FLORENCE
THE MUSEUM CITY
Florence, popularly known as Firenze, is the capital of the Tuscan region in northern Italy. Home to almost one third of the world’s art treasures, this city is a fairytale land and a museum by itself as ours eyes could see it. Every fragment of the city is covered in rich History and art. Every street has at least one museum or display of a work of art. It was home to the Medici family, the richest ever during their times who gained power to rule the city for around 350 years as businessmen, bankers and dealers of various arts. Apart from being celebrated as the birth place of Leonardo da Vinci and Florence Nightingale, the city also boasts of being the place where the Piano and Opera were invented and where the Gucci brand first came into existence. It is also the first city in Europe that flaunted paved streets.
The historic centre of Florence can be easily covered by short walks. Spending an entire day in the city can be highly enriching. You can expect to stand in awe amidst history itself and get drenched in stories and culture. For a detailed visit, please keep at least 4 days aside to look around the city.
Our flight from Bangalore reached Rome via Abu Dhabi. We then boarded a train to reach Florence city. The idea was to stay put in Florence and explore the surrounding areas for the next 4 days. Our accommodation was booked for 5 nights, via airbnb, situated at a 3 minute walk from the Campo De Marte railway station. This made it easy to use trains for point to point travel.
02 May 2018
03 May 2018
TRAVEL TIP : It is always good to read articles on “moving around FLORENCE (or any city of your travel)” before your trip. You can get updated information on local travel.
The ATAF (now called AUTOLINEE TOSCANE) bus system in Florence (at that point in time) allowed anyone to purchase day passes for travel by bus around the city, from any TABACCHI or vending machines in stations. A Tabacchi is basically a small convenience store (that initially sold tobacco and cigarettes and therefore the name), found in most corners in Italy.
At around 9:30 am we walked to a Tabacchi lying 3 buildings away from our airbnb accommodation in CAMPO DE MARTE. We bought our day pass and walked to the nearest bus stop. The idea was to use the pass for longer distances and save our energy to cover the more relevant areas by walk.
Taking buses to get around the city is worth it and also cheap. Today, of course, bus tickets can be purchased by downloading a certain app. Though it would roughly take 25 mins by foot, we chose to take 2 buses to get to the Historic Centre of Firenze. It was a pleasure to ride around the more modern parts of the city and explore them this way.
No matter how much time you have on hands, the city has no dearth for “yet another historical landmark “. The entire day was dedicated to FLORENCE CITY and we covered as much as we could on that day.
THE MEDICI PALACE
Getting off at the Pucci Duomo stop, we walked ahead to find the MEDICI PALACE to our right. As the wealthiest family of the 15th century, the MEDICI members were great patrons of art. They were the founders of the most popular MEDICI BANK and rose to great fortune that turned them from mere shrewd merchants and businessmen to being referred to as “members of ROYALTY”. It was interesting to know that the family was a part of creating the famous GELATO of Italy. The family members resided in this PALACE during the 1400’s. It is also referred to as the PALAZZO MEDICI RICARDI, as after nearly a century of possession it was sold to the RICARDI family. Today it serves as a museum. We didn’t have enough time to visit the interiors of the Palace.
We took a left from the Palace to reach a street that connected to the main Cathedral square instead. Shops flooded either side of this bustling street.
CATHEDRAL OF Santa Maria DEL FIORE
At the end of the street was this massive massive marble structure - THE DUOMO- Basilica of Santa Maria del Fiore, which is the biggest Landmark of the city. It can be spotted from a great distance. We stood speechless with goosebumps in front of the spectacular construction. It is once in a life time experience and should not be missed. Tons and Tons of marble, built and styled aesthetically to give it that heavenly look, is sure to leave you mesmerised. It is the most spell binding structure I’ve ever witnessed in my life.
The structure took around 140 years to reach completion and is known to have the largest masonry dome in the world. True that ! It is definitely an architectural masterpiece. The dome of the Pantheon in Rome is said to be the inspiring factor for this dome. The interesting fact is that despite being in its 80th year of construction, there was still no idea on the architectural design of the dome, as the structure had gotten bigger than expected by then. A competition was therefore thrown open to public, which was won by Filippo Brunelleschi, who then designed the dome without usage of wood. Unbelievable I must say. 14 decades of labour and hard work has totally paid off. You must read the effort of the master mind Brunelleschi behind this marvellous piece of art. Trust me, it is a long list of highly inspiring and motivating facts.
