About Florence

Florence, a city with a population of around half a million inhabitants, spreads on the banks of the Arno, between the Adriatic and the Tyrrhenian seas, almost in the middle of the Italian peninsula. It is a city which bustles with industry and craft, commerce and culture, art and science. Being on the main national railway lines, it is easily accessible from most important places both in Italy and abroad. San Giusto airport (Pisa), where both national and international airlines stop, is about 80 kms away. The main motorway, (Autostrada del Sole) connects Florence with Bologna and Milano in the North and Rome and Naples in the South. The motorway to the sea (Autostrada del Mare) joins it to Prato, Pistoia, Montecatini, Lucca, Pisa and all the resorts on the Tyrrhenian sea. There is also the Superstrada (a dual-carriageway) which connects Florence to Siena.

HISTORY

Founded by the Romans in the first century B.C., Florence began its rebirth after the decadence of the barbaric ages, in the Carolingian period, and reached the highest pinnacles of civilization between the llth and 15th centuries, as a free city, basking in a happy stability amid Imperial and Papal authorities, overcoming the unfortunate internal dispute between Guelfs and Ghibellines.
In the 15th century, it came under the rule of the Medici family, who later became the Grand Dukes of Tuscany. This in fact was the period when the city was at the height of its glory in art and culture, in politics and economic power. The Grand Duchy of the Medicis was succeeded in the 18th century by that of the House of Lorraine, when in 1860 Tuscany became part of the Kingdom of Italy of which Florence was the capital from 1865 to 1871. In this century, this city has once more taken up its role as an important centre for culture and the arts.

ART and MONUMENTS

Florence has retained an extraordinary wealth of art treasures, a glorious witness to its centuries of civilization. Cimabue and Giotto, forefathers of Italian painting, lived here; Arnolfo and Andrea Pisano, renovators of architecture and sculpture; Brunelleschi, Donatello and Masaccio, innovators of the Renaissance; Ghiberti and the Delia Robbia; Filippo Lippi and Fra Angelico; Botticelli and Paolo Uccello and universal men like Leonardo and Michelangelo. Their work - as well as that of many other generations of artists up to the present time - are collected in the many museums of the city: the Uffizi, the most select picture gallery in the World; the Galleria Palatina, with its " golden age " paintings: the Bargello, with its Renaissance sculptures; the Academy, the Medici Chapel and the Buonarroti House, with Michaelangelo's sculptures; the Bardi, Home, Stibbert, Romano Museums, the Modern Art Gallery, the Museum of the Duomo, the Silver Museum and the Pietre Dure Museum (the museum of semi-precious stones). Famous monuments indicate the various stages of Florentine art: the Baptistery with its mosaics; the Duomo with its sculptures; medieval churches with their frescoes; public and private palaces - the Palazzo Vecchio, Palazzo Pitti, Palazzo Medici -Riccardi, Palazzo Davanzati; monasteries and cloisters; convents and " cenacoli "; the Certosa. The Etruscan civilization is well represented in the Archaeological Museum.

FLORENCE CULTURE

In Florence - the city of Dante - the Italian language was born. With Petrarca and Boccaccio the study of literature found its main centre here. Humanism brought new philosophical ideas and a full appreciation of classicism. Machiavelli inaugurated the new political science: Guicciardini introduced modern historical prose: Galileo and his school created and develop-ed experimental science. As far back as Charlemagne, Florence has had a University, which today includes numerous faculties and a wide range of Institutes with a specialized Centre for foreigners. Academies and arts schools, scientific institutes such as the " Osservatorio Astrofisico " at Arcetri, the Institute of Re-search in Electromagnetic Waves, the Centre for Nuclear Medicine, all contribute to the intense activity of the city in this particular field, so too the foreign universities and the various centres of History of Art and popular culture. Among the many science museums of special interest are the Museum of History of Science, the Museum of Geology and Paleontology, the Museum of Botany, the Museum of Mineralogy, that of Anthropology and Ethnology, and of course the glorious " Specola ". Vast collections of bibliographies are kept in the Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale and in other famous librar-ies such as the Mediceo-Laurenziana, the Riccardiana and the Marucelliana. Many priceless documents are kept in the Archivio di Stato and the Archivio Comunale.

SHOPPING AND TRADITIONAL EVENTS

Throughout the year a series of events are held in Florence, which are varied enough to suit most demands. Foremost among these - in the city where modern melodrama was born, using the latest arts of choreography - musical events, beginning with " Florence Musical May " and going on to Summer and Winter operatic seasons at the Teatro Comunale etc. The Florence Centre of Italian Fashion organises numerous trade events over the year. International exhibitions in contemporary art and in the particular aspects of antique art are organised, specially on the occasion of various centenaries. Some of the typical traditional events are Football in Costume, the Burst of the Cart, the Feast of St. John etc. Florence is well known for its highly refined craftsmanship evolved over centuries of tradition, and for the elegance and good taste of its creations. From straw, a typical Florentine product, used for making pleasing and original articles of clothing and furniture, to skin and leather work, renowned for their fine detail; from ceramics to glass; from wood-work to metal; from furniture to toys, a large quantity of desirable objects can suggest appropriate buys, suited to all tastes, all ages and all situations. Ready made clothing in Florence has a special elegance and originality. Lingerie and the local delicate embroidery are well known. In this city which gave birth to Benvenuto Cellini, silver and gold wares, jewels and filigree, and the typical mosaics in semiprecious stones are very much sought after. Of particular interest are the antiques objects of every kind which abound in Florence.

HOLIDAYS IN FLORENCE and WHERE TO STAY

As far back as the 13th century, travellers praised the pleasantness and comfort of Florentine hospitality, which today is taken care of by an imposing accommodation structure, including about 400 hotels and guest houses of various categories, with more than 18,000 beds, as well as special facilities, such as camping sites, youth hostels, etc. Dozens of restaurants and typical " trattorie ", in the town centre and the surrounding hills, offer the pleasures of a gastronomy which is based on simple and healthy fare: tasty soups, roast and grilled meat (the famous " bistecca and grilled chicken "), boiled meat, cheese, an abun-dance of vegetables and fresh fruit, salamis and cold meats, and typical vegetable dishes. This cuisine is accompanied by Tuscan wines, deservedly famous, produced in the Chianti and surrounding areas: the red wine which is full-bodied and full-flavoured; the white wine which is lighter; sweet wines and the " vin santo ". Complete and numerous facilities are available for sport enthusiasts. In addition to the stadiums for football and the race courses, there is the " velodrome " for cycle races; the city offers tennis courts and swimming pools, an 18-hole golf course at Ugolino, shooting ranges, places for timbrel, and bowling; places for canoeing water-polo; riding schools and clubs; an Aero Club; skating rinks, etc. There are modern sports compounds at Coverciano, Bellariva, Cascine and at Campo di Marte.

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