Sightseeing
Most visitors are overwhelmed by the artistic minefield of Florence. They spend their holiday dashing from one masterpiece to the next - with their nose stuck in a guidebook and their eyes glued to a video camera - dazzled by an excess of genius. The cultural heritage of Florence cannot be ignored. Cradle of the Renaissance and home of the Medici family - Italy's most progressive art patrons - it houses some of the world's greatest treasures.
Piazza della Signoria, once the hub of Florence's political machinations, remains a central reference point for visitors and citizens alike. Visitors can linger over a coffee in one of the square's gilded cafés and admire the powerful hulk of Michelangelo's David (a copy) guarding the city's Palazzo Vecchio, Florence's town hall since 1322. An array of sculptures, including Cellini's Perseus brandishing the head of Medusa and Giambologna's Rape of the Sabine Women, stand under the square's loggia - an impressive overspill from the nearby Uffizi Gallery. Passing tourists admire the rusticated palazzi that line the square, their solid style underscored by a light Renaissance touch, whose origins can be found in the family palaces of the Strozzi and Rucellai repeated all over Florence.
The square's landmark crenallated tower, the Torre d'Arnolfo, can be seen best from Piazzale Michelangelo - a balcony over Florence with spectacular views of terracotta roofs, the River Arno and Brunelleschi's portly dome - all backed by the rolling hills of Chianti. It is the sight of a thousand picture postcards and Merchant Ivory film shots but it never fails to take your breath away.Azienda di Promozione Turistica (APT)
Via Cavour 1R
Tel: (055) 290 832. Fax: (055) 276 0383.
E-mail:
Website: www.firenze.turismo.toscana.it
Opening hours: Mon-Sat 0815-1915 and Sun 0830-1330 (Apr-Oct); Mon-Sat 0815-1915 (Oct-end Mar).
Other branches are located outside the station, at the airport and in Borgo Santa Croce, near the church.
Passes
There is a Carnet available for L10,000/EUR5 allowing half-price entry to the Palazzo Vecchio, the Brancacci Chapel, the museum in the church of Santa Maria Novella and the sacristy in Santa Spirito, as well as a number of lesser known museums. The pass can be bought at participating venues. Given the queues, it may be worth considering booking tickets in advance (tel: (055) 294 883). Tickets for the Uffizi Gallery and the Accademia can be reserved for a L3000/EUR1.50 surcharge.
Key Attractions
Galleria degli Uffizi (Uffizi Gallery)
The most important art collection in Italy and one of the richest in the world is usually heralded by the burr of foreign tongues as queues of tourists snake across the courtyard. Located in Vasari's majestic Uffizi Palace, it houses the Medici art collection bequeathed to Florence in 1737, on the condition that it never leaves the city. The impressive resumé of Italian and in particular Florentine art is arranged to illustrate how evolving techniques and ideas influenced the artists. The huge collection is really too big to master at one sitting but visitors with limited time should ensure they take a peek at rooms 7-18, which include some of the city's biggest draws: Botticelli's mythological masterpieces, The Birth of Venus and Primavera (Spring) and Leonardo Da Vinci's Annunciation. Early rooms concentrate on medieval art with a particular bent towards the Sienese school, exemplified by Duccio, Martini and Giotto. The latter end of the gallery features work from the Umbrian and Venetian schools, including Titian, Tintoretto and Raphael.
Piazzale degli Uffizi 6
Tel: (055) 238 8651 or 8652. Fax: (055) 238 8699.
E-mail:
Website: www.musa.uffizi.firenze.it
Transport: Bus B.
Opening hours: Tues-Sun 0830-1850 (open until 2200 Sat).
Admission: L15,000/EUR7.50.
Piazza del Duomo (Cathedral Square)
Brunelleschi's gravity-defying dome dominates the Florence skyline and defines the city. The double-skinned dome that sits atop the city's candy-coloured Duomo (cathedral) was an architectural breakthrough, since Brunelleschi invented an entirely new way of counteracting the weight of the dome, thus building the largest self-supporting dome since classical times. The cathedral, built under the proviso that it be the largest house of worship in Christendom (a feat eventually claimed by St Peters Cathedral in Rome) took 150 years to complete. Its original façade was pulled down on the orders of Ferdinand I in 1587 and the Duomo remained faceless for nearly 300 years, until 1887. Described by Ruskin as a 'chinese puzzle', the lavish pink, white and green marble frontage belies a cavernous interior that is surprisingly free of decoration. Once inside, most people look heavenward, pausing to admire Giorgio Vasari's recently restored frescoes in the cupola - before climbing the 463 steps for a spectacular view over the city.
