UNMISSABLE FLORENCE

The guided tour will introduce you to all the must-see sights in town in search of the thread that links squares, churches and monuments to the destiny of the city. Avoiding tedious lists of dates and names, we will focus on the history and the anecdotes that bring the city and its architecture to life.

UNMISSABLE SPOTS

Together we will visit:

• Santa Maria del Fiore, otherwise known as the Duomo. Here we will lift our eyes to the lofty elegance of Brunelleschi’s dome and Giotto’s bell tower.

• We will shed light on the essence of the Baptistry, its architecture and the magnificence of Ghiberti’s “Gates of Paradise”.

Next we will walk towards:

• Signoria Square, which was the political centre of the city for more than six centuries. Here we will stop under the towering height of the Palazzo della Signoria’s tower and the arches of the Loggia dei Lanzi. The square is a real, open-air museum, where we will marvel at original sculptures of Donatello and Cellini.

• We will pass through Uffizi’s arches to reach the Lungarno.

• We will see the picturesque Ponte Vecchio.

• In addition to the most famous sights, we will stroll through the narrow streets and squares of medieval Florence.

History and life

We have just listed six spots that cannot be missed if you want to know Florence. This is a classic itinerary and yet there is nothing commonplace about it. Visiting these streets and squares with us will allow you to understand why Florence is much more than “the cradle of the Renaissance” – which is already an awful lot by the way. In fact, the city’s importance began well before the Renaissance and lasted for more than 400 years. Already in the 1200s, the city was a powerhouse of artistic and financial innovation, somewhat akin to modern-day New York. On the one hand, these more than 400 years were marked by world-changing achievements in the fields of visual arts, architecture, engineering, literature, philosophy, science and banking, to mention only a few. On the other hand, the city’s development was also shaped by political intrigues, financial machinations, enlightened rulers and treacherous conspiracies. With this in mind, it is no surprise that the city’s history and heritage has proven to be the perfect inspiration for some of the most sensational TV series, blockbusters and video games in recent years. Taking a stroll through the city is an unmatchable opportunity to experience this excitement first-hand and discover its true face, beyond the fictions and myths surrounding it. What is more, by the end of the tour you will have been provided with an intellectual compass that allows you to explore further Florence’s heritage independently and so to understand how world history would certainly have been different without its contribution.