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Unesco World Heritage sites...
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(...) Italy - the most represented country of the world - has 39 sites in the list, Spain 38 sites, Germany 30, France 28, UK 26, USA 18, The Russian Federation 17, Greece and Brazil 16, Australia 15, Turkey 9, Argentina 8, Tuscany (by itself!) - probably the most represented region of the world - 6 sites, etc..
The whole historic center of Florence has been inserted in the list in 1982...
>> Learn more..
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| ... From 1865 to 1870 Florence was the Capital of Italy? Discover the government buildings of that time with StudentsVille... |
... Florence street's names ... |
Alley=Vicolo
Avenue=Viale
Boulevard=Corso
Bridge=Ponte
Corner=Canto
Embankment
=Lungarno
Road=Strada
Square=Piazza
or Piazzale
Street=Via or Borgo |
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| A brand new section is now on line, in association with Amazon.com we are proudly to present the:
with a selection of the best books, guides, maps and videos on Florence and Tuscany! Enjoy! |
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MAIN MONUMENTS of FLORENCE
So lazy that the thought of a guided tour around the city makes you sweat? At least read the information about the main monuments of Florence in this section. If these short descriptions aren't enough to get you up off your sofabed...dont miss our portal of pictures all about life in Florence: FLORENCEPHOTOS.COM (where you can find more than 500 pics of Florence and Tuscany!)
Anyway...we warmly suggest you visit the main monuments of the city and once in Florence, that you don't miss the opportunity to take a tour of the Uffizi or Accademia Gallery...
And remember: to book on-line your tickets for the most important museums (saving a lot of precious time!) , please visit this section: ON LINE MUSEUM BOOKING BY STUDENTSVILLE.IT
Enjoy the "Renaissance live performance" of Florence with studentsVille.it! |
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Baptistery
Piazza S. Giovanni Bus: 1, 17, 33 Entrance:ticket.
The Baptistery is one of the most ancient buildings of Florence. Built in the XI century on a IV century structure, is famous for the 'Porta del Paradiso' (Heaven's gate), as Michelangelo named it, the door in front of the Duomo realized by Ghiberti in the XV century. |
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Duomo
Piazza S.Giovanni Bus: 1, 17, 33 Entrance:free. Closed:during mass (only some areas - Sunday from 9.00 to 12.00 during the week from 17.00 to 19.00)
The Duomo of Florence is one of the most important gothic building in Italy. The works started in 1296 by Arnolfo di Cambio and stopped for the first time at the death of the Architect (1310). Many other architects worked on the cathedral, like Talenti and Brunelleschi, who built the famous 'cupola' from 1420 to 1436. The front was deigned by De Fabris and finished in 1887. |
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Campanile di Giotto
Piazza S.Giovanni Bus: 1, 17, 33 Entrance: ticket. Closed:Sunday afternoon.
The Giotto bell tower is an important part of the Florentine sky line. The building works started on 1334, under the guide of Giotto and Andrea Pisano, and then completed by Talenti in 1359. The tower is 84,70 metres high and 414 steps lead you to the top where you can find an amazing view of Florence. |
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Palazzo Vecchio o della Signoria
Piazza della Signoria Bus: this is a pedestrian precinct, just in the heart of the historical center, easily reachable by the railway station and the Duomo.
This is the most important non religious building of Florence. The building was built from 1299 and 1314 by Arnolfo DI Cambio, and later on was enlarged by Buontalenti and Vasari in the XVI century. During the period when Florence was the capital of Italy this was the Foreign office, now is the city hall. After you pass trough the entrance hall decorated in the XVI century, you can reach upstairs the 'Salone dei Cinquecento', built by the Cronaca for the meetings of the Council of the Florentine Republic and later on decorated by Vasari. |
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Ponte Vecchio
The oldest and the most famous bridge in Florence. It was built in 1345 by Neri di Fioravante. It was the only bridge left standing by the Germans during the World War Two. You will sure recognize it by the houses built on that now are jewelry shops, above the shops, runs the 'Corridoio Vasariano' that leads from the Palazzo della Signoria to the Pitti Palace. From the bridge you can enjoy a beautiful sight of the Arno river and the other bridges. |
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Palazzo Pitti
Piazza Pitti.
