fbpx
Wikipedia

Florence

Florence (/ˈflɒrəns/ FLORR-ənss; Italian: Firenze [fiˈrɛntse] (listen))[a] is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.[4]

Florence
Firenze
Comune di Firenze
A collage of Florence showing the Galleria degli Uffizi (top left), followed by the Palazzo Pitti, a sunset view of the city and the Fountain of Neptune in the Piazza della Signoria
Location of Florence
Florence
Location of Florence in Tuscany
Florence
Florence (Tuscany)
Coordinates: 43°46′17″N 11°15′15″E / 43.77139°N 11.25417°E / 43.77139; 11.25417Coordinates: 43°46′17″N 11°15′15″E / 43.77139°N 11.25417°E / 43.77139; 11.25417
CountryItaly
RegionTuscany
Metropolitan cityFlorence (FI)
FrazioniBaronta, Callai, Cascine del Riccio, Croce di Via, Ema I, Ema II, Montignano-Ugnano, Parigi, Piazza Calda, Pontignale, San Michele a Monteripaldi
Government
 • MayorDario Nardella (PD)
Area
 • Total102.32 km2 (39.51 sq mi)
Elevation
50 m (160 ft)
Population
 (1 January 2022)[2]
 • Total367,150
 • Density3,600/km2 (9,300/sq mi)
DemonymsEnglish: Florentine
Italian: fiorentino (m.), fiorentina (f.)
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code
50121–50145
Dialing code055
ISTAT code048017
Patron saintJohn the Baptist[3]
Saint day24 June
WebsiteOfficial website

Florence was a centre of medieval European trade and finance and one of the wealthiest cities of that era.[5] It is considered by many academics[6] to have been the birthplace of the Renaissance, becoming a major artistic, cultural, commercial, political, economic and financial center.[7] During this time, Florence rose to a position of enormous influence in Italy, Europe, and beyond.[8] Its turbulent political history includes periods of rule by the powerful Medici family and numerous religious and republican revolutions.[9] From 1865 to 1871 the city served as the capital of the Kingdom of Italy. The Florentine dialect forms the base of Standard Italian and it became the language of culture throughout Italy[10] due to the prestige of the masterpieces by Dante Alighieri, Petrarch, Giovanni Boccaccio, Niccolò Machiavelli and Francesco Guicciardini.

The city attracts millions of tourists each year, and UNESCO declared the Historic Centre of Florence a World Heritage Site in 1982. The city is noted for its culture, Renaissance art and architecture and monuments.[11] The city also contains numerous museums and art galleries, such as the Uffizi Gallery and the Palazzo Pitti, and still exerts an influence in the fields of art, culture and politics.[12] Due to Florence's artistic and architectural heritage, Forbes ranked it as the most beautiful city in the world in 2010.[13]

Florence plays an important role in Italian fashion,[12] and is ranked in the top 15 fashion capitals of the world by Global Language Monitor;[14] furthermore, it is a major national economic centre,[12] as well as a tourist and industrial hub.

Etymology

There are a number of theories as to the origin of the Latin name Florentia from which the name of Florence and Firenze derived:

  • Legend attributes the origin of the name Florentia to Florio (a soldier killed on the spot)
  • It may be related to the Latin word for flowers found in the area
  • It may be related to Flora, since it was founded during the Floralia festival
  • There is a theory that Florentia is a name to convey good luck, "may you be florid"[15]

History

Timeline of Florence
Historical affiliations

 Roman Republic, 59–27 BC
 Roman Empire, 27 BC–AD 285
 Western Roman Empire, 285–476
 Kingdom of Odoacer, 476–493
 Ostrogothic Kingdom, 493–553
 Eastern Roman Empire, 553–568
 Lombard Kingdom, 570–773
 Carolingian Empire, 774–797
 Regnum Italiae, 797–1001
 March of Tuscany, 1002–1115
  Republic of Florence, 1115–1532
  Duchy of Florence, 1532–1569
  Grand Duchy of Tuscany, 1569–1801
  Kingdom of Etruria, 1801–1807
  First French Empire, 1807–1815
  Grand Duchy of Tuscany, 1815–1859
  United Provinces of Central Italy, 1859–1860
  Kingdom of Italy, 1861–1943
  Italian Social Republic, 1943–1945
  Italy, 1946–present

