Shopping in Florence

Florence is one of the main centres for shopping in Italy and it's well renowned for its high fashion shops, antiques, craftsmanship, handicraft leather goods and jewels.
The ancient city is the paradise of shoppers. In Florence you can find the stores of the major Florentine fashion designers like Cavalli, Gucci, Coveri, Patrizia Pepe and Emilio Pucci and also the shops of the most important Italian designers as Versace, Valentino and Armani.

If you like jewels you cannot miss a stop at Ponte Vecchio. The whole bridge is full of precious and sparkling jewellery shops.

Besides shops, Florence is rich in open-air markets. The most quaint and lively one is the market situated in the San Lorenzo district, where you can also find many genuine leather and antiques stands and craftsmen at work.

History and art of Florence

The city of Florence is the chief town of Tuscany, founded by the Romans who gave it the name of Florentia. In the Middle Ages, after the decline of the Barbaric ages, the city flourished again in the Carolingian age, reaching the highest points of civilization between the XI and the XV century, as a free Municipality, in a comfortable balance between the authority of the Emperors and that of the Popes, thus overcoming the uneasiness of the internal struggles between Guelphs and Ghibellins.

In the XV century, Florence passed under the Lordship of the Medici who then became, thanks to a political act of territorial expansion, the Grand Dukes of Tuscany.

It was this period, called the Renaissance, that of the highest splendour of the city in terms of the arts and the culture, politics and economic power.

To the Grand duchy of Medici succeeded, in the XVIII century, that of the Lorena, until when, in 1860, with the unification of Italy in a sole Reign, Florence became part of this, playing the role of capital from 1865 to 1871.

Florence is one of the most important towns from an artistic and historical point of view where you will find a number of monuments and museums of interest:

The Cathedral Square (Piazza del Duomo)

The Duomo is the Cathedral of Florence, dedicated to Saint Maria del Fiore and is in Italian Gothic style. The building was designed by Arnolfo di Cambio (1245-1302) and represents one of the greatest architectonic sculptures of that age. Of primary importance are the frescoes on the left side which show equestrian monuments of the “Condottiero” (leader-general) of Paolo Uccello (1436) and Andrea del Castagno (1456).

The Cupola of the cathedral is by Filippo Brunelleschi who began his construction in 1420. The diameter of the widest part is 41.50 metres, close to the maximum allowed for any kind of cupola. Of particular importance is the technique used by Brunelleschi, innovative for that age as it was realized without the use of scaffolding; it supported itself in the course of the construction thanks to a double cap. The cathedral was finished in 1436 and its vaults were painted by Giorgio Vasari (1511-1574) and Federico Zuccari (c. 1540-1609) with a fresco representing the Last Judgment.

The Baptistery, dedicated to S.Giovanni patron saint of Florence, kept the christening font, dismantled in the XVI century. The baptistery has an octagonal form and is covered with polychrome marble and surmounted by a pyramid roof with lantern.

Famous are its bronze doors, the work of several artists such as Andrea Pisano (southern door) and Lorenzo Ghiberti (northern and eastern door).

The Bell tower of the cathedral, best known as "CAMPANILE DI GIOTTO", 85 metres high and divided into 5 floors was planned by Giotto although upon his death in 1337, only the lower part was completed. The job was continued under Andrea Pisano (c. 1290-1349) who realized the plan with slit windows and Francesco Talenti (active 1325-1369), who would accomplish the last three floors repeating the decoration in relief of the marble.

Galleria degli Uffizi (Gallery of the Uffizi)

When and how to visit Uffizi Gallery

It is one of the most famous museums of the world due to its extraordinary collection of paintings and ancient statues. Its collections of paintings of the XIV century and the Renaissance contain a number of absolute masterpieces of art from all times. One only needs to mention the names of Giotto, Leonardo, Raffaello, Michelangelo, Caravaggio, Verrocchio and many others.

Also important are the collections of German, Dutch and Flemish painters, as: Dürer, Rembrandt and Rubens. The exhibition is situated on the second floor of the great building constructed between 1560 and 1580 and is displayed in 45 rooms and in the hallways arranged along three galleries. In the Vasarian complex other important collections are housed: the Contini Bonacossi Collection and the Cabinet Designs and Prints of the Uffizi.

Vasarian corridor: a suspended corridor realized by Vasari in 1565, connects the building of the Uffizi with the Old Palace and Pitti Palace. Here important collections of paintings of the XVII century and the collection of the Self- Portraits are exhibited.

Palazzo PITTI (Pitti Palace)

Constructed around 1450, in ancient times it was the residence of the grand-dukes of Tuscany and subsequently of the kings of Italy: today it houses various important collections of paintings and sculptures, objects of art, chinaware and a gallery of the costume. Behind Palazzo Pitti extends the Garden of Boboli, one of the first and most famous Italian gardens.

The Palatine Gallery and the Royal Apartments occupy the entire upper floor of Pitti Palace. The palatine Gallery, situated in the left wing of the Palace, was created between the end of the XVIII century and the first decades of the XIX century by the Lorena who placed in the exhibition halls the masterpieces taken predominantly from the collections of the Medici family that comprise the works of Raffaello, Tiziano, Caravaggio, Rubens, Pietro da Cortona and other Italian and European masters.

The Royal apartments occupy the fourteen magnificent rooms of the right wing of the Palace, already private residence of the reigning families with furniture, furnishings and works of art from the XVI  to the XIX century.

Ponte Vecchio (Old Bridge)

The most ancient bridge of Florence, built perhaps already by the age of the Roman settlement, was constructed at the narrowest point of the Arno in 1345.

The bridge is so wide that laterally it comprises two porches that accommodate the characteristic wooden shops that once belonged to becchai (or butchers), replaced afterwards by those in brick passing to goldsmiths and silversmiths, following the construction of the above Vasarian corridor which upon exiting the old palace allowed the Medici family to reach Pitti Palace (family residence ) without going out onto the road. At the central point of the bridge, there is a beautiful view over the Arno where the bust of Benvenuto Cellini is situated .

Piazza della Signoria e Palazzo Vecchio

Piazza della Signoria, civil and political centre of the city from the Middle Ages to date, is a singular urban creation that began to take shape starting from 1268. The "Palazzo Vecchio" - as we see it today - is the fruit of at least three constructive phases that followed one another one after another starting from about 1300 on the plan of Arnolfo di Cambio with the front overlooking the square and next to the XIV century Loggia dei Lanzi which houses a number of famous sculptures. In front of the facade, you will be able to see numerous statues among which the David of Michelangelo ( original: Gallery of the Academy ).

The Hall of the XVI century, the Studiolo of Francesco I and the four monumental apartments are accessible to the public : the Quartiere degli Elementi, the Quartiere di Eleonora di Toledo, the Residence of the Priors and the Quartiere di Leone X, where today there are the reception rooms once more hosts the sittings of the town council and therefore not always open to the public.

Bargello Museum

What to see at the Bargello Museum

The palace is one of the most ancient Florentine public buildings Florentine constructed half way through the XVIII century for the Captain of the People. It then became the offices of the Governor and subsequently of the Bargello (or Captain of Justice) accommodating  between 1500 and the end of 1700 the Florentine jails.

From 1865, some of the most important sculptures of the Renaissance  converged at the palace, which became National Museum, among which masterpieces of Donatello, Michelangelo and Cellini.