Town Center, Florence

The austere and majestic five-story facade of the Palazzo Davanzati is divided up on the ground floor by three massive doors, topped by a loggia and decorated in the center by a splendid coat of arms of the Davanzati family (in the summer the curtains are fastened to the iron bars in front of the windows).The Davizzi built a townhouse here in 1300; one of the family was Gonfaloniere of the Republic in 1294. In the 16th century the palace was acquired by the Bartolini family and later (1578) by the Davanzati. In 1906 the building was bought by the art dealer Elia Volpi and restored to its former glory. Since 1956 it has held the Museum of the Old Florentine House.The museum covers three floors and contains furniture, drawings, sculpture, tapestries, ceramics, textiles and everyday objects from the Middle Ages, the Renaissance and the Baroque period. The "Parrot Room" on the first floor is especially interesting. It gets its name from its decoration. The walls are painted to look like tapestries with parrots. The room has a painted wooden ceiling. The exhibits have been assembled from the Museo Nazionale del Bargello, other collections in Florence and from gifts. They provide a glimpse of the highly-cultivated life of the citizens of Florence who furnished their houses with valuable art treasures and other items.The Davizzi family wealth was founded on the wool industry, which was the most important industry of the 15th century. Wool merchants were major patrons of the arts at this time.

The first museum in Florence to show modern art, this museum was installed in 1988 in the redundant church of San Pancrazio for the work of the Tuscan artist and sculptor Marino Marini (1901-1980).The much modified church's façade is basically 14th c. but also has many features identified with Alberti, the architect who carried out a great deal of alterations for the Rucellai family between 1457 and 1467 and was also responsible for the Rucellai Chapel. Having spent many years as a tobacco factory and then most recently an army depot, the church started undergoing conversion in the early 1980s supervised by renowned architects Lorenzo Papi and Bruno Sacchi, who have made the building, with its enmeshing of stairs and galleries and combined effect of woodwork, cast concrete and iron struts, a highly successful setting for the works of art on display.The museum holds 176 of Marini's graphics, drawings, paintings and sculptures, many of them bequeathed to the city of Florence before his death. Beginning with the picture of the "Maidens" in 1916 they span all his themes and creative periods and obviously include many variations of his famous figures on horseback. Whereas the early works show the horse mostly at ease with mankind, after the 1940s it is bucking and rearing in an effort to dislodge its rider. Marini's other favorite themes included "Pomona", an ample fertility goddess, and images of dancers and clowns.

The architect Bernardo Rossellino built the Palazzo Rucellai between 1446 and 1451 to designs by Leon Battista Alberti. It is one of Florence's finest Renaissance mansions, and was commissioned by Giovanni Rucellai, a wealthy merchant who acquired his wealth and status in the 15th century.Alberti and Bernardo Rossellino, as architect and artist, were able to give free rein to their talents on this building, as their rich client readily provided them with the means to do so. Their clarity of conception and breadth of execution can be seen in the precision of the facade with its tapering pilasters, variety of window shapes, carefully hewn blocks of ashlar and storys of gradually diminishing height. It was a milestone in the architectural history of the Renaissance. Above the first-floor windows can be seen a stone frieze of billowing sails, the trade-mark of the Rucellai family, owners of the palazzo till the present day.

According to a Latin inscription on the left of the facade the Church of the Holy Apostles was founded by Charlemagne and dedicated by Archbishop Turpinus. All that is known for certain is that the church was in existence at the end of the 11th c. and was rebuilt in the 15th and 16th centuries (restored between 1930 and 1938). Benedetto da Rovezzano added a fine portal to the Romanesque facade in the early 16th century.The columns of green marble from Prato with composite capitals (the first two from the nearby Roman baths) which separate the aisles from the nave are a striking feature of the interior. The church and its works of art were badly damaged in the 1966 floods.Particularly worth seeing are, in the left aisle, a large terracotta tabernacle by Giovanni della Robbia (presbytery) and the tomb of Oddo Altaviti by Benedetto da Rovezzano (1507); and, in the right aisle, a panel of the Immaculate Conception by Vasari (1541, third chapel).

The largest of Florence's medieval palaces, this was built in 1289 for the Spini family (then later owned by the Ferronis), probably to plans by Arnolfo di Cambio. Restored in 1874, its massive walls, great height and emphatic crenellation make this extensive complex on the banks of the Arno most impressive. Little is left of a medieval tower and a ground floor loggia, or of the stone seating that ran round the palace and provided a place for both locals and waiting customers to rest awhile.

