Florence art tours

  • A Area Itineriario station Santa Maria Novella
  • Route B from Piazza del Duomo to the Uffizi Gallery
  • Route C from the Basilica of San Lorenzo to the synagogue
  • Route D from the Bargello district of Santa Croce
  • Route E Da Ponte Vecchio to the Pitti Palace
  • Route F from Forte Belvedere to the church of San Miniato al Monte

    Itinerary A Area Santa Maria Novella Station

    Arriving at the station just cross the square to reach the first stage of this journey.

    Chiesa di Santa Maria Novella
    Belonging to the Dominican, this basilica is a miracle of elegance and confluence of styles. The beautiful marble facade was designed by Leon Battista Alberti between 1456 and 1470.
    Inside, as a casket, the church has many treasures of medieval and Renaissance art, among which stand out the Trinity by Masaccio, a crucifix by Giotto painting the wooden Crucifix by Brunelleschi, the frescoes by Ghirlandaio in the Tornabuoni chapel and by Filippino Lippi in the Strozzi Chapel.
    Visited the church we go to see her cloisters, worthy of note is that the so-called Green because of the color of eseguitevi wall paintings by Paolo Uccello. From here you can reach the old chapter house, known as the Chapel of the Spaniards, magnificently frescoed by the middle of the fourteenth century by Andrea Bonaiuti.

    Leaving the church and crossing the square, walk down Via del Porcellana borgo Ognissanti and then to reach before the homonymous church.

    Church of All Saints
    Belonging to Convent of the humble, the building was begun in the thirteenth century and in the fifteenth century worked Botticelli and Ghirlandaio who is buried here. Before you go visit the adjacent refectory of the convent to see the beautiful wall paintings of Ghirlandaio depicting the Last Supper, a favorite theme in the iconography refectories. Having been detached, you can admire the fresco also sinopia.

    Resume borgo Ognissanti which leads to Piazza Goldoni. From here we walk on lungarni until you reach Piazza Santa Trinita where you can see the most famous bridge Ponte Vecchio in Florence after.

    Ponte Santa Trinita
    Dall'Ammannati built in the second half of the sixteenth century, the bridge was destroyed during the Second World War and then faithfully rebuilt. From here you can admire a breathtaking view from Bridge Old salt up to San Miniato al Monte.

    At this point towards deviamo via Porta Rossa, after a few steps you see Davanzati building. This home, whose construction dates from the fourteenth century, is completely furnished with furniture, paintings and objects of various types that allow the visitor to see what it was like to be an ancient Florentine house. As currently being restored, the building is therefore open only partially.
    Back and walk down Via Tornabuoni, one of the most elegant streets of the city, where high fashion meets art in Florence, here in fact the heads of the most prestigious brands of clothing are on display in some buildings. One of the most beautiful buildings that you encounter along the way is Strozzi palace, whose prospectuses are the typical paths ashlar fifteenth.

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    Route B from Piazza Duomo to the Uffizi Gallery

    This path begins to discover the buildings that are located in Piazza del Duomo.

    Battistero
    Dedicated to St John, patron saint of the city, this building dates back to XI-XIII centuries, and present the typical octagonal.
    The exterior, formed by a double row of pillars and surmounted by a dome, has a decoration in white and green marble. Of particular importance are the three bronze doors, of which the south is the work of Andrea Pisano, while the other two are by Lorenzo Ghiberti. A true masterpiece is the east, located in front of the cathedral, in which panels are recounted episodes from the Old Testament. That is its beauty that Michelangelo renamed the "Door of Paradise."
    The interior, decorated with white marble and blacks, the present time entirely covered with mosaics made by Florentine and Venetian artists of the thirteenth century.

    Duomo
    The cathedral, dedicated to St. Maria del Fiore, was built starting in 1296 on the ruins of the ancient church of Santa Reparata, whose environments are survivors reached through an internal staircase. Stands at two branches of the magnificent dome, designed by Filippo Brunelleschi, with frescoes by Giorgio Vasari and Federico Zuccari. The building brings together in a harmonious elements of various styles, from different eras, so the overall effect is to unity.