 
View of Florence by Hartmann Schedel, published in 1493

Florence originated as a Roman city, and later, after a long period as a flourishing trading and banking medieval commune, it was the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance. It was politically, economically, and culturally one of the most important cities in Europe and the world from the 14th to 16th centuries.[11]

The language spoken in the city during the 14th century came to be accepted as the model for what would become the Italian language. Thanks especially to the works of the Tuscans Dante, Petrarch and Boccaccio, the Florentine dialect, above all the local dialects, was adopted as the basis for a national literary language.[citation needed]

Starting from the late Middle Ages, Florentine money—in the form of the gold florin—financed the development of industry all over Europe, from Britain to Bruges, to Lyon and Hungary. Florentine bankers financed the English kings during the Hundred Years' War. They similarly financed the papacy, including the construction of their provisional capital of Avignon and, after their return to Rome, the reconstruction and Renaissance embellishment of Rome.

Florence was home to the Medici, one of European history's most important noble families. Lorenzo de' Medici was considered a political and cultural mastermind of Italy in the late 15th century. Two members of the family were popes in the early 16th century: Leo X and Clement VII. Catherine de Medici married King Henry II of France and, after his death in 1559, reigned as regent in France. Marie de' Medici married Henry IV of France and gave birth to the future King Louis XIII. The Medici reigned as Grand Dukes of Tuscany, starting with Cosimo I de' Medici in 1569 and ending with the death of Gian Gastone de' Medici in 1737.

The Kingdom of Italy, which was established in 1861, moved its capital from Turin to Florence in 1865, although the capital was moved to Rome in 1871.

Roman origins

Florence was established by the Romans in 59 BC as a colony for veteran soldiers and was built in the style of an army camp.[16] Situated along the Via Cassia, the main route between Rome and the north, and within the fertile valley of the Arno, the settlement quickly became an important commercial centre and in AD 285 became the capital of the Tuscia region.

Early Middle Ages

 
The Goth King Totila razes the walls of Florence during the Gothic War: illumination from the Chigi manuscript of Villani's Cronica.

In centuries to come, the city experienced turbulent alternate periods of Ostrogoth and Byzantine rule, during which the city was fought over, helping to cause the population to fall to as low as 1,000 people.[17] Peace returned under Lombard rule in the 6th century and Florence was in turn conquered by Charlemagne in 774 becoming part of the March of Tuscany centred on Lucca. The population began to grow again and commerce prospered.

Second millennium

 
The Basilica di San Miniato al Monte

Margrave Hugo chose Florence as his residency instead of Lucca around 1000 AD. The Golden Age of Florentine art began around this time. In 1100, Florence was a "commune", meaning a city-state. The city's primary resource was the Arno river, providing power and access for the industry (mainly textile industry), and access to the Mediterranean sea for international trade, helping the growth of an industrious merchant community. The Florentine merchant banking skills became recognised in Europe after they brought decisive financial innovation (e.g. bills of exchange,[18] double-entry bookkeeping system) to medieval fairs. This period also saw the eclipse of Florence's formerly powerful rival Pisa.[19] The growing power of the merchant elite culminated in an anti-aristocratic uprising, led by Giano della Bella, resulting in the Ordinances of Justice[20] which entrenched the power of the elite guilds until the end of the Republic.

Middle Ages and Renaissance

Rise of the Medici

 

At the height of demographic expansion around 1325, the urban population may have been as great as 120,000, and the rural population around the city was probably close to 300,000.[21] The Black Death of 1348 reduced it by over half,[22][23] about 25,000 are said to have been supported by the city's wool industry: in 1345 Florence was the scene of an attempted strike by wool combers (ciompi), who in 1378 rose up in a brief revolt against oligarchic rule in the Revolt of the Ciompi. After their suppression, Florence came under the sway (1382–1434) of the Albizzi family, who became bitter rivals of the Medici.