The Loggia di Mercato Nuovo, built by Giovanni Battista del Tasso 1547-1551 and formerly frequented chiefly by silk-merchants and goldsmiths, is nowadays a market-place for Florentine handicrafts on every day but Sunday. The hall, which is open on all sides, is supported by 20 columns. A marble plaque in the center of the Loggia marks the spot where bankrupt traders were exposed to the jeers and jibes of the public.

In a small traffic-free square, mentioned in documents as early as 1116, stands the church of Santo Stefano al Ponte (or Santi Stefano e Cecilia), displaying architectural features from a number of different centuries (13th century facade, 16th century altars, 17th century works in the nave).The bronze relief "The Stoning of St Stephen" is by Ferdinando Tocca (1656). Buontalenti's impressive marble stairs (1574) to the presbytery were formerly in the chuch of Santa Trinità.

The Palazzo Corsini stands beside the Arno (10 Lungarno Corsini, with its entrance in Via del Parione), and its impressive facade is best viewed from the opposite bank (it is incomplete, lacking a left wing to match the right wing).The palace, still owned by the Corsini family, was built by Pier Francesco Silvani and Antonio Ferri (1648-1656) in the 16th century style but with some Baroque elements, such as the spiral staircase inside the palace, which is one of the most important examples of Baroque architecture in Florence.

Not far from the Baptistery, in Via de'Cerretani, is one of Florence's oldest churches, which was certainly built before the 11th century and was rebuilt in the second half of the 13th century (1912-1913 carefully restored). The old bell-tower is still indicative of the lower level of the Romanesque church; high up in the wall can be seen "Bertha", a late-Romanesque bust of a woman. Above the church portal is the "Madonna and Child" of the 14th century Pisan school (copy).The outstanding features of the aisled Gothic interior with its square pillars and fine paintings and statues are the "Madonna in Majesty with Child" (also known as "Madonna del Carmelo"), attributed to Coppo di Marcovaldo (1261), and a colored gilded wooden relief. The relief shows the artist's skill not only as a sculptor but also as a painter (possibly also Coppo di Marcovaldo).

Florence prospered in the Middle Ages by producing and processing wool and selling the finished products. This is evident in this palace of the guild of weavers and wool merchants which had 200 shops and employed 30,000 workmen. The irregular palace complex, linked to the church of Orsanmichele by a bridge (built in 1569 by Buontalenti), was begun in 1308. After it was restored in 1905 it became the headquarters of the Dante Society. Today the palace houses a shop, and some cross vaulting can be seen in its showrooms.The inner rooms, the Saloni di Orsanmichele, have some fine paintings (Taddeo Gaddi's "Entombment"). On the corner of Via dell'Arte della Lana and Via Orsanmichele is the 14th century Gothic tabernacle of Santa Maria della Tromba.

The palace's Gothic windows, covered stairway and battlements stem from the 14th century. In the power struggle between Guelphs and Ghibellines - the opposing camps supporting the Pope or the Holy Roman Emperor - that engulfed the towns and cities of Italy in the 13th century, this house is where the Capitani di Parte Guelfa administered the property confiscated from the defeated Ghibellines. The 15th century alterations were directed by the architects Brunelleschi and Francesco della Luna.Inside the medieval palace, nowadays the headquarters of various organizations, there are some splendid rooms with harmonious proportions which were decorated by Giambologna, Luca della Robbia, and Donatello.

Almost every visitor to Florence is bound to visit this square in the heart of the city if only to patronize one of the many cafes that line the Piazza della Repubblica with their tables and chairs.This was the site of the Roman forum. It served as the Mercato Vecchio, the Old Market, until 1888 when the market booths were demolished and the Loggia del Pesce that stood here was moved elsewhere. The market was replaced by the Arconte (1895), a monumental triumphal arch, and a series of administrative buildings. The statue of "Abbondanza", a copy of Donatello's version of "Plenty" which from its pillar looks out over the square, was the first profane statue to go on display in a public square since the end of antiquity.