    Campanile
    On the left side of the cathedral rises the bell tower, entirely covered with white marble, green and red. Begun by Giotto in 1334, was continued by Andrea Pisano and then completed by Talenti in 1360. Decorated with numerous statues and tiles (in good of these are copies, the originals are preserved in the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo), the bell tends to alleviate the presence of windows and three.
    You can climb the bell tower from the top overlooking the city and you can enjoy a magnificent panorama.

    Museo dell'Opera del Duomo
    The museum is located in a building all'abside in front of the cathedral, dominated by a bust of Cosimo I on the facade. Gathers several works removed for reasons of safeguarding the monuments of the square, including chancels by Donatello and Luca della Robbia, the Maddalena by Donatello, a Piet? by Michelangelo from the Duomo, the panels of the Baptistery Ghiberti, various sculptures, some Donatello designed the bell tower. A section is devoted to the construction of the dome by Brunelleschi, while it is completely documented history of the facade, by the early work of Arnolfo di Cambio to projects developed at the international competition organized in the nineteenth century.

    Calzaiuoli walk away, via central Florence, which connects Piazza del Duomo to Piazza della Signoria, thus combining the religious to the political. If once you overlooked the many shops of clothing and footwear, which derives its name, is home to some of the most elegant shops of the city.
    From here we take the short road that leads to Piazza della Repubblica, heart of the Roman Florentia, where he met the cardo and the maximum decumano, still marked by the intersection of the column or dell'Abbondanza wealth. Having undergone several transformations, the square acquired its present appearance as a result of urban ottocenteschi that have transformed the "Living room" of the city, which is still open prestigious local cafes: the Gilli and Paszkowski (north side) and the Caf? Giubbe Rosse (south side), whose environments contain photos, drawings and memories of its most distinguished visitors. The west side is bordered by porticos that are interrupted in the middle to give space to the great arch of triumph.
    Then we come back in for Calzaiuoli immediate stop to visit Orsanmichele.

    Orsanmichele
    Loggia for the first corn market, Orsanmichele church later became the Arts, the name by which they were designated the ancient guilds. This is a real museum, because outside hosts, within fourteen tabernacles, splendid complex sculptures made by artists of the greatest of the fifteenth century: Verrocchio, Donatello, Ghiberti (some statues were replaced with copies for conservation reasons and are now housed within the building). Inside you can appreciate the Tabernacle dell'Orcagna, refined marble trophy to house the Majesty of Bernardo Daddi, turned gold and blue.

    Leaving on a Calimala you will soon see the Logge of New market or Porcellino taking its name from the fountain of Porcellino, actually a wild boar in seventeenth-century bronze by Pietro Tacca. Tradition has it that leads luck tap the nose, which shines as rubbed daily with hundreds of hands. The whole procedure requires to obtain a good omen we should insert a coin in the mouth to the guinea pig after rubbed the nose: if the coin fell beyond the grate where it falls the water will bring luck, otherwise not. The trick is that only the heavier coins fall into the cracks. Over the centuries this place has kept its target market, so those looking for souvenirs can sbizzarirvi here.

    Going along Via Porta Rossa offers suddenly the eyes of tourists Piazza della Signoria, which towers over Palazzo Vecchio. Before we go to visit look at what you can see in this place, the stage of the main events of Florence from the Middle Ages to today.
    At the heart dell'Ammannati admire the fountain, depicting Neptune, familiarly called by the Florentines "the Biancone. The god stands on a chariot drawn by four tritons, while the result of sea gods and satyrs unfolds along the edge of the tub.
    The other large sculptural of the square is the equestrian statue of Cosimo I, first Grand Duke of Tuscany, the work of Giambologna.
    Next to the fountain, looking for land, there is a marble plaque in memory of the place where he was killed between Girolamo Savonarola.
    To its right there is the Loggia dei Lanzi, just call a little 'for contempt by the fall of the Florentine Republic lansquenets because those who passed from Florence in 1527 its not like just like the guards of the first Grand Duke Cosimo. It said that the lodge was founded in the fourteenth century to house the indoor public meetings and ceremonies popular official of the Florentine Republic, and became only the second time in the sixteenth century, an authentic open air museum. Certainly dramatic, with those masterpieces of ancient and modern sculpture gathered inside. Among these visitors for centuries stand out fame and beauty for the bronze Perseus by Benvenuto Cellini and the Rape of the Sabine women by Giambologna. Loggia at the opening of the long colonnade of the Uffizi.