In the 15th century, Florence was among the largest cities in Europe, with a population of 60,000, and was considered rich and economically successful.[24] Cosimo de' Medici was the first Medici family member to essentially control the city from behind the scenes. Although the city was technically a democracy of sorts, his power came from a vast patronage network along with his alliance to the new immigrants, the gente nuova (new people). The fact that the Medici were bankers to the pope also contributed to their ascendancy. Cosimo was succeeded by his son Piero, who was, soon after, succeeded by Cosimo's grandson, Lorenzo in 1469. Lorenzo was a great patron of the arts, commissioning works by Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and Botticelli. Lorenzo was an accomplished poet and musician and brought composers and singers to Florence, including Alexander Agricola, Johannes Ghiselin, and Heinrich Isaac. By contemporary Florentines (and since), he was known as "Lorenzo the Magnificent" (Lorenzo il Magnifico).

Following Lorenzo de' Medici's death in 1492, he was succeeded by his son Piero II. When the French king Charles VIII invaded northern Italy, Piero II chose to resist his army. But when he realised the size of the French army at the gates of Pisa, he had to accept the humiliating conditions of the French king. These made the Florentines rebel, and they expelled Piero II. With his exile in 1494, the first period of Medici rule ended with the restoration of a republican government.

Savonarola, Machiavelli, and the Medici popes

 
Girolamo Savonarola being burnt at the stake in 1498. The brooding Palazzo Vecchio is at centre right.

During this period, the Dominican friar Girolamo Savonarola had become prior of the San Marco monastery in 1490. He was famed for his penitential sermons, lambasting what he viewed as widespread immorality and attachment to material riches. He praised the exile of the Medici as the work of God, punishing them for their decadence. He seized the opportunity to carry through political reforms leading to a more democratic rule. But when Savonarola publicly accused Pope Alexander VI of corruption, he was banned from speaking in public. When he broke this ban, he was excommunicated. The Florentines, tired of his teachings, turned against him and arrested him. He was convicted as a heretic, hanged and burned at the stake on the Piazza della Signoria on 23 May 1498. His ashes were dispersed in the Arno river.[25]

Another Florentine of this period was Niccolò Machiavelli, whose prescriptions for Florence's regeneration under strong leadership have often been seen as a legitimization of political expediency and even malpractice. Machiavelli was a political thinker, renowned for his political handbook The Prince, which is about ruling and exercising power. Commissioned by the Medici, Machiavelli also wrote the Florentine Histories, the history of the city.

In 1512, the Medici retook control of Florence with the help of Spanish and Papal troops.[26] They were led by two cousins, Giovanni and Giulio de' Medici, both of whom would later become Popes of the Catholic Church, (Leo X and Clement VII, respectively). Both were generous patrons of the arts, commissioning works like Michelangelo's Laurentian Library and Medici Chapel in Florence, to name just two.[27][28] Their reigns coincided with political upheaval in Italy, and thus in 1527, Florentines drove out the Medici for a second time and re-established a theocratic republic on 16 May 1527, (Jesus Christ was named King of Florence).[29] The Medici returned to power in Florence in 1530, with the armies of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and the blessings of Pope Clement VII (Giulio de' Medici).

Florence officially became a monarchy in 1531, when Emperor Charles and Pope Clement named Alessandro de Medici as Duke of the Florentine Republic. The Medici's monarchy would last over two centuries. Alessandro's successor, Cosimo I de Medici, was named Grand Duke of Tuscany in 1569; in all Tuscany, only the Republic of Lucca (later a Duchy) and the Principality of Piombino were independent from Florence.

18th and 19th centuries

 
Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor and his family. Leopold was, from 1765 to 1790, the Grand Duke of Tuscany.

The extinction of the Medici dynasty and the accession in 1737 of Francis Stephen, duke of Lorraine and husband of Maria Theresa of Austria, led to Tuscany's temporary inclusion in the territories of the Austrian crown. It became a secundogeniture of the Habsburg-Lorraine dynasty, who were deposed for the House of Bourbon-Parma in 1801. From 1801 to 1807 Florence was the capital of the Napoleonic client state Kingdom of Etruria. The Bourbon-Parma were deposed in December 1807 when Tuscany was annexed by France. Florence was the prefecture of the French département of Arno from 1808 to the fall of Napoleon in 1814. The Habsburg-Lorraine dynasty was restored on the throne of Tuscany at the Congress of Vienna but finally deposed in 1859. Tuscany became a region of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861.

