Central Italy: Firenze (Florence), Toscana

Florence (Firenze), a city of about 400 000 on both the of the Arno River in central Italy, is the capital of the region of Tuscany, the birthplace of the Renaissance, a period from about 1300 to 1600, when some of the greatest painters, sculptors, and writers in history lived and worked here. Famous painters and sculptors as Leonardo da Vinci, Giotto and Michelangelo produced some of the most magnificent and famous paintings and sculptures ever made. The famous astronomer Galileo worked here as well. Today, the city is visited by about a million tourists a year to see its splendid art galleries, churches, and museums.

The city has an area of about 100 square kilometres and lies in the centre of a rich farming area, famous for its wines. The oldest part of Florence lies in a small area divided by the Arno. Most of the city's famous buildings are on the right bank, north of the river. Six bridges connect the right bank with the Oltrarno, on the other side. Goldsmith and jewellery shops line one of these bridges, the Ponte Vecchio, which was built in 1345. The other bridges were destroyed during World War II (1939-1945) by retreating German troops but rebuilt since then. The present Ponte Santa Trinita is an exact reconstruction of the original bridge, which had stood since 1570.

The Etruscans, a tribe that migrated to Italy from Asia, built the first settlement in what is now Florence about 200 B.C. Their settlement was destroyed in 82 B.C. following a Roman civil war and in 59 B.C. Julius Caesar founded the colony of Florentia ("blossoming"). After A.D. 1000 it developed into a city-state. In the early 1400's the wealthy Medici family gained control of Florence, that now controlled part of central Italy. It achieved its greatest splendour under the most famous Medici, Lorenzo the Magnificent, who ruled from 1469 to 1492. Members of the Medici family governed the city almost uninterrupted until 1737. From Florence 1865 to 1870 was the capital of the newly united Italy and large piazzas just outside the historic centre of Florence were built at that time.

In the Second World War several ancient palaces were destroyed during the fighting for Florence; most of the city's art treasures escaped harm, but in 1966 a flood damaged books, manuscripts and valuable works of art. Many nations helped with restoration work and Florence has since then become a world centre for the study preservation of the arts. In May 1993 a car bomb exploded outside the Uffizi Gallery; several artworks were destroyed and others badly damaged. Bullet proof glass that had been installed to protect important works of art saved many paintings however.

	View of Florence	The Campanile	Duomo view	The Duomo
	Baptistry, Duomo	Chimère of Arezzo	Michelangelo's David	Florence view
	Piazza della Signoria	Palazzo Vecchio	Ponte Vecchio	Holy Cross Church

Click on the map to select a continent...