    Palazzo Vecchio
    Built starting in 1298, designed by Arnolfo di Cambio, the exterior of the building structure stern, majestic and rugged origins. In the centuries has had various uses according to the historical vicissitudes of Florence retaining always focus on the role of the civil power.
    Entering the courtyard, supported by columns covered with stucco, admire the center of the Putto Verrocchio and then, after visiting the rooms on the ground floor, go up to the first floor. Here are to be mentioned the great hall of the sixteenth century frescoes by Vasari and pupils in which the genius of Michelangelo's Victory, the study of Francesco I, a small jewel in which they are preserved statue of Giambologna and dell'Ammannati, paintings by Bronzino. Going up we can still admire the chapel of Eleonora of Toledo with frescoes by Bronzino and many other rooms in which there are works by artists such as Donatello and Verrocchio.
    At this point dirigiamoci to leave unless you want to travel the Vasari Corridor, an ancient passage made by Vasari that allows, from Palazzo Vecchio and wind along the Galleria degli Uffizi and Ponte Vecchio, to arrive at Palazzo Pitti.

    Galleria degli Uffizi
    This gallery, the most famous in Italy and one of the best abroad, owes its birth to Giorgio Vasari and his name to the original destination of offices of the main Florentine magistrates. The building U-shaped on the ground floor has a porch supported by pillars that are open niches containing the statues of the most famous Florentine.
    Entrando Vasari walk down the staircase from which you access the first floor to the cabinet of drawings and prints, opens at exhibitions, and then on the second floor where there are rooms containing absolute masterpieces of ancient art (many are the statues Roman contained therein), of medieval and modern. Visit the Uffizi is to trace out the most important in the history of Italian art and beyond, there are in fact the works of some of the greatest masters, to name a few: Giotto, Cimabue, Simone Martini, Piero della Francesca, Botticelli, Hugo van der Goes, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raffaello, Titian, D?rer, Parmigianino, Caravaggio and list is still very long.

    Top Route C from the Basilica of San Lorenzo to the Synagogue

    Chiesa di San Lorenzo

    Consecrated in 393 and rebuilt in the eleventh century, this church has undergone a significant expansion in the fifteenth century by Brunelleschi, on commission of the Medici of which was the parish church. Among the works that stand out here are preserved the two beautiful bronze pulpits, made by Donatello. Deserves to be visited the sacristy old, wonderful creation Brunelleschi whose decoration contest once Donatello. In this environment, a square, which use modular measures everywhere, is the funerary monument built by Verrocchio, where some are buried members of the Medici family, including Piero and Giovanni de Medici, respectively father and uncle of Lorenzo the Magnificent.
    Left the church and visited the cloister from which you access the Medicean Laurentian Library, designed by Michelangelo, dirigiamoci the time of the Medici Chapels.

    Medici Chapels
    Entering the building we are in the chapel of the Princes, opulent environment seicentesco covered in precious stones from which you access the new sacristy, a work by Michelangelo. Around in this room a square we can admire the beautiful tombs built by Michelangelo in which are buried two members of the family Medici. On the entrance wall is the tomb of Lorenzo the Magnificent and his brother.

    At this point leave the monumental complex of San Lorenzo and immergiamoci in the square of the market. Strolling among the stalls, which sell mainly souvenirs and leather items, go to Via de 'Pucci. On the corner of Via Cavour ago shown himself a remarkable example of the Florentine Quattrocento.

