Florence Attractions

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.

The Archbishop's Palace was built between 1573 and 1584 by Giovanni Antonio Dosio for Cardinal Alessandro Medici who later became Pope Leo XI, but it was not finally completed until 1735, by Ciurini. During this long period it developed into a mixture of medieval and "modern" elements.

In 1895 the whole palace was moved back 50 yards to make room for the city's growing traffic.

The "Giardino dei Semplici" was founded in 1545 by Cosimo I for the study of exotic plants. It is the headquarters of the Italian Botanical Society, the "Società Botanica Italiana", and together with the school and the museum forms part of the "Institute of Botany".

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.

The Porta alla Croce, the Cross Gate, on the Piazza Beccaria and built in 1284, is all that is left of the city wall fortifications. Inside is a badly damaged fresco by Michele di Rodolfo, "Madonna and Child with St John the Baptist and St Ambrose".

The Chiostro dello Scalzo, a graceful cloister with slender columns, was decorated by Andrea del Sarto between 1514 and 1526 for the "Confraternity of St John the Baptist", whose crossbearers used to walk barefoot (scalzo) in processions.

The famous frescoes depicting scenes from the life of John the Baptist have been restored several times.

The most important frescoes, all monochrome, are the Birth of John the Baptist (1526), the Sermon of St John (1515) and the Dance of Salome (1522).

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.

The Conservatorio, founded in the early 19th century, houses a comprehensive music library and a collection of old musical instruments, including early pianos by the inventor of the pianoforte, Bartolomeo Cristofori, violins by the famous Italian violin-makers Stradivarius and Amati, and musical instruments from ancient Egypt and the Orient.

The collection was founded in the early 18th century by Ferdinando, the son of Cosimo III. Cristofori was its curator and was also responsible for the most important acquisitions.

Like the Loggia di Mercato Nuovo the Loggia del Pesce was designed as a freestanding building. The architect was Vasari (1567) and it was originally part of the old market on the present Piazza della Repubblica. It has only stood here on the Piazza dei Ciompi, the site of the flea market, since the end of the 19th century.

On the south side of the Loggia is the "Fontana del Porcellino", the "piglet" fountain, as Pietro Tacca's bronze wild boar (1612) is nicknamed by the locals. It is a copy of a Roman marble in the Uffizi. Tourists throw coins into the fountain and make a wish to return to Florence.

The vast five-sided fortress near the main station, today used as a barracks and exhibition building, was designed in 1534 by Antonio Sangallo the Younger and built under the direction of Pier Francesco da Viterbo and Alessandro Vitelli (1534/1535). With this bastion Alessandro de'Medici sought to manifest and consolidate his power after his return to the city.

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.

The Geological and Paleontological museum in Florence is at Via La Pira 4.

The Museum "Firenze com'era" was opened in 1903 in the old convent of the Oblates (opposite Santa Maria Nuova) with its fine 15th century cloister. Its paintings, drawings, prints and photographs look back over the development of the city of Florence since the end of the 15th century. It also tells of the everyday life of the Florentines, their various festivals and their great processions.

Opposite the church of Santa Maria Novella, on the south side of the square, is the Loggia di San Paolo which was commissioned in 1466 by the head of the Ospedale di San Paolo. It is modeled closely on Brunelleschi's Loggia degli Innocenti (the Porch of the Foundling Hospital). The columns were replaced in 1789. It too is decorated with terracotta medallions by the Florentine artists Andrea and Giovanni della Robbia.

The Mineralogy Museum in Florence is located at Via La Pira 4.

North of the Vittorio Emmanuel and the Vittoria Faentina are the regions of Montughi Il Pellegrino and La Pietra.

Adjoining the Palazzo Venturi-Ginori is part of the famous Orti Oricellari, the gardens that became the site of the Accademia Platonica (neo-Platonic academy) when Bernardo Rucellai transferred it here in 1498. The Academy was visited by Pope Leo X in 1516 and Emperor Charles V in 1530.

In the center of the gardens stands a gigantic statue of Polyphemus (8.4m/27.6ft high) by Antonio Novelli, a pupil of Giambologna.

The palace on the site of the former Medici gardens was built by Bernardo Buontalenti between 1568 and 1574 for Grand Duke Francesco I de'Medici who had his artist's studios and alchemist laboratories here.

Today the building houses the Court of Appeal, the Corte d'Appello.

The Palazzo Altoviti in the Borgo degli Albizi, a street with many fine town houses, first belonged to the Albizi family and then to the Valori and Guicciardini families. In the 16th century Baccio Valori decorated it with busts of famous Florentines (Ficino, Vespucci, Alberti, Guicciardini, Dante, Petrarch, Boccaccio et al) which is why the locals nicknamed it the "Rogues' Gallery".

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.

This Palazzo in Piazza di Santo Spirito has a classical austerity and beauty. Simone del Pollaiolo, known as Cronaca, built it (probably 1503-1506) for Riniero Dei. The three storeys, in different styles, are topped by an open loggia. In 1684 it was acquired by the Marchese Guadagni and later by the Dufour-Berte family.

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.

As the name suggests, there is a splendid view of Florence from the Piazza di Bellosguardo, southwest of the center, with the Villa di Bellosguardo and its beautiful garden.

To the right of the Piazza stands the Villa Belvedere al Saracino (built by Baccio d'Agnolo in 1502 for Francesco Borgherini) and to the left is the Villa dell'Ombrellino. A bust of Galileo commemorates the fact that he lived here from 1617 to 1631.

