Introduction to Florence
Florence is one of the world's artistic capitals, a monument to the Renaissance and a thriving industrial centre. Writers and artists such as Dante, Machiavelli, Botticelli, Michelangelo and Donatello have found inspiration here. The majority of the famous sights can be easily explored on foot and there are a vast quantity of English services for tourists. The city has a population of 380,000, is 277km from Rome and 298km from Milan .
It has the oldest art school in the world, the Accademia di Belle Arti, founded in 1563. This houses the famous statue of David that established Michelangelo's career at the tender age of 29. The Duomo is the fourth biggest in Europe and at 91m is the tallest building in Florence . Its dome was built without scaffolding in 1463. There are markets and restaurants for the keenest of cooks and the best designers for the shoppers. The prices, however, are double those of other towns and one hears as many English as Italian voices. Despite this, there are more language schools, beautiful monuments and museums than in almost any other city in Italy .
Florence and the Italian Language
Florence is where the Italian language as we know it today was born. Dante was the first major writer to use the Florentine vernacular as opposed to Latin. His Divine Comedy helped establish the Florentine dialect as the 'Italian standard.'
Don't Miss: Da Non Perdere
- views over Tuscany from the Boboli Gardens
- window-shopping in Florence 's most exclusive street, Via de'Tornabuoni
- the view of Florence 's oldest bridge, Ponte Vecchio (1345) from Ponte Trinita
- the free weekly lectures and concerts at the Harold Acton Library
- the Bargello museum with Italy 's finest collection of Renaissance sculpture
- climbing Giotto's 85m white, green and pink marble Campanile (1359)
- the Florentine food markets, some of the best in Italy
- Donatello's David (1430) in the Bargello Musuem
- dipping cantucci (almond biscuits) into vin santo (sweet wine) at the end of a meal
- Michelangelo's David (1504) in the Accademia di Belle Arti
- a day trip to the isolated Camaldoli monastery in the Tuscan forests.