    Palazzo Medici Riccardi

    Made by Michelozzo, commissioned by Cosimo il Vecchio, patriarch of the Medici fortune, this building has a facade that is a true masterpiece of simplicity and elegance, becoming a model for the buildings constructed later as the Palazzo Strozzi.
    Entered the courtyard with the statue of Baccio Bandinelli is accessed via a staircase representation, where the first floor is amazed at the sight of the visitor the chapel throughout the magnificence of its frescoes painted by Benozzo Gozzoli showing the Cavalcade of the Magi in Bethlehem at a time. For kings and other personalities involved in the journey the artist has given the appearance of the house of representatives of Physicians and politicians of the time. Is placed on a copy of the Nativity of the end of the fifteenth century Filippo Lippi, still life in Berlin.
    Also on the first floor you can visit the gallery which is one of the most significant and attractive Florentine Baroque. Decorated with gilded stucco and mirrors painted and fitted with large bright windows, this room is famous for the great time that Luca Giordano painted the Apology of the Medici family.

    Heading in the long way Ginori, then via St Gallen and then take Via XXVII Aprile where find one of those jewels of Renaissance Florence unfairly overlooked by mass tourism.

    Cenacle of Sant'Apollonia
    In the refectory of the Benedictine monastery of Sant'Apollonia can admire some of the most beautiful frescoes by Andrea del Castagno depicting the Last Supper, the Crucifixion, the Deposition and the Resurrection. In addition to these paintings placed on the back wall are exposed to other detached frescoes by Andrea del Castagno with their sinopie and paintings by Paolo Schiavo and Bicci of Blacks, from the monastery.

    We continue our journey continues on via XXVII Aprile and then because of Arazzieri and bringing in Piazza San Marco, built in the first half of the fifteenth century, when Cosimo the Elder commissioned Michelozzo to build the church and the convent for monks Silvestrini, then passed to Dominicans.

    Chiesa di San Marco
    Consecrated in 1443, in the presence of Pope Eugene IV, the church has one nave which will open many side chapels designed by Giambologna. Among the works, the oldest is the fourteenth-century crucifix in the counter, while that on the main altar is of Fra Angelico. In the church are buried two of the greatest writers and philosophers of Quattrocento: Giovanni Pico della Mirandola and Angelo Poliziano, active at the court of the Medicis.
    We continue the visit within the complex of San Marco visiting those currently used as a museum.

    Museo di San Marco
    The environments of the Museum occupy a large area of the Dominican convent of San Marco, founded in 1436 and created and designed by the Michelozzo. His fame is due mainly to therein which are numerous frescoes by Fra Angelico, one of the greatest painters of the Renaissance.

    We walk in La Pira and then via Ricasoli which opens the entrance of the Galleria dell'Accademia.

    Galleria dell'Accademia
    Very popular due to the presence of several sculptures by Michelangelo, the Prisoners, the St. Matthew and David in particular, the Gallery contains many works of great merit performed by more teachers working in Florence and its surroundings from the thirteenth century to the end of the sixteenth century, placing itself as an essential for anyone visiting Florence.

    Descend Via Ricasoli and take Via degli Alfani, turning on via dei Servi arrive in Piazza Santissima Annunziata, designed by Brunelleschi.

    Chiesa della Santissima Annunziata
    This basilica is the mother of the house served its building was commissioned and completed a Michelozzo by Alberti.
    Early works of interest can be observed in the small atrium in front of the church which is accessed from the porch. This environment is the cloister of the votes because you have been exposed for many centuries votive paintings and statues of wax, some of which size representing the donor. Unfortunately, the statues were melted to make candles and have remained in the cloister valuable cycles of frescoes made by Baldovinetti, Andrea del Sarto, Rosso Fiorentino and Pontormo.
    Going into the church ammirino between the two works frescoes by Andrea del Castagno and the Volto Santo di Andrea del Sarto. Among the chapels is the highlight of the Compagnia di San Luca, which was established in 1562 by the Brotherhood of Painters, transformed in 1563 by the will of the Grand Duke Cosimo I in Accademia delle Arti del Disegno. The time is painted with the Assumption of Luca Giordano and placed on the main altar is a painting by Vasari showing that St. Luke painted the Madonna. On other walls are works by Bronzino, Pontormo and Santi di Tito. Here lie many artists like Cellini, Pontormo and the Franciabigio.