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 Via Cassia, the road to Rome, passes through the Porta Romana, the Roman Gate, the mightiest and best-preserved of Florence's city gates.

Above the arch inside the gatehouse, which was built in 1326, is a fresco of the 14th century Florentine school, "Madonna and Child and Four Saints" (Franciabigio).

From the Arno a section of the old city wall leads to the Porta San Frediano. This gate is also known as Porta Pisana because it was from here that the road to Pisa left the city. This massive structure was built between 1332 and 1334, probably to designs by Andrea Pisano. The formidable doors are 13.2m/43.3ft high and 25cm/10 inches thick.

The Porta San Giorgio, just below the Forte di Belvedere, was completed in 1260, and is part of the second circle of walls on the left bank of the Arno, the course of which can still be traced from the positions of the city gates of San Niccolò, San Miniato, San Giorgio and Porta Romana and San Frediano. The interior fresco of the Madonna is by Bicci di Lorenzo; on the outside is a relief of St George.

The Porta San Niccolò was equally suited for defense by land and, in conjunction with the Zecca tower on the opposite bank of the Arno, for sealing off the river. The tower of the bastion, built in 1324, forms the beginning of the city wall in the east on the left bank of the Arno.

The Museo di Preistoria in Florence is located at Via S. Egidio 21.

The village of Sammezzano in the Arno Valley, reached by way of SS 69, has a striking castello, originally founded in the Middle Ages but completely rebuilt in Neo-Moorish style in the 19th century. It is now a hotel.

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 history of the church, which stands opposite the Palazzo Pitti, extends far back into the Middle Ages (1066). The facade, a classic example of simple yet effective Renaissance architecture, was built about 1450.

The church contains works by the Giotto school ("Christ Crucified"), by the schools of Filippino Lippi (triptych), Ridolfo Ghirlandaio ("Madonna and Child"), and of Neri di Bicci (triptych) and a terracotta group from the school of Giovanni della Robbia.

This Carmelite church and convent, formerly known as Santa Maria degli Angeli, then became a parish church dedicated to St Frediano. The church was transformed in the 17th century when it became Baroque in character, as is evidenced by its distinctive little cupola and graceful campanile.

Inside can be seen the famous "Smiling Madonna", a 13th/14th century Tuscan painted wooden statue.

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.

In the shadow of the cathedral stands the church of San Michelino, the Vicedomini family church (hence the name San Michele Visdomini), which had to make way for the cathedral and was rebuilt a few yards away in the 14th century (renovated in the 17th century).

It contains altarpieces by Pontormo ("Holy Family and Saints"), Passignano, Empoli and Poppi.

An aedicula (built-up altar) in the style of Michelozzo and a lively fresco by Piero del Pollaiolo, "Madonna della Cintola" (1450), in the sacristy are the principal art treasures of the church of San Niccolò sopr'Arno which was built in the 12th century, reconstructed in the 14th century and restored in the 16th century.

After Florence was occupied by the troops of the Emperor and the Pope Michelangelo is supposed to have hidden in the belfry in 1530 to avoid possible arrest.

The church of San Salvatore al Monte (or San Francesco al Monte) tends to get overlooked because of the nearby church of San Miniato but the church that Michelangelo called "la bella villanella" ("the beautiful country lass") is worth visiting for its outstanding clearcut architecture both inside and out. This is mainly the work of Cronaca (from 1499), who had considerable difficulties to overcome since the steepness of the site meant that building could only proceed only if use was made of retaining walls.

Andrea del Sarto's masterpiece, his version of the "Last Supper" in the Cenacolo di San Salvi, is well worth seeing. It is one of the finest early 16th century frescoes in Florence.

The gallery in front of the refectory and the refectory itself contain copies of lost works by Andrea del Sarto, as well as other works by Florentine masters. The monastery kitchen with its huge fireplace is also worth a visit.

Restoration work after the 1966 floods revealed the extent of the treasures that the little church of San Simone had to offer. Founded in the 12th century and completely remodeled in the 17th century by Silvani it has extremely elegant architecture, frescoes and paintings that had almost been forgotten, including a "St Peter in Majesty" ascribed to the "Maestro della S. Cecilia", the master of St Cecilia.

The little church of Santa Lucia dei Magnoli is nicknamed "fra le rovinate" (among the ruins) because of the danger to the surrounding houses from the hillside boulders. The majolica version of St Lucia over the portal dates from 1520.

Inside can be seen a beautiful panel of "Santa Lucia", by Lorenzetti, painted on a gold ground.

In the center of Florence stands the church of Santa Margherita in Santa Maria de'Ricci or della Madonna de'Ricci which owes its name and its existence (1508) to the miraculous picture of the "Madonna de'Ricci" (ca. 1300) on the high altar.

Santa Margherita was the parish church of some well-known Florentine families.

Early in the 14th century Florence's old hospital was considerably enlarged and renamed Santa Maria Nuova (St Mary the New). Most of the present spacious building between Via degli Alfani, Via della Pergola, Via Bufalini and Via Sant'Egidio dates from the 17th century. An interesting feature is the clearcut articulation of the loggias overlooking Piazza Santa Maria Nuova.

The Villa Romana stands on the south side of the Arno, outside the medieval town walls, and was acquired in 1905 by Max Klinger with the aid of the German Artists' Federation to serve as artists' studios and living quarters, as well as a venue for temporary exhibitions.