The Florence extragalactic group studies the physical processes that drive the formation and evolution of galaxies, the links with cosmology, the physics of stars, nucleosynthesis, chemical evolution, the baryon cycle, active galactic nuclei, and galaxy clusters. Group members are also participating in instrumentation projects of particular importance for extragalactic astronomy, in both the visible, infrared, X-ray and radio domains.

The Florence Extragalactic group includes both researchers based at INAF-Arcetri Astrophysical Observatory (INAF-AAO) and with the nearby University of Florence (UniFI).