Tall, slender and straight-backed the Campanile (bell tower) is the graceful sidekick to Brunelleschi's stout Duomo. Built according to Giotto's designs in 1334, it was completed after his death by Andrea Pisano and Francesco Talenti. The Campanile is decorated by two garlands of bas-reliefs, strung around the bell tower's rose-tinted façade. Higher up are sculptures of the Prophets and Sybils, carved by Donatello. The original pieces are now in the Cathedral Museum (Grande Museo dell'Opera del Duomo). The Campanile can be climbed for rewarding views over the piazza, affording a closer inspection of the Duomo and Brunelleschi's rusty crown, once described by the architect Alberti as 'large enough to shelter all the people of Tuscany in its shadow'.
The adjacent Baptistery completes the trio and, indeed, provided the inspiration for both the Campanile and Duomo façades. Originally believed to be a pagan temple, the octagonal building is the oldest in Florence. It is famous for its gilded bronze doors, particularly those on the east side dubbed the Gates of Paradise. Executed by Lorenzo Ghiberti - 'with the greatest diligence and the greatest love' - over a period of 27 years, each of the ten bronze bas-reliefs tells a story from the Old Testament with astonishing realism and compassion. Nowadays, most are copies, the originals having been moved to the Cathedral Museum for restoration and safe-keeping. Ghiberti, the most self-satisfied of artists, preserved his own balding image in the frame of the door, fourth in from the left-hand side.
Piazza del Duomo
Transport: Bus 14, 23 or 71.
Opening hours: Cathedral: Mon-Wed and Fri 1000-1700, Thurs 1000-1530, Sat and Sun 1000-1645; Cathedral Museum: varies; Campanile: daily 0830-1930 (Apr-Sep); daily 0900-1630 (Oct-Mar); Baptistery: Mon-Sat 1200-1900 and Sun 0830-1330.
Admission: Cathedral: free; dome: L10,000/EUR5; Cathedral Museum: L10,000/EUR5; Campanile: L10,000/EUR5; Baptistery: L3000/EUR1.50.
Galleria dell'Accademia
While Florence offers a panoply of artworks, most people associate the city with just one masterpiece, Michelangelo's David. The huge statue occupies pride of place in the city's Accademia Gallery, dwarfing the multitude of chattering tourists who stand in awe before him. The statue was carved from one block of marble in 1502 when the artist was just 29 years old. Its exaggerated size and musculature is a symbol of the new-born Republic that briefly cast out the Medici - the city's 'Goliath'. Also in the gallery are Michelangelo's unfinished Slaves, which stand captive in blocks of marble from which their forms seem to struggle to escape.
Via Ricasoli 60
Tel: (055) 238 8609. Fax: (050) 238 8609.
E-mail:
Website: www.sbas.firenze.it
Transport: Bus 1, 6 or 33.
Opening hours: Tues-Fri and Sun 0815-1850, Sat 0815-2200.
Admission: L15,000/EUR7.50.
Ponte Vecchio
Even the dogs of war could not bring themselves to destroy the Ponte Vecchio, the only bridge to survive the Nazi bombing of Florence during World War II. These days the famous 14th-century bridge is literally paved with gold - home to Florence's gold and silversmiths - and is a prime shopping trap for the city's affluent tourists. It was Cosimo de Medici who first created the mood for change when he ordered the previous occupants, a motley crew of butchers accustomed to throwing their bloody leftovers into the River Arno, to make room for a more genteel trade. High above the shops a secret passageway known as the Corrodoio Vasariano links the Uffizi Gallery to the Pitti Palace. Built by Vasari, it was intended to shield the powerful Medici family from the Florentine riff-raff as they journeyed from one palace to the other. Lined with portraits of the city's greatest artists, it reopened to the public in 1997 but opening times are erratic due to staffing problems. Visits can be booked on special request, via the tourist office.
