The City of Florence

Florence is the capital city of the Tuscany region of Italy. From 1865 to 1870 it was also the capital of the kingdom of Italy. It lies on the Arno river. As of 2007, it is home to over 400,000 people, plus a suburban population of over 200,000. This city is considered as the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance. The city has been called the Athens of the Middle Ages.

Florence began as a settlement established by Julius Caesar in 59 BC 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. Situated at the Via Cassia, the main route between Rome and the North, and within the fertile valley of the Arno, the settlement quickly became an important commercial center. Emperor Diocletian made Florentia capital of the province of Tuscia in the 3rd century AD.

Florence contains an exceptional artistic patrimony, glorious testimony to its secular civilization. Cimabue and Giotto, the fathers of Italian painting, lived here, along with Arnolfo and Andrea Pisano, reformists of architecture and sculpture; Brunelleschi, Donatello and Masaccio, founders of the Renaissance; Ghiberti and the Della Robbia; Filippo Lippi and l'Angelico; Botticelli and Paolo Uccello; the universal geniuses Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. Their works, along with those of many generations of artists up to the masters of the present century, are gathered in the city's many museums. In Florence, thanks to Dante, the Italian language was born; with Petrarch and Boccaccio literary studies were affirmed; with Humanism the philosophy and values of classical civilization were revived; with Machiavelli modern political science was born; with Guicciardini, historical prose; and with Galileo, modern experimental science. Up to the time of Charlemagne, Florence was a university town.

Today it includes many specialized institutes and is an international cultural center. Academies, art schools, scientific institutes and cultural centers all contribute to the city's intense activity.

It is a very popular tourist destination, attracting visitors from all over the world who come to see its artistic attractions and historically significant architecture. If you are thinking about visiting Florence, then you should definitely plan beforehand what you want to visit. If you have a list of objectives in your mind beforehand, then you’ll be much more likely to get things done that you want to get done. So research some of these attractions before you go.

The Uffizi Gallery is among the oldest museums in the world, having been established almost 500 years ago. It holds an extremely impressive collection of paintings from all over the world. The architecture of the building itself is fairly impressive as well. It was built in the 16th century to provide office space for the magistrature. These were people with a good appreciation of art, so eventually they set aside more and more rooms for their collections, until they had amassed a quite impressive collection.

Il Duomo is a cathedral located in Florence, notable for its interesting architecture. One unique fact about Il Duomo is that the construction process took over 500 years. The project was initially started in 1296, and the main dome was not completed until 1436. Construction went on at a slow pace until the mid-19th century, when the main building was finished. If you are at all a fan of architecture, you will definitely want to see Il Duomo. Even if architecture isn’t your thing, you will probably have your breath taken away by the amazing construction.

No visit to Florence is complete without visiting the Galleria della Accademia. It is home to sculptures and works of art, including an impressive collection of Michelangelo works. It is best-known for its David statue, which is an extremely recognizable work of Michelangelo. The gallery is very strict and formal, and doesn’t allow pictures.

These are just a few of the many attractions that Florence offers. Once you arrive, you will start seeing numerous places that you would like to go, and you’ll find yourself wishing you could stay longer. Just make sure to spend time on what you are interested in, be it architecture, art, food, theatre, or anything else that Florence has.