The biggest palace in Florence was built in 1458 by the Pitti family on a project by Brunelleschi. The building was enlarged during the centuries and completed in 1783. It has been for a long time the house of the Granduchi, and in the period when Florence was the capital of Italy, it was the house of the government. |
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Santa Maria Novella
Piazza Santa Maria Novella.
Almost all the buses get you in Piazza S.M. Novella because is just in front of railway station. Entrance:free.
A marvelous example of gothic architecture in Italy, this church was built by the Dominicans from 1246 to 1360. The front, realized on the project of L.B. Alberti, was built in in the later XV century. |
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San Lorenzo Basilica
Piazza San Lorenzo - Ph. +39.055.21.66.34 Opening Hours: 07.00-12.00/15.30-18.30. Free entrance.
is the oldest Florentine basilica: it was inaugurated by Sant'Ambrogio in 393, restored and redone in Romanesque style in the 11th century. Its final form, the one visible today, took shape between 1419 and 1460 and was paid for mostly by the Medici's. Filippo Brunelleschi and Michelangelo built the Old and New Sacristies. Michelangelo also designed the Medicean-Laurentian Library. At the back of the Basilica is the Medici Chapel, where many Medicis are buried.
The Cloister and the Laurentian Biblioteque
Piazza San Lorenzo, 9 - Ph. +39.055.21.07.60 Opening Hours: 09.00-13.00
Free entrance. According to some experts, the Cloister was designed by Brunelleschi and completed, after his death, by one of his pupils. According to others, it is the work of the Medici family architect, Michelozzo. In any case, its elegant and serene loggia and the arches resting on Ionic columns are certainly Brunelleschi's style. Michelangelo was given the commission for the Library by the Medici Pope Clemente VII in 1524, but it was not completed until 1578. It holds the immense and invaluable collection of books and manuscripts that the Medicis, from Cosimo il Vecchio to Lorenzo il Magnifico, put together over years. |
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The Medicean Chapels
Piazza Madonna degli Aldobrandini - Ph. +39.055.238.86.02
Opening Hours: 08.30-17.00 (closed the 1st, 3rd e 5th monday of the month)
Entrance lire 11.000.
The tombs of most of the Medicis are here, even that of the family patriarch, Cosimo il Vecchio. Donatello's tomb is also here. In the Chapel of the Princes, which was built in 1604, by order of Ferdinando I, lie the tombs of the last of the Medicis, those who as of 1536 had become the official rulers of the city. |
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Santa Croce
Piazza Santa Croce.
The church of Santa Croce is one of the most important Franciscan churches in Italy, and is one of the most interesting examples of gothic architecture in Tuscany. Built in 1294 on a project by Arnolfo di Cambio, the church assumed the actual aspect in 1863 when was finished the front and the bell tower. Santa Croce is also famous for being the pantheon of the most important Italian writers and painters. |
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San Miniato al Monte
Probably the most beautiful church in Florence. It was built during the 11th and 13th century in the romanesque style. The interiors are superb as the view of Florence that you have from here. The church is not easy to be reached by bus; you have to get the bus number 12, a bus with quite a strange time table: it passes every 25 minutes! Go there in the afternoon, you can enjoy a beautiful sunset and listen to the Gregorian choir that sings every day at 5 p.m. |
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Bargello
The National Museum of the Bargello, is located inside the Palazzo del Podestà built from 1255 to 1346. Firstly it was the siege of the Podestà, then of the Captain of justice of Florence; now is a beautiful museum mainly dedicated to the Tuscan sculpture from 1330 to 1600. |
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