Transport: Bus D.
Museo Nazionale del Bargello
The grim façade of the Palazzo del Bargello, formerly the city's jail and torture chamber, is a daunting introduction to Tuscany's most impressive collection of Renaissance sculpture. Masterpieces by Cellini, Donatello and Michelangelo are arranged over three floors and overflow into the Palace's handsome courtyard - where many a Florentine lost his head. Donatello captures the spirit of the early Renaissance best with his sensual David and his watchful St George who once graced the façade of Orsanmichele. Cellini's exquisite bronze statuary outshines the somewhat staid Michelangelo on display, while Giambologna's Mercury should not be missed. Two bronze panels by Ghiberti and Brunelleschi, depicting the Sacrifice of Isaac, provide a compelling comparison. Both artists entered the panels in a competition to win the commission to cast the north doors of the Baptistery. Both won but Brunelleschi refused to work in partnership with Ghiberti and went on instead to construct the cathedral dome - a veritable artistic snub.
Via del Proconsolo 4
Tel: (055) 238 8606. Fax: (051) 238 8606.
Transport: Bus A, 14 or 23.
Opening hours: Daily 0830-1350; closed alternate Sundays and Mondays.
Admission: L8000/EUR4.
Santa Croce
The elegant Franciscan church of Santa Croce has tended to overwhelm the visitor and is held responsible for the little-known disease, Stendhal's Condition. When the French writer Stendhal visited the church, he suffered a fainting fit brought on by its beauty and apparently it continues to afflict up to 12 visitors a year. Lord Byron reported himself 'drunk with Beauty' at the sight of the church, which is attributed to Arnolfo di Cambio, the architect responsible for the Duomo. Its broad piazza, once the site of jousts, wild animal fights and the burning of heretics, is today home to miniature Davids and plaster cast Virgins as souvenir stalls ply their trade to visitors weakened by stendhalismo. The big draw inside the Gothic interior is death. Some of Italy's most gifted men are buried here, including Michelangelo (whose body was smuggled out of Rome in a packing case), Machiavelli, Galileo, Rossini and Ghiberti. Dante's tomb lies empty. The forefather of Italian literature died in Ravenna and the city refused to return his corpse, in spite of Florentine pleas. A series of colourful chapels, their frescoes commissioned by wealthy bankers, lift the gloom. Those in the Bardi Chapel are considered some of Giotto's best. Outside in the tranquil cloisters stands a Renaissance gem: the Pazzi Chapel, designed by Brunelleschi in 1430. The pure geometric design is an indication of the renewed influence of classicism over Gothic forms.
Piazza Santa Croce
Transport: Bus C, 14 or 23.
Opening hours: Mon-Sat 0930-1730 (summer); Mon-Sat 0930-1230 and 1500-1730, Sun 1500-1730 (winter).
Admission: Free.
Santa Maria Novella
The zebra-striped façade of Santa Maria Novella, completed by Leon Battista Alberti in 1470, is the starting point of many visitors' tour of Florence. Situated near the city's train station to which it lends its name, the graceful scrolls, Gothic arches and classical pediments combine to form one of Florence's most dramatic façades. Alongside Santa Croce, Santa Maria Novella - home to the Dominican order - was the most important church in the city. A fresco cycle by the city's top social painter, Ghirlandaio, depicting the lives of the Virgin Mary and St John the Baptist is peopled with Florentine society. But the highlight of the lofty interior is Masaccio's Trinity (1427), a fresco whose outstanding use of perspective marked a breakthrough in Renaissance painting. Miraculously, the flat wall becomes a recessed vault bearing the crucified figure of Christ. Behind him, deep within Masaccio's coffered chapel, God demands the viewer acknowledges his sacrifice.
Piazza Santa Maria Novella
Transport: Bus A, 14, 23 or 71.
Opening hours: Mon-Thurs and Sat 0930-1700, Fri and Sun 1300-1700.
Admission: L5000/EUR2.50.