Florence replaced Turin as Italy's capital in 1865 and, in an effort to modernise the city, the old market in the Piazza del Mercato Vecchio and many medieval houses were pulled down and replaced by a more formal street plan with newer houses. The Piazza (first renamed Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II, then Piazza della Repubblica, the present name) was significantly widened and a large triumphal arch was constructed at the west end. This development was unpopular and was prevented from continuing by the efforts of several British and American people living in the city.[citation needed] A museum recording the destruction stands nearby today.

The country's second capital city was superseded by Rome six years later, after the withdrawal of the French troops allowed the capture of Rome.

20th century

 
Porte Sante cemetery, burial place of notable figures of Florentine history

During World War II the city experienced a year-long German occupation (1943–1944) being part of the Italian Social Republic. Hitler declared it an open city on 3 July 1944 as troops of the British 8th Army closed in.[30] In early August, the retreating Germans decided to demolish all the bridges along the Arno linking the district of Oltrarno to the rest of the city, making it difficult for troops of the 8th Army to cross. However, at the last moment Charles Steinhauslin, at the time consul of 26 countries in Florence, convinced the German general in Italy that the Ponte Vecchio was not to be destroyed due to its historical value.[citation needed] Instead, an equally historic area of streets directly to the south of the bridge, including part of the Corridoio Vasariano, was destroyed using mines. Since then the bridges have been restored to their original forms using as many of the remaining materials as possible, but the buildings surrounding the Ponte Vecchio have been rebuilt in a style combining the old with modern design. Shortly before leaving Florence, as they knew that they would soon have to retreat, the Germans executed many freedom fighters and political opponents publicly, in streets and squares including the Piazza Santo Spirito.[citation needed]

 
1/5 Mahratta Light Infantry, Florence, 28 August 1944

Florence was liberated by New Zealand, South African and British troops on 4 August 1944 alongside partisans from the Tuscan Committee of National Liberation (CTLN). The Allied soldiers who died driving the Germans from Tuscany are buried in cemeteries outside the city (Americans about nine kilometres or 5+12 miles south of the city, British and Commonwealth soldiers a few kilometres east of the centre on the right bank of the Arno).

At the end of World War II in May 1945, the US Army's Information and Educational Branch was ordered to establish an overseas university campus for demobilised American service men and women in Florence. The first American university for service personnel was established in June 1945 at the School of Aeronautics. Some 7,500 soldier-students were to pass through the university during its four one-month sessions (see G. I. American Universities).[31]

In November 1966, the Arno flooded parts of the centre, damaging many art treasures. Around the city there are tiny placards on the walls noting where the flood waters reached at their highest point.

Geography

 
Florence with snow cover in December 2009

Florence lies in a basin formed by the hills of Careggi, Fiesole, Settignano, Arcetri, Poggio Imperiale and Bellosguardo (Florence). The Arno river, three other minor rivers (Mugnone,[32] Ema and Greve) and some streams flow through it.[33]

Climate

Florence has a humid subtropical climate (Cfa), tending to Mediterranean (Csa).[34] It has hot summers with moderate or light rainfall and cool, damp winters. As Florence lacks a prevailing wind, summer temperatures are higher than along the coast. Rainfall in summer is convectional, while relief rainfall dominates in the winter. Snow flurries occur almost every year,[35] but often result in no accumulation.[36] The highest officially recorded temperature was 42.6 °C (108.7 °F) on 26 July 1983 and the lowest was −23.2 °C (−9.8 °F) on 12 January 1985.[37]

