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LOCATION AND TERRITORY

Florence is in the heart of Italy's Tuscany Region in western Italy along the Arno River. It is 172 miles north of Rome and 185 miles south of Milan.
A circle of sandstone hills surrounds the city. Beyond the circle to the northeast rise foothill spurs of the Apennine mountain range.
Florence is the heart of Renaissance Italy and one of Italy's most visited cities.
It has many interesting museums, beautiful churches and buildings, and impressive artwork.

ACTIVITIES

Aside from visiting the main museums, churches, monuments and piazzas in Florence, there are obviously lots of other things to do here.

Sport

Football. It is the national passion in Italy.
In Florence, the citizens celebrate their patron saint day (24 June) with a historic football match in medieval dress and even during this so-called ‘friendly’ match, passions can quickly boil over.
Florence’s national football team, the Serie A Fiorentina, is among the best in Italy’s premier league.

Golf. There are two local clubs where you can play golf. The first, Golf Club Montelupo, Fattoria di Fibbiana, Via Le Piagge offers a tight course of nine holes right on the banks of the Arno, 26km (16 miles) from the city center.
The second, Golf Club Ugolino, Via Chiantigiana is an 18-hole course, just 10km (6 miles) from Florence and romantically located in an olive grove.

Rowing. There is a rowing club on the Arno: Societa Canottieri Firenze. You can play this sport on the river too.

Tennis. Public tennis courts are situated at the Circolo Carraia, Via Monti alle Croci. Other courts are at Circolo di Tennis, Via Scandicci Alto, and Circolo del Tennis, Via dela Robbia Imprunta.

Cycling. You can take full and half-day mountain bike tours of the countryside around Florence, or rent a bike and tangle with the traffic in town.

Shopping
Florence has some of the finest shopping in Europe. In Florence you'll find leather goods, paper goods, and jewelry as well as nice souvenirs and art productions. Florence has a number of open-air markets selling food, clothing, and antiques.
The most famous is around Piazza San Lorenzo where you'll find leather goods, too. Another good place is Mercato Nuovo (Porcellino) on Via Porta Rossa. Mercato Centrale is a great place for food shopping or just looking.

Music
Florence can claim a couple of musical firsts. Not only was the first piano invented in the city, by Bartolomeo Crostoferi, but also the first ever opera, Daphne, was performed here in 1598, at the home of Jacopo Corsi.
Unfortunately the score does not survive and Florence has not maintained its early influence on the operatic form. Today’s opera season opens in September and is held chiefly at the Teatro Comunale,

WHAT TO VISIT

Galleria degli Uffizi
It is the most important and visited museum in Florence.
The Uffizi palace was designed and begun in 1560 by the architect Giorgio Vasari in the period when Cosimo de' Medici, first Grand Duke of Tuscany, was bureaucratically consolidating his recent takeover of power.
Built in the shape of a horseshow extending from Piazza della Signoria to the Arno River and linked by a bridge over the street with Palazzo Vecchio, the Uffizi were intended to house the administrative offices (Uffizi) of the Grand Duchy.
From the beginning, however, the Medici set aside a few rooms on the third floor to house the finest works of their collections. Various members of the Medici family subsequently enriched the Gallery.
Two centuries later, in 1737, the palace and their collection were left to the city by Anna Maria Luisa, the last Medici heir, and today houses one of the world's great art galleries.

Piazza della Signoria e Palazzo Vecchio
Florence's most famous square is Piazza della Signoria, heart of the historic center and a free open-air sculpture exhibit.
The Loggia della Signoria holds some important statues including a copy of Michelangelo’s David. The piazza has been Florence's political center since the Middle Ages and Florence's town hall, the medieval Palazzo Vecchio, sits on the piazza.
The palazzo contains elaborately decorated public rooms and private apartments. Around the piazza are cafes and restaurants.

Santa Maria Novella
Built in the 13th century according to the wishes of the Dominican monks, the Church’s façade is built in the Gothic-Romanesque style, with white and green marble.
Important works of art inside are the frescoes by Masaccio portraying the Holy Trinity, the Crucifix by Brunelleschi and the one by Giotto.

Ponte Vecchio
As its name suggests, this splendid Bridge is the oldest in Florence: the first construction already existed before the 11th century, but was destroyed by a flood of the Arno. The bridge was rebuilt in solid stone in 1345.
Its banks are still full of goldsmiths’, silversmiths’ and jewelers’ laboratories whose art has been passed down from generation to generation.

Palazzo Pitti
The Pitti Palace hosts several important collections of paintings and sculpture, porcelain, silver and period costumes. The rooms contain works by Raphael, Rubens, Titian, Caravaggio, Andrea del Sarto, and countless others.
Behind the Pitti Palace, you'll find the baroque Boboli Gardens which are also a must see when the weather is nice. One would need over a week to see everything in this large palace and its gardens.