Museo di San Marco
Rebuilt at the behest of Cosimo de Medici, this Dominican convent was home to Fra Angelico, as well as the fanatical Girolamo Savonarola. Savonarola famously preached damnation upon the Florentines and exhorted them to burn their books and paintings on the Bonfire of the Vanities. The 'mad monk' is depicted in a haunting portrait in the Corsini Gallery, himself being burned at the stake in Piazza della Signoria. More important are the works of Fra Angelico, a gentle and devout monk whose luminous frescoes, painted as a focal point for the monks' meditations, adorn each of the preserved monk's cells. The deep religious conviction inherent within each fresco is emphasised by the stark simplicity of their setting. At the head of the stairs lies the most powerful of them all, The Annunciation, a striking representation of the young Mary's fear and astonishment as she learns she is to be the Mother of Christ.
Piazza San Marco 3
Tel: (055) 238 8608. Fax: (055) 238 8704.
Transport: Bus 1, 6 or 10.
Opening hours: Tues-Fri 0815-1350, Sat and Sun 0830-1850; closed alternate Sundays and Mondays.
Admission: L8000/EUR4.
Capella Brancacci (Brancacci Chapel)
The area on the other side of the river, known as Oltrarno, was not even a part of Florence until the city walls expanded in the 12th century to encompass it and, even today, it has a character all of its own. The slower pace of life is accompanied by less showy buildings and fewer tourists, rewarding the adventurous with a taste of everyday life in Florence. The reason most make the trek across the river, however, is to see the famous Brancacci Chapel inside the church of Santa Maria del Carmine.
Miraculously salvaged from a fire in the 18th century, the chapel houses frescoes by Masaccio, his pupil Masolino and Filippino Lippi. Masaccio's crisp retelling of The Tribute Money set against the background of Renaissance Florence is snappily executed with bright colours and comic asides, in sharp contrast to his mournful Expulsion from Paradise. Both the Paradise fresco and Masolino's Temptation of Adam and Eve were propelled into the public eye in the late 1980s, when they underwent restoration to remove the bogus foliage, added on by Victorians to cover up their genitalia.
Piazza del Carmine
Transport: Bus D.
Opening hours: Mon and Wed-Sat 1000-1700, Sun 1300-1700 (visits restricted to 15 minutes).
Admission: L6000/EUR3.
Further Distractions
Pitti Palace and Boboli Gardens
Also in the Oltrarno lies the Pitti Palace and Boboli Gardens. Built in 1440 for the wealthy Pitti family, this monstrous palace was intended as a challenge to the omnipotent Medici. This architectural snub was short-lived however, when the family fortunes dwindled and the palace was acquired by their rivals. It is best to start early in the day as the palace now houses four museums and the lavishly decorated State Apartments. Most visitors only make it around the Galleria Palatina, which house yet more paintings from the Medici collection. Rubens, Titian and Raphael, wrapped in heavy gilt frames, vie for attention amid frescoed ceilings and opulent furnishings.
Visitors at saturation point may choose to skip all the galleries and head straight for the Boboli Gardens, a haven of fountains, grottoes and shady walks populated by local cats and perfect for sun-drenched picnics. The carpet of medieval Florence rolls away beyond the palace: visitors are advised to crack open the Chianti, unwrap the salami and slip back into the Middle Ages.
Piazza Pitti
Tel: (055) 238 8614. Fax: (055) 238 8613.
Transport: Bus D.
Opening hours: Tues-Sun 0830-1830.
Admission: L15,000/EUR7.50 (entry to all museums).
Tours of the City
Walking Tours
Private walking tours can be arranged through Mercurio (tel: (055) 218 413; website: www.mercurio-italy.org) or visitors can book one of their daily guided tours around Florence's key attractions. These include a tour of the Uffizi Gallery, which operates from Tuesday to Saturday, departing from the reservations entrance at 1600 and the 'Michelangelo Tour' starting from the Medici Palace (Via Cavour 3) at 1600 on Fridays. Both tours cost L65,000/EUR33.50 including entry tickets, are conducted in English by local experts and must be reserved in advance.
Bus Tours
There is no point taking a bus tour around Florence as the entire city can be covered from north to south on foot in just half an hour. Most of the attractions are closely grouped together and signposted by the whirr of camera shutters. Those who are lost and do not feel up to asking directions should follow the umbrella hovering above the crowds - it is guaranteed to be guiding a band of tourists to another one of the city's attractions.
