Florence is a city jammed with monuments and sights recalling romantic and sweet feelings of the past.
We invite you to join some of the following itineraries through the city to taste the flavour of a romantic and joyful experience.
PIAZZALE MICHELANGELO
Obligatory destination if it occur you visit Florence is the Piazzale Michelangelo. It is one of the most renowned and touching viewpoints o the city.
Completed in 1865 by the architect Giuseppe Poggi, the square represent the symbol of the bourgeois urban renewal.
Located on the south bank of the river Arno, the wide panoramic square rises on the higher point of the tree lined boulevard uphill the closer promontory to the city center.
It was created along with the large avenues running around the perimeter of the centre called “Viali” to the requalification and redevelopment of Florence become capital of Italy.
In the centre of the square stands a bronze copy of MIchelagelo’s masterpiece, “the David”. Behind it you can admire the neoclassical style Loggia, now site of the namesake panoramic restaurant. From the Piazzale Michelagelo you have the sightseeing of the most famous landmarks and architectural master pieces in Florence so as the Ponte Vecchio, the Fort Belvedere with the last stretch of antique walls preserved, the Dome, the Synagogue, the Uffizi, and many other…The sunsets are unforgettable…
SAN MINIATO AL MONTE CHURCH
On the back of the Piazzale there is one of the best examples of Romanesque architecture in Italy.
The Church of san miniato al Monte, taking its name from the first martyr of the city, has a great importance on the artistic and architectural history of the Florence. It stands on the highest point of the city.
PONTE VECCHIO
Descending the Piazzale through the tree lined “Viale Poggi, in a beautiful walk that will take you from the S. Niccolò Tower to the Lungarni (the street along the river Arno)and then in front of Demidoff square, you get to Ponte Vecchio (Old bridge).Its peculiarity, history and characteristic inclusion effect in the landscape profile of the city makes the Ponte Vecchio being a symbol of Florence. Many famous stories are tied up to the bridge, from the murder of the noble Buondwelmonte de’ Buondelmonti in the 1200s, brunt of the wars between Guelphs and Ghibellines,to the construction of the Vasari Corridor, even known as “the Gran Duke walkway” crossing the Bridge, bypassing the Mannelli Tower, last survivor of the original four towers on the four corners of the old bridge.
This corridor allowed a direct and protected way for the Gran Duke to pass from his Royal residence, The Pitti Palace, to the political center of the city, the Palazzo Vecchio.It was also an escape way for the Grand Duke in case of people rebellion allowing him to get through the Boboli gardens on the back of the Pitti Palace to the fortress at the top of the hill, the Forte Belvedere.
The Ponte Vecchio was rebuilt in 1345 on the ruins of the original wooden bridge first damaged then destroyed in the flooding of the Arno river, according to the history of the bridge, was projected by Neri Fioravanti, Taddeo Gaddi according to the Vasari instead. The Ponte Vecchio is now the only original bridge surviving the bombing of the Second World War thanks to the providential intervention of the german representative in Florence, Gerhard Wolf. It has been housing the richest jewelries in Europe since the time Ferndinando I ordered the butchers to move out their markets, originally located on the bridge (since 1442) because of the unpleasant given forth odors.
PALAZZO PITTI and GIARDINO DI BOBOLI
In the oldest part of the city, populary known as “Beyond the river Arno” you’ll reach Pitti Palace square, which takes its name from Luca Pitti, florentine banker and rival of Medici’s family. The palace houses four different museums: the Palatine Gallery, housing some Raffaello’s and Tiziano’s masterpieces, the Museo degli Argenti, the Costume’s museum, the largest italian museum dedicated to the Renaissance fashion and dresses, the Porcelain museum, the Carriages Museum, the Modern Art Gallery, housing some Macchiaioli’s masterpieces, and the monumental Boboli gardens, one of the best example in the world of italian gardens style.
DANTE’S HOUSE
Beyond the Old bridge through the way leading from Por Santa Maria and the Porcellino’s Markets in to the famous Signoria square, the ancient seat of the political florentine life, now City Hall, and continuing through Calzaiuoli street, you reach the core of the city, the most antique part of Florence with its narrow alleys. One of those, via Dante Alighieri, leads to Dante’s house. This precious glimpse evokes the flavours of Florence Medieval Epoque. The inspirations and the immortal works of the poet whom has devoted an everlasting tribute to humanity’s artistic and cultural heritage were born here. The riconstruction of Dante’s house, has been made following the original architectural drawings of the building as it was before its destruction. Today you can visit the museum containing many reproductions of the documents of the poet.