    Crossing the square flanked the Ospedale degli Innocenti, an ancient institution and charity care, and so we come back in degli Alfani, at this point is taken via della Pergola that will lead us in the column where we find the building that houses the Archaeological Museum.

    Archaeological Museum
    Entering the museum are many rooms in the early Egyptian artefacts that make this collection one of the most important in Italy. Following the visit we can admire a series of vases including penthouses stands the celebrated Fran?ois Vase, the sixth century. a. C., greek Clizia attributed to the artist. Of great value and reputation are also three large sculptures on display in Gallery Etruscan bronzes: the Minerva, the Chimera el 'Arringatore.

    Continuing along the path of column cross Borgo Pinti, walking along this street should be careful, the risk is that which is outside the church of Santa Maria Maddalena dei Pazzi. After the porch was built by Giuliano da Sangallo between 1492 and 1496 and pushed the big door, looks like this in a magnificent casket, illuminated by the color shines precious multicolored marbles, gilt bronze, frescoes are in this place triumphant expression of the Baroque.

    At this point turn via de 'Pilastri and after covering a short stretch of Via Farini before you go to a garden in which stands the synagogue.

    Synagogue
    Entering the synagogue, designed by Marco Treves nell'Ottocento, the impression of being in another city. Whole we seem to stretch away rinascimemtali palaces, medieval towers, the great basilicas. Here, in the district said the Mattonaia, an exotic note is part of the landscape architecture of Florence. Casket out of travertine and pomato rose, dominated by the Central Dome and other cupolette inside the casket of light through the windows illuminating radiates into the precious furniture, the evocative murals to arabesque, which are the walls. These decorations evoke the Moorish Synagogue of Transito Toledo, while the plant is derived from another famous model, or the church Santa Sophia in Constantinople.

    Top Route D from the Bargello district of Santa Croce

    Bargello
    Begun in 1254 this building was initially the residence of the captain of the people, then the mayor, and finally the captain of Justice or bargello from which the current name and became a prison. Dall'Ottocento became National Museum in which are preserved statues and works of applied arts, from earthenware to gold, from ivory to weapons. Entered in the courtyard access to the rooms on the ground floor before ascending the stairs to visit the rooms on the first floor. Among the outstanding works of the sculptor Donatello, Verrocchio, Pollaiolo, Michelangelo, Giambologna and Bernini.

    Reach Piazza San Firenze, where we find the magnificent and harmonious baroque building of the church of San Firenze.
    Then take via dei Leoni, which then becomes Via Castellani and comes out in Piazza dei Giudici where you find the Museo di Storia della Scienza.

    Museo di Storia della Scienza
    The museum is heir to a prestigious and long history of scientific collecting, developed around the major emphasis given by the Medici and Lorraine to the protagonists and the tools of science, or rather science. In fact, the items collected here range from mathematics to chemistry, meteorology dall'ostetricia to.

    From here, along the Lungarno Diaz are at the corner with Via dei Benci Museum Horne.

    Museo Horne
    Already belongs to the family courses, this building was purchased in the twentieth century British art historian Herbert Percy Horne to provide an appropriate setting for its collection of paintings, sculptures, drawings and furniture in order to recreate the atmosphere and the environments a Renaissance residence. And Indeed, around the rooms of the museum, it may seem that the time has turned back to the Renaissance and it is therefore possible to relive the past, in addition to the art of discovering the uses and customs of the city between Quattro and Cinquecento. Besides the many fine pieces that range from the thirteenth century to the seventeenth century that decorate the rooms are masterpieces by painters and sculptors, among which, there is Giotto, Simone Martini, Masaccio, Filippino Lippi, Domenico Beccafumi and Giambologna.

    Heading in the via dei Benci long ending in Piazza Santa Croce. Before going to visit the church homonym keep old buildings that overlook the large rectangular square. Particularly beautiful is the building dell'Antella, located on the south side, the facade is entirely decorated with frescoes on the theme of Virtues and Gods, made in 1619 by several artists led by Giovanni da San Giovanni.
    At this point we enter to visit the Franciscan church.