Bike Tours
I Bike Italy (tel: (055) 234 2371) offers excursions into the Tuscan hills by mountain bike. Full-day trips (0900-1700) are available at L110,000/EUR57 including lunch and a tour of one of the local vineyards. Bookings can be taken in English over the telephone.
Visitors can also book a tour of the city on a three-wheeled electric scooter with a driver through Edy Taxi (tel: (055) 355 3333; fax: (055) 331 577; e-mail: ), Via Toselli 129. A one-hour tour costs L75,000/EUR39 and should be booked in advance.
Excursions
For a Half Day
Fiesole: Sooner or later everybody needs a break from Florence. The surfeit of culture can leave the visitor footsore and light-headed. The English poet Laurie Lee fled to the Tuscan hills exclaiming, 'I'd had my fill of Florence ... my eyes were choked with pictures and frescoes ... their colours running. I began to long for those cool uplands, that country air...'. Visitors in search of those 'cool uplands' should head for the lush olive groves and valleys of Fiesole. Situated eight kilometres (five miles) from Florence, it is just a short bus ride away (bus 7 from Piazza del Duomo). Formerly an Etruscan settlement founded in the seventh century BC, Fiesole grew in importance under the Romans who left behind a 3000-seat amphitheatre that is still used for outdoors concerts in the summer. The Archaeological Park also features Roman baths, a Roman temple and an Etruscan temple, set against Etruscan city walls. In the town, it is difficult for any man-made attraction to compete with the glorious views over Florence. Besides, the Florentines left visitors little choice when they ransacked the town in 1125, leaving only the Cathedral and Bishop's Palace standing.
Today, a smattering of shops and trattorie surround the Cathedral, which contains some of the best works of the local sculptor, Mino da Fiesole. Gluttons for punishment can visit the Museo Bandini (tel: (055) 59061); open daily 1000-1900 (in summer), Monday and Wednesday-Saturday 1000-1700 and 1000-1900 Sunday (in winter). Admission is L12,000/EUR6 - for a combined ticket with the Museo Archeologico (archeological park), for a crash course in Tuscany's lesser known Renaissance artists. On the way home, those travelling by car should take the SS65 for a look at some of the opulent Medici Villas now fighting to survive the encroaching suburban sprawl. More information can be obtained from the Fiesole tourist office (tel: (055) 598 720; fax: (055) 598 822; website: www.commune.fiesole.fi.it).
For a Whole Day
Siena: Medieval Siena is often seen as the female counterfoil to Renaissance Florence. At her heart lies the magnificent shell-like piazza, Il Campo, scene of the famous bareback horse race, Il Palio, which whips the town into a frenzy twice a year. One day is not long enough to appreciate all that the tiny walled city has to offer. Must-sees include the humbug-striped Cathedral decried by Ruskin as 'a piece of costly confectionery' and the majestic Palazzo Pubblico (town hall) topped by the soaring Torre del Mangia. Named after the medieval bell-ringer, the tower should be climbed for magnificent views of the city and hills beyond. Inside the town hall is the Museo Civico where tourists flock to see Simone Martini's Guidoriccio - the famous Sienese captain and standard-bearer of the city and Lorenzetti's Effects of Good and Bad Government - a vivid allegory painted against the backdrop of 14th-century Siena. The city's best-loved work, Duccio's Maesta, lies in the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo. The devotional picture of the Madonna, enthroned among saints and angels, once graced the Cathedral altar, her blue robes setting off the church's starry vaults. No visit is complete without a wander through Siena's cool, warren-like streets that wind around Il Campo, like arteries feeding the city's pulsating heart. Visitors can drop into one of the city's pasticceria for a slice of Sienese panforte or mingle with the students seeping up the sun in the Campo over a slice of freshly baked pizza.
From Florence, Siena is best reached by bus. No cars are allowed in the city and Siena's train station is on a branch line, making it necessary to change. Coaches depart from the station on Via Santa Caterina every hour (journey time - approximately 1 hour). The tourist office is located at Piazza del Campo 56 (tel: (0577) 280 551; fax: (0577) 270 676; e-mail: ; website: www.siena.turismo.toscana.it).
From worldtravelguide.net copyright Columbus Publishing Ltd 2000
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