Climate data for Florence
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 21.6
(70.9)
23.4
(74.1)
28.5
(83.3)
28.7
(83.7)
33.8
(92.8)
41.8
(107.2)
42.6
(108.7)
39.5
(103.1)
36.4
(97.5)
30.8
(87.4)
25.2
(77.4)
20.4
(68.7)
42.6
(108.7)
Average high °C (°F) 10.1
(50.2)
12.5
(54.5)
15.7
(60.3)
18.5
(65.3)
23.7
(74.7)
27.7
(81.9)
31.4
(88.5)
31.5
(88.7)
26.7
(80.1)
20.9
(69.6)
14.7
(58.5)
11.1
(52.0)
20.4
(68.7)
Daily mean °C (°F) 5.7
(42.3)
7.5
(45.5)
10.3
(50.5)
13.0
(55.4)
17.7
(63.9)
21.4
(70.5)
24.6
(76.3)
24.6
(76.3)
20.5
(68.9)
15.5
(59.9)
9.9
(49.8)
6.8
(44.2)
14.8
(58.6)
Average low °C (°F) 1.4
(34.5)
2.5
(36.5)
4.9
(40.8)
7.5
(45.5)
11.6
(52.9)
15.0
(59.0)
17.7
(63.9)
17.7
(63.9)
14.4
(57.9)
10.1
(50.2)
5.1
(41.2)
2.6
(36.7)
9.2
(48.6)
Record low °C (°F) −23.2
(−9.8)
−9.9
(14.2)
−8.0
(17.6)
−2.2
(28.0)
3.6
(38.5)
5.6
(42.1)
10.2
(50.4)
9.6
(49.3)
3.6
(38.5)
−1.4
(29.5)
−6.0
(21.2)
−8.6
(16.5)
−23.2
(−9.8)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 60.5
(2.38)
63.7
(2.51)
63.5
(2.50)
86.4
(3.40)
70.0
(2.76)
57.1
(2.25)
36.7
(1.44)
56.0
(2.20)
79.6
(3.13)
104.2
(4.10)
113.6
(4.47)
81.3
(3.20)
872.6
(34.34)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) 8.3 7.1 7.5 9.7 8.4 6.3 3.5 5.4 6.2 8.5 9.0 8.3 88.2
Mean daily sunshine hours 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0 8.0 9.0 10.0 9.0 7.0 5.0 3.0 3.0 6.0
Percent possible sunshine 33 40 42 46 53 60 67 64 58 45 30 33 48
Source 1: Servizio Meteorologico [38]
Source 2: World Meteorological Organization (United Nations) [39] Weather Atlas [40]
Climate data for Florence
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Mean daily daylight hours 9.0 10.0 12.0 13.0 15.0 15.0 15.0 14.0 12.0 11.0 10.0 9.0 12.1
Average Ultraviolet index 1 2 4 5 7 8 8 7 5 3 2 1 4.4
Source: Weather Atlas[41]

Demographics

Historical population
YearPop.±%
1200 50,000—    
1300 120,000+140.0%
1500 70,000−41.7%
1650 70,000+0.0%
1861 150,864+115.5%
1871 201,138+33.3%
1881 196,072−2.5%
1901 236,635+20.7%
1911 258,056+9.1%
1921 280,133+8.6%
1931 304,160+8.6%
1936 321,176+5.6%
1951 374,625+16.6%
1961 436,516+16.5%
1971 457,803+4.9%
1981 448,331−2.1%
1991 403,294−10.0%
2001 356,118−11.7%
2011 358,079+0.6%
Source: ISTAT 2011

In 1200 the city was home to 50,000 people.[42] By 1300 the population of the city proper was 120,000, with an additional 300,000 living in the Contado.[43] Between 1500 and 1650 the population was around 70,000.[44][45]

As of 31 October 2010, the population of the city proper is 370,702, while Eurostat estimates that 696,767 people live in the urban area of Florence. The Metropolitan Area of Florence, Prato and Pistoia, constituted in 2000 over an area of roughly 4,800 square kilometres (1,850 sq mi), is home to 1.5 million people. Within Florence proper, 46.8% of the population was male in 2007 and 53.2% were female. Minors (children aged 18 and less) totalled 14.10 percent of the population compared to pensioners, who numbered 25.95 percent. This compares with the Italian average of 18.06 percent (minors) and 19.94 percent (pensioners). The average age of Florence resident is 49 compared to the Italian average of 42. In the five years between 2002 and 2007, the population of Florence grew by 3.22 percent, while Italy as a whole grew by 3.56 percent.[46] The birth rate of Florence is 7.66 births per 1,000 inhabitants compared to the Italian average of 9.45 births.

