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Florence travel guide Florence guide to Florence Italy travel Florence airport Florence

ID ref.:587
# visitors: 2425

Published on:
03.02.2012 07:33

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7 weeks, 3 days

Address:
Via Pisana

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welcometusca

Member since: 08.03.2006 05:13

Company:
welcometuscany.it
via fillungo 3
Lucca
Zip postal code:55100
City town:
Lucca
State region:
tuscany
Country:
IT
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Total Live Users: 391

Registered Users: 3148

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Florence town - Florence, in Italian Firenze, is one of the most famous cities in Italy.

As the birthplace of the Renaissance it preserves some of the greatest works of art and most beautiful buildings in the world.

From the fifteenth century onwards it became a centre of learning in the arts and sciences unparalleled since classical times. It is now a small city (380,000 inhabitants), the regional capital of Tuscany, with nearly all its beautiful buildings concentrated within a relatively small area.

The famous museums of the Uffizi, Palazzo Pitti, and Bargello contain the masterpieces of Florentine art.
The delightful low hills which surround the city have been preserved from new buildings. The best time to visit Florence is in the winter: it can be unpleasantly crowded with tourists in the spring and unbearably hot in July and August.

The cultural and historical impact of Florence (or Firenze) is overwhelming. Close up, however, the city is one of Italy's most atmospheric and pleasant, retaining a strong resemblance to the small late-medieval centre that contributed so much to the artistic and political development of Europe.

Its striking buildings, formidable galleries and treasure-crammed churches attest to the Florentine love of display. Even long after it had set on the political and economic horizon, Florence upheld its elegant appearance: its skyline, all russet rooftops and lofty domes, is indeed picturesque.

When To Go
The best time to visit Florence is in the low season, from April to June and in September/October, when the weather is usually good, prices are lower and there are fewer tourists - if you come in July or August, expect a Renaissance Disneyland experience and plenty of sweat in your socks. Early winter, in December, can also be surprisingly pleasant, with crisp air and sunny days and far, far fewer people clogging up the piazzas.

Florence’s origins date back to the Etruscan era, when Fiesole, an important center in Etruria, dominated the valley. Before conquering Fiesole in the first century B.C., the Romans set up camp by the River Arno in a place that then became Florentia, "destined to flower". Florence survived the dark centuries of the Middle Ages and then became an important city, until it became a Municipal Borough in 1115.
The dispute between the Guelfs, who were faithful to the Pope, and the Ghibellines, loyal to the Emperor Frederick II, that resulted in the Guelfs being exiled from the city, was extremely interesting. When the Emperor died, however, the Guelfs took the upper hand once more and Florence enjoyed a period of prosperity. Great importance was given to the Corporazione delle Arti and the architectural beauties, which make Florence such a unique city, began to be built.
Art & Culture were in great ferment and the people’s desire to educate themselves gave rise to the first work in the vernacular language, in the poetic style of "Dolce stil novo", which then brought about the works of Dante, Petrarca, Boccaccio and finally, a century later, the “Accademia della Crusca”. It was Boccaccio who documented the plague of Florence, a tragedy that started off the people’s dissatisfaction, which culminated in the “tumulto dei Ciompi” riots in 1378.