Florence Artworks
Welcome to a virtual tour of Florence. Some of your
school mates walked around the city last April and
admired the artworks we decided were worth seeing.
Hope you like it and get a tiny idea of what Florence is
like! Enjoy your tour!
SANTA MARIA NOVELLA
WE ARE IN THE SANTA MARIA NOVELLA DISTRICT. THIS IS PIAZZA SANTA
MARIA NOVELLA AND THAT IS THE CHURCH OF SANTA MARIA NOVELLA.
ONCE THIS WAS ALL COUNTRYSIDE, BUT THE DOMINICAN FRIARS DECIDED
TO BUILDING A SQUARE IN FRONT OF THEIR CHURCH, SANTA MARIA DELLA
VIGNA, AND A NEW CHURCH. " NOVELLA" MEANS "NEW".
THIS CHURCH DATES BACK TO 1278.
SANTA MARIA DEL FIORE
THIS IS THE CATHEDRAL OF FLORENCE, CALLED SANTA MARIA DEL FIORE.
FLORENCE IS IN FACT KNOWN AS THE CITY OF THE FLOWER, FOR THE LILY
WHICH IS THE SYMBOL OF THE TOWN.
THE CHURCH WAS BUILT IN 1296 AND IT IS ONE OF THE MIST MAJESTIC OF
THE WORLD. ITS DOME IS FAMOUS AND WAS BUILT BY FILIPPO
BRUNELLESCHI IN 1436.
IN THIS SQUARE YOU CAN ALSO SEE THE GIOTTO'S BELL TOWER AND THE
BAPTISTERY OF SAN GIOVANNI, BUILT IN 1059. HER CHILDREN WERE
BAPTISED AND KNIGHTSBRIDGE AND POETS CELEBRATED.
PIAZZA DELLA SIGNORIA
THIS IS PIAZZA DELLA SIGNORIA AND IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN THE HEART IF
THE POLITICAL AND CIVIL LIFE OF FLORENCE.
BESIDES PALAZZO VECCHIO, WHICH IS NOW THE SEAT OF THE
MUNICIPALITY OF FLORENCE, YOU CAN ADMIRE THE FOUNTAIN PORTAYING
THE DUKE COSIMO I AS NEPTUNE, THE ROMAN GOD OF THE SEA. THIS
STATUE IS ALSO KNOWN AS "IL BIANCONE", "THE BIG WHITEY".
THE STATUE ON THE RIGHT IS A COPY OF THE DAVID OF MICHELANGELO.
THE ORIGINAL IS IN THE GALLERIA DELL'ACCADEMIA, A MUSEUM.
LOGGIA DEI LANZI AND UFFIZI
Loggia dei Lanzi
Uffizi from the outside
“Spring” ( 1482) by Sandro Botticelli, one of the most beautiful paintings in the Gallery
IT WAS INAUGURATED IN 1381 AND IT WAS USED AS A PUBLIC PLACE TO
GATHER, ESPECIALLY IN BAD WEATHER. IT IS NOW AN OPEN-AIR MUSEUM,
WITH FAMOUS SCULPTURES, SUCH AS BENVENUTO CELLINI'S PERSEUS.
ON THE RIGHT YOU CAN SEE ONE OF THE WORLD'S MOST IMPORTANT
MUSEUM, THE GALLERY OF THE UFFIZI, DESIGNED BY GIORGIO VASARI IN
1560. IT CONTAINS WORKS BY ITALIAN MASTERS SUCH AS CIMABUE,
GIOTTO, LEONARDO DA VINCI, BOTTICELLI AND ALSO INTERNATIONAL
ARTISTS SUCH AS RUBENS, DURER, REMBRANDT AND GOYA.
CORRIDOIO VASARIANO
From the outside: it runs along the Uffizi Gallery and above Ponte Vecchio, linking Palazzo della Signoria to Palazzo Pitti
TO REACH PALAZZO PITTI FROM PALAZZO VECCHIO THE MEDICI HAD TO
WALK CROWDED, NARROW AND DIRTY STREETS. SO GIORGIO VASARI BUILT
IN FEW MONTHS THE VASARI CORRIDOR, AN ELEGANT AND SECURE
OVERPASS, 1KILOMETER LONG. INSIDE THERE ARE MANY SELF-PORTRAITS
FROM VARIOUS EPOCHS.