A long queue built up alongside the Basilica and we simply joined in. There is no entry fee here, but you would still need to fall in queue. Climbing up the Duomo (dome), is however, chargeable.
It started to rain mildly. We bought a few umbrellas from the street vendors in business around the area and continued to wait. We could hardly spot the dome from where we were standing. I tried to photograph the beauty and magnificence from many angles. What took decades to build cannot be captured in few minutes can it ? I still felt photos didn’t do justice to the actual structure.
One must see it to experience it.
We finally entered the Basilica. As magnificent as it is on the outside, the inside of this Cathedral brings harmony & peace to the minds. Italy as such, is known for all its renaissance artists who enriched the entire country with their works of art, Florence is the crown of it all. The marble carvings and decorations on the gates and front door were so intricate and beautiful. The high risen roof, designed marble flooring, cartloads of artwork preserved in its interiors, paintings, stained glasses and frescoes created by noted artists decorate every nook and corner. The subtle lighting brings about a divine feel despite being crowded by tourists. Several niche in pillars and walls display statues of kings, prophets and important people. Stunning pillars arch all around the Nave. Each and every piece of art and decoration would need pages and pages of description. All I can say right now is, please add this to your travel bucket list and experience the magic yourself.
THE BAPISTERY OF ST.JOHN
Lying right opposite to the Chiesa Santa Maria del Fiore is the Bapistry of St. John. It is an octagonal shaped Marble structure, sharing similar shades of the main Duomo itself. Both the buildings, along with a free standing bell tower called Giotto’s Bell Tower, that which is considered now to be a part of the Basilica itself, exist in harmony, bringing life to the Piazza di San Giovanni .
The baptistery has been in existence since the 6th Century when it was just a Roman Tower. Two renovations since then bestowed upon it the current look. It is therefore older than the Duomo and another noted and important landmark of the city. It is noted for its bronze doors. We chose to give its interior visit a skip and moved on to the next Landmark.
THE SAN LORENZO CATHEDRAL
At a walking distance of just 5 minutes from the Duomo is the San Lorenzo Cathedral, right in the middle of the Market area. An other revolutionary architectural structure, this dull, brick construction has a dome similar to that of the main Duomo. The cathedral that existed on its grounds before it, was the main cathedral of Florence for nearly 300 years.
The architecture of the Cathedral was designed and developed to a certain extent by Brunelleschi himself. It was, however, completed only after his death by few other artists. It is noted for its Laurentian Library attached to it. The bright and swanky interiors of the Cathedral drew inspiration from ancient Roman models and more than make up for its rather dull exteriors and facade.
We gave its interior visit a skip. Our packed lunches were opened and we grabbed a quick bite sitting by its side. It had stopped raining by then and the sun was out making our walk a bit easier.
THE MEDICI CHAPEL
The Chapel, 59 metres in height is attached to the Cathedral of San Lorenzo and sits right behind it, facing the market area. It is a Mausoleum, decorated in grandeur with marble. It is the family tomb of the Medici family members. Till date the power of the most successful dynasty is celebrated here. The San Lorenzo cathedral was the official prayer hall of the Medici family and therefore after the first of its members wished to be buried next to the cathedral, others followed precedence. The stone coffins called Sacrophagi (singular Sacrophagus) was designed and executed by Michelangelo himself as a tribute to the renowned. Some of his finest works are displayed here. These sarcophagi display bronze statues, based on various themes, that are fitted into niches atop them. The paintings on the cupola are noteworthy. On the whole it is all worth a visit. Sadly due to lack of time, we gave its interiors a skip too.
If you do happen to stay in Florence, please allocate at least 3 days to tour around the city. That might do some justice to the Museum town.
THE SAN LORENZO MARKET
Right opposite to the Medici Chapel lies the San Lorenzo Market. A Street style market that showcases leather goods, articles, clothes, accessories, local delicacies and food items including plenty other things on either side of its curving market streets that finally leads to a huge indoor market hall. You are sure to find good quality goods that fits your budget here. We spent around an hour browsing the market area and also managed to pick up a few items and souvenirs for people back at home.
