Florence

As the city at the very heart of the Renaissance, patroned and governed by the famous Medici family, Florence holds the soul of Italy’s culture, with its formidable galleries, ornate churches, and breathtaking buildings, and it certainly isn’t afraid to show it.

Start your visit to the city by indulging in the famous art pieces housed in the Bargello Museum, an impressive heavily fortified structure that used to serve as a police headquarters and prison. In this comprehensive museum, you can find a vast array of Medieval and Renaissance sculpture including works like Michelangelo’s Bacchus, Donatello’s David, Brunelleschi, and Giambologna, and Giotto.

Of course, probably the most noticeable structure on the Florence skyline is the Duomo, a sloping, red-tiled dome designed by Brunelleschi. The full name of the cathedral is Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore and it’s the fourth largest cathedral in the world.

The hub of Florentine political life is the Piazza della Signoria, once a place where citizens would gather for popular votes, be swayed by political speeches, or to dispute, it's now a sprawl of open area lined with restaurants, cafes, fountains (including the Fountain of Neptune), historical buildings, and famous sculptures like Cellini’s Perseus.

Take a glimpse of the beautiful home and burial grounds of the Medici family, the Piazza San Lorenzo, with several buildings, chapels, and structures designed by Brunelleschi, Donatello, and Michelangelo.

Pitti Palace contains a huge gallery of modern art, costumes, and famous works by Raphael, Filippo Lippi, Tintoretto, Veronese, and Rubens. The rooms they're hung in are almost as lavish as the paintings themselves, displaying the extravagant lifestyles that the Medici’s, and later, the Savoy’s, inhabited. Nearby is the Boboli Gardens, with sublime landscaping including pools, fountains, geometric borders, tree-lined vistas, and the star-shaped Forte di Belvedere.

Come see where several famous Florentines lie in peace, encased in tombs lining the walls and floors including Michelangelo, Machiavelli, Galileo, Dante, and Bardi. In addition to this, the whole structure radiates beauty with designs and art pieces by Brunelleschi, Giotto and della Robbia.

Trip to Florence
A trip to Florence for an art exhibition which naturally includes stops at some of the most treasured works of art and architecture, such as the Uffizi Gallery and the Dome of Brunelleschi.

Florence Photo Gallery
A photo gallery from beautiful Florence, Italy.

Photos from Florence
Some spectacular photographs from Florence and other parts of Italy, including scenery and the requisite cathedrals.

Florence and its Duomo
A very well-written travelogue about Florence and some of its most famous architectural monuments. Pictures included, of course.

Florence

More websites about travelling to Florence