Galleria dell'Accademia
This Gallery was founded in 1784 by the Grand Duke Pietro Leopoldo, who decreed that all the schools of painting should be joined together in a single Academy.
One of the most popular museums in Florence, the Gallery houses many sculptures by Michelangelo, including the famous David.

Bargello
The National Museum, housed in a building that was the city prison dating back to 1200. It contains some of the best sculptures from the Tuscan Renaissance era.
Some of the works of art in the Bargella are: the David by Donatello, Mercury by Gianbologna, and the bust of Brutus by Michelangelo.

Archeological Museum
The collection of artifacts on show in the Museum belonged to the Medici family, especially to Cosimo il Vecchio, and comprises objects from the Etruscan period: terracotta ornaments and sculptures in marble and bronze, including the Chimera di Arezzo and l'Arringatore.
The Egyptian section, that was created thanks to the collection from another important family, the Lorena, is not to be missed.

Casa Buonarroti
This palace was renovated in 1612 by Michelangelo Buonarroti “il giovane”, who decorated all the interior area of the building on his own, as a tribute to his ancestor.
It is possible to see some early masterpieces by Michelangelo such as the Madonna della Scala and the Battaglia dei Centauri.

Il Duomo: Cattedrale Santa Maria del Fiore
The church of Santa Maria del Fiore, the cathedral or duomo, of Florence is a vast Gothic structure built on the site of the 7th century church of Santa Reparata, the remains of which can be seen in the crypt.
The cathedral was begun at the end of the 13th century in the Gothic style by Arnolfo di Cambio, and was completed by Brunelleschi in 1436 with the famous Dome, which was painted inside with frescoes by Vasari and Zuccari.
The square Bell tower designed by Giotto in 1334 stands on the right-hand side of the Cathedral and is covered in white, green and red marble.
The Baptistery of San Giovanni, one of the oldest monuments in Florence (1128), is located opposite the Cathedral and is built in Florentine Romanesque style.

Santa Croce
Santa Croce, in Piazza Santa Croce, is the largest Franciscan church in Italy and holds the tombs of several important Florentines including Michelangelo and Dante.
The vast interior contains some exceptional stained glass windows and frescoes. One of Brunelleschi's most important works, the Cappella dei Pazzi, is in Santa Croce.

The San Lorenzo Market

The Central San Lorenzo Market is housed inside a huge iron and glass building that was built in 1874. Even though it is now a tourist attraction, the Market has preserved a part of its charm.
On the ground floor there are several delicatessens, selling Florentine and Tuscan delicacies, where it is possible to stop for a bite to eat. On the first floor there are flower stalls and fruit and vegetable stalls where all the local seasonal produce is displayed.

Basilica di San Lorenzo

The interior of this church was completed by Brunelleschi and later by Michelangelo. The Basilica di San Lorenzo’s façade is still not finished.
There are some works of art inside: the two pulpits built by Donatello, The Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana and the Tombe Medicee, works by Michelangelo, the Cappella dei Principi chapel with its magnificent decorations in marble and semi-precious stones.

FOOD SPECIALTIES

Bistecca alla fiorentina. It is a big steak of Chianina beef.

Ribollita. It’s a kind of soups which includ vegetable and bean soups

CLIMATE AND TRAVEL SEASON

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.
Early winter, in December, can also be surprisingly pleasant, with crisp air and sunny days and a lot of people clogging up the piazzas.

Florence's position in a river basin, walled in by hills to the south and the foothills of the Apennines to the north, largely determines its climate. In summer the city is a like a pressure cooker as heat and humidity soar.
The average highs hover around 31°C (88°F). Winter, on the other hand, is cool and often wet, although mercifully it doesn't last too long. Average temperatures in January range between 1°C (33°F) and 10°C (50°F) and snow is rare.

SPECIAL EVENTS

Scoppio del Carro. Easter.
Easter Sunday, Piazza del Duomo. A major event in Florence, the explosion of the cart, dates back over 350 years. An elaborate wagon built in 1622 and standing two to three stories high is dragged through Florence behind a fleet of white oxen decorated in garlands to the square between the Baptistry and Cathedral.
The cart, properly rigged with a suitable arsenal of fireworks, awaits a dove-shaped rocket (symbolising the Holy Spirit) from the Cathedral altar, which sets off a ferocious dance of fire on impact.
A big bang ensures a good harvest, and a parade in medieval costume follows.

Festa di San Lorenzo. August 10.
For the feast day of San Lorenzo, Piazza San Lorenzo hosts an outdoor celebration with live music and free lasagna and watermelon for all visitors.

Florence dance festival – Estate Fiesolana. June and July
Every summer, the Florence Dance Festival takes place  at the Teatro Romano in Fiesole, as part of the wider Estate Fiesolana program of music, poetry and cinema.
It is really a magnificent experience to enjoy a concert in a Roman amphitheatre thinking of the thousands, if not millions, who have shared in the experience over the course of the past centuries.

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