The corridor form the inside on Santa Felicita Church: the Medici family could follow religious ceremonies without mingling
with the crowd.
Portraits inside the corridor-
PONTE VECCHIO
THIS IS THE OLDEST BRIDGE IN FLORENCE, REBUILT MANY TIMES IN THE
PAST BECAUSE DESTROYED BY FLOODS. IT WAS ONCE THE SITE OF THE
LOCAL MEAT MARKET. IN 1593GRAND DUKE FERDINAND KICKED OUT THE
BUTCHERS AND RENTED THE SHOPS TO GOLDSMITHS AND JEWELERS, WHO
WERE CLEANER AND PAID HIGHER RENTS.
PALAZZO PITTI AND THE BOBOLI GARDENS
INSIDE THIS PALAZZO THERE ARE EIGT DIFFERENT MUSEUMS, AMONG
WHICH A BEAUTIFUL COSTUME GALLERY AND THE GALLERY OF MODERN
ART. IT WAS COMMISSIONED TO BRUNELLECHI BY THE SUPER-RICH LUCA
PITTI. THEN THE PITTY FAMILY WENT BANKRUPT AND THE MEDICI, WHO
CONSIDERED PALAZZO VECCHIO TOO SMALL, BOUGHT IT FROM THEM AND
EXPANDED IT. BEHIND THE PALAZZO THERE IS ONE OF THE MOST
BEAUTIFUL PARKS IN THE WORLD, THE BOBOLI GARDENS, CONSIDERED THE
FIRST ITALIAN GARDEN.
PORCELLINO
THIS IS PIAZZA DEL MERCATO NUOVO AND IT IS KNOWN FOR THE FAMOUS
BRONZE STATUE OF A WILD BOAR, CALLED "PORCELLINO", "LITTLE PIG".
TRADITION SAYS THAT IF YOU TOUCH ITS NOSE YOU WILL RETURN TO
FLORENCE ONE DAY.
PIAZZA DELLA REPUBBLICA
THIS WAS THE CENTRE OF ROMAN FLORENCE, THE INTERSECTION OF THE
TWO MAJOR'S STREET. IT WAS THE THE SITE OF THE OLD MARKET. IN THE
HOPE OF BRINGING GOOD LUCK FLORENTINE MERCHANTS HAD A COLUMN
TOPPED WITH THE STATUE OF THEIR PROTECTOR, THE GODDES OF
ABUNDANCE. THE PIAZZA AS IT IS NOW IS DIFFERENT FROM THE ROMAN
ONE, AND ITS ELEGANCE DATES BACK TO 1865 WHEN FLORENCE WAS THE
CAPITAL OF THE KINGDOM OF ITALY UNTIL 1971.
PALAZZO MEDICI RICCARDI
THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST ELEGANT EXAMPLES OF RENAISSANCE
ARCHITECTURE. FILIPPO BRUNELLESCHI, THE ARCHITECT WHO DESIGNED
THE DOME OF SANTA MARIA DEL FIORE, WANTED TO BUILD A SUMPTUOUS
PALACE, BUT COSIMO THE ELDER OF THE MEDICY WANTED SOMETHING
SIMPLER AND LOW-PROFILE, NOT TO PROVOKE THE ENVY OF THE OTHER
NOBLES OF THE CITY! THE RICCARDI FAMILY BOUGHT IT IN 1659 AND
LENGHTENED THE FACADE.
SAN LORENZO
THIS IS THE CHURCH OS SAN LORENZO AND IT WAS THE CHURCH OF THE
MEDICI FAMILY. THE EXTERIOR SEEMS POOR AND SIMPLE, BUT THE
INTERIOR IS SPECTACULAR.
INSIDE THERE IS THE FAMILY TOMB OF LORENZO IL MAGNIFICO, DESIGNED
BY MICHELANGELO AND THE PRINCES' CHAPEL.