    Chiesa di Santa Croce
    Started in 1295 designed by Arnolfo, this building presents a goticheggiante and holds within it an incredible amount of art, frescoes, stained glass, sculptures, tombs. Along the aisles, in fact, resting famous people such as Machiavelli, Rossini, Galileo, the funerary monuments which were sometimes made by famous artists, this is the tomb of the work of Michelangelo and Vasari for that dell'Alfieri performed by Canova. Moreover, we find the monument made in honor of Dante and the magnificent wooden tabernacle where Donatello has carved the Annunciation. Accingiamoci then to visit the area where presbyteral myriad chapels opens the transept, each retains its internal some treasure. Especially noteworthy are the Peruzzi and Bardi chapels, both painted by Giotto with the Stories of Saint Francis and the first with the stories of St. John the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist and the other, and yet the chapel Flea-Berardi decorated by Bernardo Daddi and a polychrome terracotta invetriata di Giovanni della Robbia. And finally, is to report the Bardi Chapel of Vernio where is the beautiful crucifix Donatello.
    The surprises do not end here. The church in fact belonged to one of the largest monasteries citizens whose environments have been intended for the museum. Going out to visit the beautiful cloisters, is before us this masterpiece of Renaissance architecture that is the Pazzi Chapel built by Filippo Brunelleschi and set in the first cloister of the basilica. Both outside and inside the structure has great harmony, elegance and sobriety. The exhibition continues with a visit to the premises of the fourteenth century refectory, home of the museum.

    Museo dell'Opera di Santa Croce
    Here we can admire in the wall of the frescoes by Taddeo Gaddi in the tree of the Cross and the Last Supper and the wall paintings and sculptures from the church. Unfortunately some of these works have been seriously damaged in all'alluvione dell'Arno in 1966, as the Crucifix by Cimabue.

    Just emerged from the church take away the Greens and then bending in Ghibellina, which faces Casa Buonarroti.

    Museo Casa Buonarroti
    This unique museum houses two masterpieces by Michelangelo youth such as the Madonna of the scale and the Battle of the centaurs along with numerous works by other artists in the context in which he lived, the great grandson of the artist, Michelangelo the Younger. It was his idea to create a magnificent building to the glory of the family and especially of the famous ancestor. To this end he called to work in building the most industrious artists in Florence, dall'Empoli at Passignano, from Artemisia Gentileschi to Pietro da Cortona and in those sumptuous rooms placed the most precious pieces of his collection, many of which are in the path museum.

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    Route E Da Ponte Vecchio to the Pitti Palace

    Ponte Vecchio
    Crossing this magnificent bridge, which dates back to 1345, our eyes are dazzled with the shining of the windows which are shown some of the masterpieces of the goldsmith's art. It is not always so. Indeed, originally the side arcades were occupied by shops of butchers, was during the sixteenth century for the will of Cosimo I, which instead replaced the goldsmiths. In the middle of the bridge there are two terraces where you can enjoy a wonderful panoramic view Sull'Arno and other bridges.

    Ponte Vecchio passed away in early Guicciardini are left on the church of Santa Felicita, which works by Pontormo and Bronzino. So we Borgo San Jacopo, which ends in Piazza Frescobaldi, so called because it houses the seventeenth-century palace of the famous Florentine family, and from here take Lungarno Guicciardini. At the bridge Carraia crossed the road that is the way of Serragli, seguiamola until we find Stella village which opens on the courtyard where there is our next goal.

    Chiesa del Carmine
    This building originally century, went largely destroyed due to a fire in 1771 and then rebuilt, preserves Brancacci Chapel in one of the treasures of painting fifteenth. This is the cycle of frescoes created by Masaccio and Masolino and depicting stories of the Old Testament and stories of St. Peter, they were completed at the end of the century by Filippino Lippi. It is mainly paintings of Masaccio to have attracted artists such as Verrocchio and Michelangelo, who came here to study them.