THE BASILICA OF SANTA MARIA NOVELLA
Next up was the Basilica of Santa Maria Novella. It was just a five minute walk from the Market. The stunning Marble facade of the Basilica doesn’t fail to impress. It lies adjacent to the main railway station of Florence, separated by a two way tram line. The Piazza (square) is quite huge and has many good restaurants lined up on the left side of the cathedral. The massive rectangular space is good enough to spend a nice evening with family. It started drizzling yet again. Umbrellas were up. We stopped by a road side restaurant. It was cold and breezy as we sat sipping hot coffee & munching some fries under a huge umbrella of the outdoor restaurant, simply watching the stunning structure and the passers by in the piazza.
Built in the 14th century, the Basilica is said to house many noteworthy pieces of art. It is a classic example of a good blend of the early renaissance & roman architecture along with a mix of gothic and classic architecture too. Its inviting facade displays aesthetic use of green marble that is etched and erected to perfection. Sadly we had to give its interior visit a skip due to lack of time.
THE OGNISSANTI CHURCH AND PIAZZA
We took a right into a narrow street at the far end of the piazza, away from the church, to get to the Ognissanti church or the All Saints Franciscan church and its Piazza.
What stood in front of our eyes was a completely different looking structure, styled in Baroque architecture rather than the normal renaissance designs that was followed in construction of most other buildings around the city. The simple looking church, however, is home to many renowned pieces of art.
We decided to take a walk inside and did not regret it. I came across some detailed description of all the pieces of art ,frescoes and paintings inside the church. Please click here to read http://www.travelingintuscany.com/engels/firenze/ognissanti.htm , if you are interested.
The dazzling interiors took us by surprise. The grandeur inside the relatively small place is something not to be missed. Every corner displayed some great art work . The main Altar was brightly lit with arches running on either side of it, giving room to display of art works. Though the church is functional it seemed more like a museum of wonder.
After spending around half an hour in the church and offering our prayers, we stepped out into the piazza. We took a bus from the bus stop at the far right hand corner, on the main road here to get to the Pitti’s palace. It was a mini bus and part of the ATAF system.
Standing tall and wide in the Historic centre of Florence in the middle of the Piazza Pitti, the Pitti’s Palace, today is a full fledged musuem. It is known as the birth place of Renaissance. The idea of a Palatial building was initiated by a wealthy merchant LUCA PITTI, who wished to build a residence bigger than than of the Medici family. The Palace is therefore named after him as he was the first owner. It was more inspired by Roman architecture as you can see. The Brilliantly built brick facade is sure to leave you stunned. It was subsequently sold more than once, to many others. The Medici family was one of them too.
The Brilliantly built brick facade is sure to leave you stunned. The sheer look of the Mammoth structure is a good enough reason to pay the place a visit. We were happy to click a few pictures in front of this wonder and move on to our next stop.
PITTI'S PALACE
PONTE VECCHIO
The Point Vecchio is a bridge connecting two major Palaces in Florence. It is the only bridge which survived the world war II. Standing above river Arno, it is today laden with shops on either side and is a sight to see. At one end of the Bridge is the Palazzo Vecchio (Palace), accessed via the Uffizi gallery through the Vassari Corridor and the other end is the Pitti's palace. It is said that the then Duke- Cosimo, got the corridor (photo in previous page) built by Giorgio Vassari , therefore called the vassari corridor, for personal use of the Medici family. This was built, for him to solely & freely move from Pallazo Vecchio to Pitti's Palace.
Of course , we did cross the Ponte Vecchio to get to Pitti’s Palace. On our return, we slowed down to take a peek at the shops.
RIVER ARNO
River Arno flows around the city and joins the Ligurian sea near Pisa. The almost 250 km long river divides Florence city into two parts. It was used regularly for trade and transit , mainly to transport wood needed for all the constructions in the city. We could see glimpses of the river at regular intervals from the bridge. Beautiful views of the city, bright colourful buildings on either side of the waters is what once can expect to see from the bridge. A typical European look.
