Italy Travel Notes

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You want to see the “Athens of Italy”? It’s none other, but Florence! Florence is hyperbolically beautiful city, lying on the Arno River. Florence, the capital city of Tuscany, is the city of beauties, lilies, and fragrances, and destination for art and architectural magnificence. The city is the cultural, artistic and architectural gem of Italy, and the gem it apparently is!

Florence is often considered as the cradle of the Italian Renaissance. You can really explore the treasure of the marvelous works of art and architecture in the mesmeric city of Florence. The historic Center of Florence was declared a World Heritage Site by the UNESCO in 1982. So, if you are out to enjoy art & architecture in Florence, the city has plenty to offer you.

You can start your exploration from Florence museums & art galleries. The city really offers you the world class artistic treasure of museums & galleries, just lying short walking distance from each other. The Uffizi Gallery (Galleria degli Uffizi), housed in the Palazzo degli Uffizi (a palazzo), is the most famous of the artistic collections in the city. It is one of the oldest and most famous art museums in the world. The Galleria offers you the world-class collection of ancient and renaissance paintings and sculptures.

Bargello, officially known as the National Museum of the Bargello, gives one of the finest collections of Renaissance and Mannerist sculptures. Located near Piazza della Signoria, Bargello museum exhibits the works of many great Renaissance sculptors including Michelangelo, Donatello, Ammannati, Bandinelli, Andrea and Jacopo Sansovino, Desiderio da Settignano, Giambologna, and Antonio Rossellino.

You can visit Accademia, if you want some more marvelous sculptures, such as Michelangelo’s David and the unfinished Slaves. - The Cathedral Museum – Museo dell’Opera del Duomo is the place where you can view some nice sculptures by Donatello. On the quieter south bank of the Arno, Pitti Palace – the former Medici family palace that serves up the superb collection of art works. You can enjoy wonderful walks in the Boboli Gardens behind the palazzo and excellent views of the city and the countryside south of the city.

The Institute and Museum of the History of Science exhibits the evolution of the instruments used in various scientific fields such as Mathematics, Physics, Biology, Chemistry, and Astronomy. The museum also takes you the room of Galileo Galilei showing some of his original instruments as well as models from his drawings.

Virtual symbol of the city, Santa Maria del Fiore, is the iconic cathedral of the city. The cathedral is also known as the Duomo di Firenze. The huge dome of Brunelleschi is an engineering excellence of the renaissance. Giotto’s Tower, adjacent to the Duomo, lets you have a magnificent 360-degree view of the Duomo.

If you really want to step in the Paradise door and beautiful interior, you must visit Baptistery. You can visit the monumental tombs of Galileo, Michelangelo, Machiavelli, Dante, and many other notables in addition to artistic decorations at Santa Croce church. The Pazzi Chapel is the place to check out perfectly symmetrical example of sublime neo-Classic Renaissance architecture. Near the train station, Santa Maria Novella is a beautiful church containing great artwork, including a recently restored Trinity by Masaccio. Off of the church’s cloister, the wonderful Spanish Chapel is covered in early Renaissance frescoes.

Orsanmichele is a worth visiting beautiful old church of the Medici. San Lorenzo church is your site for pure Renaissance neo-classical splendor. San Marco Convent (1436) offers you frescoes by Fra Angelico and Fra Bartolomeo in a series of dormitory cells in which the Dominican monks lived. And, Of course, don’t miss Palazzo Vecchio, the old city palace/city hall, adorned with fine art, and Ponte Vecchio, the oldest and most famous bridge over the Arno, known for its lined up jewelry shops.
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Author writes for Holiday Velvet, a website providing listings for Florence, Italy holiday apartments hotels, villas, Bed & Breakfasts for Florence vacation

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