Florence Guide
Florence dubbed "cradle of Renaissance", "Athens of Italy", and just plain Firenze in Italian, was for over a thousand years a quiet town in the Tuscan countryside. Settled by the Etruscans, a Roman encampment , and then a domain of the Holy Roman Empire, its political and economic rise only began around the 11 th - 12 th centuries when, despite warring between the Guelph and Ghibelline factions and recurrent revolts of the populace, prosperity from trade laid the way for its furure leadership position.
In the 12 th century it became a city-state and the first guilds(Corporazioni delle Arti) were formed. By the 13 th century the florentine fiorino had become one the strongest currencies in all of Europe. This was the century dominated by Dante Alighieri, whose Divina Commedia written in the language spoken by the Florentines and not erudite Latin, laid the basis for a modern Italian.In the painting Giotto and in architecture Arnolfo di Cambio made their remarkable contributions.
In the 14 th century, a time of combined economic hardship and plague (the Black Death of 1348 chronicled by Boccaccio in Decameron), Northern Gothic, know in painting as the International Style, was the strongest influence on the major Florentine artists, most of whom were followers of Giotto.
In 1434 with the fall of the Communal form of government, Cosimo de' Medici, know as the Elder, seized power, thereby giving rise to what would be three centuries of Medici rule. By the second half of the century, the Renaissance(literally, rebirth) was well underway, as Cosimo's grandson, Lorenzo the Magnificent presided over a remarkable court imbued with Classical inspired Humanist culture.Under the patronage of the great Renaissance prince, the arts flourished as few times before (and after) in teh history of mankind, producing names such as Lorenzo himself, Poliziano and Pulci in literature, Botticelli, the Lippis, Ghirlandaio, and Paolo Uccello, in painting, Brunelleschi, Michelozzo, and Alberti in architecture, and Donatello, Verrocchio and the Della Robbias in sculpture. Lorenzo was also a clever politician managing to attain a correct balance of power among the major contenders of his day, but his successors failed to live up to his greatness, with the result that the Medicis were driven form the city in the late 1400s and the citizenry proclaimed the Republic of Florence. It was at this time that extraordinary figures such as Savonarola, Macchiavelli Michelangelo and Leonardo appeared on the scene.
Shortly afterward, however, the Medici triumphantly returned , Cosimo I , the first Medici grand duke, skillfully consolidated Florence's dominions in Tuscan territory, without relinquishing the great tradition of art patronage started by his predecessors. He was succeeded by Francesco I, also a notable art patron, one of whose projects was founding of the Uffizzi collection. The Medici an their successors, the Lorraine grand dukes, continued to promote artistic endeavors of every sort, commissioning great villas and monumental palaces for themselves, although the political importance of Florence had in the meantime greatly declined.
The outstandig events of the 19th century were the Risorgimento struggle and Florence's brief period as the capital of the newly established Kingdom of Italy( 1865-1971). No longer a political capital, the city has nevertheless maintained its standig as great cultural and artistic capital. It is renowned all over the world only for its art masterpieces, but also for its shopping delights, gourmet cooking, and great wines.
The major events are the Scoppio del Carro (litterally,explosion of the cart, held on Easter Sunday), Calcio in Costume, forerunner of modern-day soccer, played in 17th century dress (May and June games) , and the Maggio Musicale (May through June).
Recommended Itineraries
Despite the fact that there's so much to see in Florence, most of the sights are concentred in the old section where strolling the historic streets is part of the pleasure. The first four itineraries begin in Piazza del Duomo, the fifth at the Station and is rather long entails a panoramic drive, requires a car or city bus ride.