    Going along Via Santa Monaca Sant'Agostino via first and then arrive in Piazza Santo Spirito.

    Church of the Holy Spirit
    Designed by Brunelleschi and begun in 1444, was completed only towards the end of the fifteenth century. In the sobriety of the external facade is the internal structure harmonious, airy and elegant. The church has well thirty-eight side altars, decorated with a rich collection of treasures and works of art, including a magnificent crucifix Michelangelo created in 1492 to 17 years.
    Passing through the vestibule of the sacristy, you can log on to the cloister of the Dead for the large amount of tombstones that crowd the walls.
    Next to the church, the convent, remained the great refectory which houses a fresco of the Crucifixion on a piecemeal Last Supper, attributed to Andrea Orcagna and dating to the years between 1360 and 1365. In addition there are exhibited works by Jacopo della Quercia, Donatello, Tino di Camaino.

    From here you take away Mazzetta and then via Romana and arrive in Piazza Pitti.

    Palazzo Pitti
    The most grandiose Florentine palace dominates in all its majesty on the square which was built on a design by Brunelleschi. Originally smaller, the building was expanded over the centuries. From great central portal you enter the courtyard dell'Ammannati. But here is spoiled for choice, Palazzo Pitti in fact more than a single museum is a collection of museums. Given the beauty and importance of the works exhibited in each of them, we go to visit them all, not recommended until you have good attention to the decoration of the rooms whose artistic value is equal to that of the works contained.

    Gallery palate
    This is the second museum in Florence in scope and importance after the Galleria degli Uffizi. Located on the first floor, contains a remarkable collection of paintings of which pass in rapid review some masterpieces as the Portrait of a young Botticelli, and the Veiled Seggiola of Madonna by Raphael, which already by itself worth a visit to the gallery, and more The three ages of man by Giorgione, advertisement Andrea del Sarto, the dormant love of Caravaggio.
    With the same ticket you can visit the apartment buildings, or rooms in which lived the Crown Prince, while the Grand Duke had itself environments that currently are part of the Gallery palate. The current decor of the furniture is very different than at the time of the Medici, after the amendments made by Lorraine Savoie first and then.

    Museo degli Argenti
    The museum is located on the ground floor of Palazzo Pitti and care environments of the summer of Grand Duke Ferdinand II de 'Medici. Here we can appreciate the Treasury of the Medici, the famous vases in precious stones, mostly Roman or Byzantine, which belonged to Lorenzo the Magnificent, the cameos and carvings of Cosimo I, the rock crystal of Francis I to Mary Magdalene ambre d 'Austria and vases phantasmagoric Ivory to Mattias de 'Medici, and the famous collection of jewels of Anna Maria Luisa, the last heir of the Medici family.

    Galleria d'arte moderna
    Florence is not only Renaissance. This is beautifully testifies this gallery, located on the second floor of Palazzo Pitti, which exhibited paintings and sculptures, mostly Italians, by the end of the eighteenth century up to the years of the First World War.
    So through the rooms, the former residence of Lorraine Grand Dukes, see the works of Neoclassicism and Romanticism, an extraordinary collection of Macchiaioli important evidence of the Italian schools of the second Ottocento well as to the artistic movements of the twentieth century.

    Galleria del Costume
    Eighteenth century building located in the Meridian of the Pitti Palace, this gallery boasts well six thousand pieces of clothes ancient theatrical costumes and accessories, which can be considered the only museum of history of fashion in Italy and one of the largest in the world.
    In its display cases of the museum has exhibited a wide selection of garments from the eighteenth to the twentieth century.

    Carriage Museum
    Inside the museum are fine examples of preserved carriages used by the courts of Lorraine and Savoy eighteenth and nineteenth century and ancient harness for horses.
    Coaches stand out among the three saloons commissioned by Ferdinand III Lorraine between 1818 and 1820, the sedan gala Ferdinand II of Bourbon, an eighteenth-coup?, the oldest vehicle.
    The collection is currently housed in a store, open by appointment, pending the completion of the project to give the collection of appropriate accommodation in the ancient Medici stables.