VASARI CORRIDOR
As mentioned earlier, the corridor was built for personal usage of the Royals to move from one Palace to the other during a wedding of a Medici family member. It was built in just 5 months. High roofed arches linked and lined up for nearly a kilometre, with loads of artistic works on their walls, is what one can expect to see here. The corridor is said to survived a bombing attack.
We stopped for a Gelato before walking down the corridor and entering the Uffizi Gallery area.
UFFIZI GALLERY
As soon as we entered the Uffizi area, we spotted a long queue waiting to get into a huge hall , running upto 3 floors, with a quadrangle kind of space in the centre. Out in the open were tall sculpted, true to life statues of various renowned scholars and artists installed in niches on the pillars supporting the gallery. This got us confused as to which the actual gallery was. We could see the Piazza Della Signora from here.
We spotted a long queue waiting to get into a huge hall , running upto 3 floors with a quadrangle kind of space in the centre. The gallery is huge and one needs at least 3/4th of a day to do justice to its complete set of art collections.
PIAZZA DELLA SIGNORA
The Uffizi gallery, the Palazzo Vecchio in the Piazza Della Signoria have enough and more open displays of huge pieces of beautiful art, including a duplicate version of the DAVID and the famous Neptune fountain adorning the Piazza next to the Vecchio Palace. There is enough and more to see and enjoy. It was an evening of Rennaissance Art appreciation in all its glory coupled with live music & entertainment for us. Truly an electrifying atmosphere !
The Piazza has been in existence since the Roman times. The square was in the centre of the town back in that period. The L shape of the Piazza came into existence only in the 13th century. The Piazza is also famous for its Loggia Dei Lanzzi an open museum displaying precious works of art, mostly created out ideas from mythological stories.
PALAZZO VECCHIO
Styled up like a castle, this Palace has a tower of 94 metre high attached to it and finds a place today in the Piazza della Signora, flanked by open displays of great works of art. The Palace was built around the 13th century period as a residence cum workplace of officials of the republic. Of course these important positions were held by the powerful Medici family members who ruled the place for centuries. In the early 19th century it became the residence of the then Mayor.
The Palace is known for one of its largest rooms ever built in the entire city. There are also series of hidden, secret passages that were built in order to facilitate escape of the Medici members from their enemies in times of need and also to store their valuables. Today one can visit these interiors for a small ticket price, which can be bought at its entrance.
FRANCO ZEFFIRELLI FOUNDATION
This building finds a place in a corner of a street leading from the Piazza della Signora to the Piazza Santacroce. I was really fascinated by its structure and therefore felt the need to detail it out here. It was a late realisation that this building is a museum. It that display works of Franco Zeffirelli , a Senator at one point in time and also noted director and producer of Operas, movies and TV shows. Clicking photos outside the museum steps is all what we could think of at that time. We moved on to get to the Basilica of Santa Croce
PIAZZA DI SANTA CROCE
Beautiful memories of yet another fascinating Marble structure adorning this Piazza - The Basilica of Santa Croce (meaning the "holy cross")
It was initially a marshland , which served as a burial place to many famous italians including Michelangelo and Galileo. It was therefore referred to as the temple of Italian Glories.
It is known to be the largest of the Franciscan Church in the world with 16 Chapels. We walked around the piazza and made photographic memories. It was around 5:30 pm. We walked to the nearest bus stop to get to our last point of the day. It was quite a wait to get a bus to the Piazza Michelangelo from there. We reached our destination in about 13 minutes.
PIAZZALE MICHELANGELO
The Bus dropped us off right atop the hill right opposite to the large piazza.
Overlooking the entire city of Florence is the Piazzale Michelangelo that stands at a higher platform, on a hill, facing the city. The Crowning glory of the entire day was the mesmerising views from there. A copy of THE DAVID carved by the great Michelangelo himself, can be seen here for free. The Piazza, as its name suggests, is dedicated to Michelangelo the icon of Italian, renaissance art.
The Duomo can be viewed from here in entirety, with rolling hills as its backdrop along with many other important buildings surrounding. The rest of the city sits clinging on to the Duomo, further engulfed by River Arno.
The hill top offers a relaxing time with a restaurant attached to it and well maintained gardens surrounding the entire piece of land.
We were fortunate to witness the twinkling night views of the entire city. After spending about an hour or so in the area, we boarded a bus back to get to our airbnb accommodation.