From 1574 to 1841 this austere medieval fortress-like building was the headquarters of the Rota court (hence the name of the square, giudici = judges). Since 1930 the palace has held the Museum of the History of Experimental Sciences.The collection includes instruments and scientific objects, some belonging to the Medici and some from other Florentine institutes: optical and mathematical apparatus, including a mechanical writing device, electrical apparatus, instruments for astronomy and cosmography and physical and anatomical models. One room is devoted to Galileo and his discoveries.

The Ponte Santa Trínita is the most elegant bridge in Florence. It was first built in 1252 but soon collapsed. Rebuilt more solidly in stone, it was again destroyed when the Arno burst its banks in 1333 and 1557. It was built in its present form by Ammanati between 1567 and 1570 (reportedly in consultation on artistic matters with Michelangelo). When it was blown up by German troops in 1944 the people of Florence gathered up the fragments which made it possible to rebuild it in its original form between 1955 and 1957. On the corners of the bridge stand allegorical figures of the four seasons; they were placed here in 1608.

This palace was built between 1517 and 1520 by Baccio d'Agnolo and thoroughly restored in 1962. The people of Florence reproached the architect for having used too many Roman elements (the Classical forms of Bramante and Raphael) more suited to a church than to a town house. The architect responded by inscribing above the portal "carpere promptius quam imitari" - it is easier to carp than to imitate. Another inscription above the windows gives the clue to the secret of the success of the former occupants: "per non dormire" - by not sleeping!

The Via Tornabuoni is one of the most elegant (on account of its shops), most beautiful (due to 19th century planning) and most interesting (because of the 15th to 19th century palazzi) streets in Florence. It is like a history book come to life, where the story of the city is told in magnificent buildings such as the palazzi of Larderei-Giacomini (early 16th century) and Corsi-Tornabuoni (1875, by Michelozzo where the Palazzo Tornabuoni once stood), the Logetta dei Tornaquinci (early 16th century) and the 17th century Palazzo Strozzi.

The oldest bridge over the Arno after the Ponte Vecchio, the Ponte alla Carraia collapsed several times and had to be rebuilt, for example in 1304 when the bridge was crowded with spectators trying to watch a spectacle on the Arno, or as a result of flooding. It was built in its present form, with five arches, by Ammanati in 1559.The Ponte alla Carraia was also blown up by German troops during the Second World War but it was possible to rebuild the bridge in its original form.

The finest 17th century facade in Florence belongs to the Baroque church of San Gaetano. The original 11th century church (San Michele Berteldi) was completely rebuilt in the early 17th century. Inside, pale figures against black stone imbue the place with a special atmosphere. In the second chapel on the left is "The Martyrdom of St Laurence" by Pietro da Cortona.In the Cappella Antinori in the adjoining monastery is a "Christ Crucified" by Filippo Lippi.

Opposite Orsanmichele in Florence stands the little Gothic single-naved church of San Carlo which was built between 1349 and 1404 first by Neri di Fioravante and Benci di Cione and then by Simone Talenti. It did not get its present name until the 17th century when it was entrusted to the care of Lombards - St Carl Borromeo was Bishop of Milan. Until then it had been dedicated to St Michael and St Anne.

The monument to the famous Italian dramatist Carlo Goldoni (1707-1793), placed here by Ulisse Cambi in 1873, is the highpoint of the square named after this Venetian comedy playwright, which is at a crossroads by the Arno where seven streets converge.

This granite column, which stands in a narrow square at the junction of Via del Moro, Via delle Belle Donne and Via del Trebbio, was erected in 1338. It has a fine Gothic capital, decorated with the symbols of the Evangelists, and a cross of the Pisan school.

In Piazza Antinori, opposite the church of San Gaetano, stands the town house of the Antinori family. The austere and elegant palace was built between 1461 and 1466 in the style of Giuliano da Maiano.The palace has an "enoteca" where visitors can try Tuscan delicacies, and admire the beautiful courtyard and its fountain.

The house of the Ricasoli family stands in the Piazza Goldini, the square by the Ponte alla Carraia over the Arno where seven streets converge.The building used to be ascribed to Michelozzo, but it was not begun until 1480 whereas Michelozzo lived from 1369 to 1472. It was completed in the early 16th century.

The Garden of Simples is situated between via Micheli, via Giorgio la Pira nad via Gino Capponi in Florence. The garden was created in 1545 by Niccolo Tribolo and is the place where medicinal herbs were grown and studied.