Florence is the heart of Italy, home of the Renaissance and cradle of the greatest Italian artists.
You don’t need a map to visit Florence, it’s an open-air museum, go around and get lost in her streets. Before planning your visit, keep always in mind 3 essential tips:
- Most part of museums are not heated, if you plan your visit during winter, consider it to better enjoy your vacation
- Inform you about museums’ opening times: The most part is open only in the morning especially on Sundays
- Pre-sale tickets cost 4 euros more per person but will reduce wasting time (by the way you have to deal with a little queue to collect them)
Having said that, you’ll definitely fall in love with Florence, I am pretty sure! Architectures, marble’s sculptures, literature, wine, food and so on and so forth…
CAN’T BE MISSED:
- The Uffizi museum. Plunge into the past and relish Florence art from Gothic period to Renaissance. My favorite paintings are Botticeli’s ones, I could observe them for hours, losing all sense of time
- Central Market: enjoy good wines, Tuscan bruschetta, typical T-bone steak
- The Cathedral, the Baptistery and Giotto’s bell tower
- Ponte Vecchio
- Piazzale Michelangelo: I have been so many times in Florence in my life. My mom is from Pisa, 45 minutes by train but, honestly, I had never been before in Piazzale Michelangelo and I am truly ashamed!
- A day-trip to Chianti area. Enjoy the amazing and curvy hills, the mouthwatering food, the fragrant and fruity wines
- Piazza della Signoria, Palazzo Vecchio and Loggia dei Lanzi. This square is an open-air gallery, breathtakingly beautiful, wherever you turn you’ll be surrounded by awesome sculptures (Perseo, the Rape of Sabines, David, Neptune…)
- Enjoy a dinner in a typical Tuscan tavern. My favorite Tuscan recipes are: Pappardelle (typical homemade pasta) with boar ragù, Cacciucco, Panzanella, peposo meat, ribollita soup, Tuscan schiacciata (similar to focaccia but crunchier)
- Santa Croce: the church is well-known for many famous personalities’ graves such as Nicolo Machiavelli, Galileo Galilei, Michelangelo etc..but I felt in love for Cimabue’s crucifix and the descent of Christ into Limbo, a Bronzino’s astounding painting.
- San Lorenzo
I can only conclude this article with a Dante Alighieri’s famous verse dedicated to Florence (Fiorenza):
Fiorenza dentro dalla cerchia antica,
ond’ella toglie ancora e terza e nona,
si stava in pace, sobria e pudica.
Non avea catenella, non corona,
non gonne contigiate, non cintura
che fosse a veder piú che la persona.