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,…