garden of the princes who lived in the grand palace of Palazzo Pitti. The first family to live there was the Medici family, initially wealthy bankers, then Dukes of Florence and Grand Dukes of Tuscany. It was Eleonora di Toledo, the wife of Cosimo I de’ Medici, who bought the palace…
Cosimo and Eleonora were beautiful, young, and, they say, very much in love. He, at seventeen, had become the Duke of Florence and had asked for the hand of Eleonora, the daughter of the Viceroy of Naples, Don Pedro di Toledo. Let’s be clear. They were not in love, huh! They didn’t like each other!…
Have you ever seen an enchanted castle, one where beautiful princesses and brave warriors live, a castle bewitched by tremendous spells, with a tower that has a bell that rings every time something terrible is about to happen? I have! And if you want, I can take you there too! It’s in the center of…
U like Unicorn. U like Umbrella. And… U like Uffizi. Yes! Did you know that the Uffizi, a famous place all over the world, is shaped like a U? An incredible, majestic, enormous palace in the form of a U! The Uffizi, where today we can come across powerful Gods and beautiful Goddesses, centaurs, monsters,…
Did you know that in Florence, within a museum, or rather, in a gallery, there’s a colossal giant made of white marble? It’s so tall that when they decided to place it in a room in this gallery, they had to raise the ceiling, or else it wouldn’t fit! Its name is David. David is…
Who knows what might have happened at night. Cosimo, on horseback, lingers in Piazza della Signoria before returning home after one of the numerous duties that the life of a Grand Duke entails. He savors the quiet of the sleeping city at this hour of the night. The palace stands stern against the blue sky,…
“celeste è questa corrispondenza d’amorosi sensi“ (Celestial is this correspondence of amorous senses) The pristine marble facade of the Santa Croce church stands out against the blue sky. It will be a surprise to find yourself in front of such a majestic building, coming from the tangle of narrow and winding alleys beyond Piazza San…
The David. The David, as we all know him. The one with furrowed brows and a thoughtful gaze. The one with a stone clutched in one hand and a sling in the other, captured just before slaying the giant Goliath. There is not just one in Florence. There are indeed three. One, the authentic masterpiece…
A meticulous visitor, strolling around Florence’s Cathedral, will catch a glimpse of Brunelleschi, somewhat in the background, contemplating his masterpiece, the dome. What might be going through his mind? Perhaps the risk he took proposing a project he couldn’t be sure would stand? He cared little. If the Florentines preferred not to take risks and…
“What do they think they’re doing with that outfit? It always looks like a museum piece!” “What a clean and impeccable house! It’s not at all welcoming; it seems like no one lives there… it looks like a museum!” “How boring… this movie is more tedious than a museum visit!” “Ugh, we have to go…
Florence, the city of the lily, the Marzocco, and the Medici family. Florence, a city embraced by the waters of the Arno, remarkably low during dry spells but alarmingly high in periods of heavy rain. So high that it struck fear into those present on that November 4, 1966… Florence, the city of the dome…