    After the tour for museums of Palazzo Pitti, rilassiamoci stroll in the magnificent garden connected with the Pitti Palace and Forte Belvedere to discover the natural beauty and art that captures.

    Giardino dei Boboli
    Inhabited by ancient and Renaissance statues and ornate caves, lakes, fountains and large nymphaea, this garden is a veritable outdoor museum offering an inexhaustible series of scenic views. Walking for its fascinating and climbing routes along the steep slopes we can fully embrace the spirit of court life and admire the fountain of Neptune, the pool of the island, the cave of Buontalenti, an authentic masterpiece of Mannerist culture and singular fusion of architecture, painting and sculpture. Inside of water games, decorations and rock mosaics, are the four unfinished Prisoners of Michelangelo (now stored at Galleria dell'Accademia and replaced by copies), which seem to take life from the rocky walls.
    On the summit of the Boboli garden in the center of the rose garden that overlooks a beautiful view of Florence, is an eighteenth century building, now a museum.

    Porcelain Museum
    This little gem in the green collects porcelain Italian and French evoking the history of collecting and taste of the Medici, the Lorraine, of Bourbon-Parma, the Savoy.
    Among the sights there are to be preserved include the sugar bowl in the shape of a turtle, and the teapot in the shape of a chicken.

    Route F from Forte Belvedere to the church of San Miniato al Monte

    Short and intense is this journey that touches on the most scenic in Florence. The first stage is immediately above the Medici garden on the hill of Boboli.

    Forte Belvedere
    "A beautiful balcony as the Forte del Belvedere is not even in paradise" say the Florentines exaggerating, even from up here if you try an emotion that you see Florence lying at our feet like an amphitheater, a stroke the bird, which can well understand the reason for both national pride. distraiamo For a moment her gaze from this view and volgiamoci priceless to see the building built in the second half of the sixteenth century, at the center of the Fort was built after a design by Bernardo Buontalenti. The building, commissioned by Ferdinand I de 'Medici, to defend the city was a real event, so it was noted that the precise time of laying the first stone: it was August 13th of 1590, around 22, when "you spread the rope design pel the new fortress. " A safe time of the many treasures of the Grand Duke, is now home to prestigious exhibitions.

    Going by the Belvedere and going along Via del Monte alle Croci it reaches one of the balconies most famous tourist in the world.

    Piazzale Michelangelo
    At the center a copy of Michelangelo's David looks from Florence, as always do, the wonder of such a landscape, tourists who reach this terrace. The gaze wandering the streets, on bridges, over the rooftops from which sprout Santa Croce, the Bargello, the brunelleschi masterpiece of the dome, the bell tower of Giotto, and many other treasures.

    Go up even for those who stepped between rows of cypress trees brings us to one of the most beautiful churches in Florence and not only.

    Chiesa di San Miniato al Monte
    Built after the Thousand on where it is said that St. Miniato went to die after being beheaded on the banks of. His remains were laid in the crypt of this church, whose construction continued until the thirteenth century.

    The beautiful facade was decorated with geometric patterns made with the finest slabs of white marble from Carrara and green Prato. Inside interventions followed up to Baroque and countless masterpieces have been added over time, from stories of Saint Benedict frescoed by Spinello Aretino cuspidata to a table, a masterpiece of Jacopo del Casentino, the mosaic with Christ enthroned in the apse to a small marble Renaissance performed by Michelozzo. While we see these and many other works of art we also low: a precious inlaid marble floor is decorated with zodiac signs.

    Casket in a casket. This is the Renaissance Chapel of the Cardinal of Portugal, built by Antonio Manetti, a pupil of Brunelleschi, the archbishop of Lisbon died in Florence in 1459. The time is set five medallions by Luca della Robbia, the walls are embellished by Alessio Baldovinetti of advertisement, from a table of Antonio and Piero del Pollaiolo (the original is in the Uffizi) and again with frescoes of angels flying the same artists. At the bottom is the funerary monument sculpted by Antonio Rossellino.
    Before you leave, do not forget to visit the cloister where you can admire the work of the great Paolo Uccello.

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