As of 2009, 87.46% of the population was Italian. An estimated 6,000 Chinese live in the city.[47] The largest immigrant group came from other European countries (mostly Romanians and Albanians): 3.52%, East Asia (mostly Chinese and Filipino): 2.17%, the Americas: 1.41%, and North Africa (mostly Moroccan): 0.9%.[48]

Much like the rest of Italy most of the people in Florence are Roman Catholic, with more than 90% of the population belonging to the Archdiocese of Florence.[49][50]

Economy

Tourism is, by far, the most important of all industries and most of the Florentine economy relies on the money generated by international arrivals and students studying in the city.[11] The value tourism to the city totalled some €2.5 billion in 2015 and the number of visitors had increased by 5.5% from the previous year.[51]

In 2013, Florence was listed as the second best world city by Condé Nast Traveler.[52]

Manufacturing and commerce, however, still remain highly important. Florence is also Italy's 17th richest city in terms of average workers' earnings, with the figure being €23,265 (the overall city's income is €6,531,204,473), coming after Mantua, yet surpassing Bolzano.[53]

Industry, commerce and services

Florence is a major production and commercial centre in Italy, where the Florentine industrial complexes in the suburbs produce all sorts of goods, from furniture, rubber goods, chemicals, and food.[11] However, traditional and local products, such as antiques, handicrafts, glassware, leatherwork, art reproductions, jewellery, souvenirs, elaborate metal and iron-work, shoes, accessories and high fashion clothes also dominate a fair sector of Florence's economy.[11] The city's income relies partially on services and commercial and cultural interests, such as annual fairs, theatrical and lyrical productions, art exhibitions, festivals and fashion shows, such as the Calcio Fiorentino. Heavy industry and machinery also take their part in providing an income. In Nuovo Pignone, numerous factories are still present, and small-to medium industrial businesses are dominant. The Florence-Prato-Pistoia industrial districts and areas were known as the 'Third Italy' in the 1990s, due to the exports of high-quality goods and automobile (especially the Vespa) and the prosperity and productivity of the Florentine entrepreneurs. Some of these industries even rivalled the traditional industrial districts in Emilia-Romagna and Veneto due to high profits and productivity.[11]

In the fourth quarter of 2015, manufacturing increased by 2.4% and exports increased by 7.2%. Leading sectors included mechanical engineering, fashion, pharmaceutics, food and wine. During 2015, permanent employment contracts increased by 48.8 percent, boosted by nationwide tax break.[51]

Tourism

 
Tourists flock to the Fontana del Porcellino.

Tourism is the most significant industry in central Florence. From April to October, tourists outnumber local population. Tickets to the Uffizi and Accademia museums are regularly sold out and large groups regularly fill the basilicas of Santa Croce and Santa Maria Novella, both of which charge for entry. Tickets for The Uffizi and Accademia can be purchased online prior to visiting.[54] In 2010, readers of Travel + Leisure magazine ranked the city as their third favourite tourist destination.[55] In 2015, Condé Nast Travel readers voted Florence as the best city in Europe.[56]

Studies by Euromonitor International have concluded that cultural and history-oriented tourism is generating significantly increased spending throughout Europe.[57]

Florence is believed to have the greatest concentration of art (in proportion to its size) in the world.[58] Thus, cultural tourism is particularly strong, with world-renowned museums such as the Uffizi selling over 1.93 million tickets in 2014.[59] The city's convention centre facilities were restructured during the 1990s and host exhibitions, conferences, meetings, social forums, concerts and other events all year.

 
Tourists and restaurant in the Piazza del Duomo

In 2016, Florence had 20,588 hotel rooms in 570 facilities. International visitors use 75% of the rooms; some 18% of those were from the U.S.[60] In 2014, the city had 8.5 million overnight stays.[61] A Euromonitor report indicates that in 2015 the city ranked as the world's 36th most visited in the world, with over 4.95 million arrivals for the year.[62]

Tourism brings revenue to Florence, but also creates certain problems. The Ponte Vecchio, The San Lorenzo Market and Santa Maria Novella are plagued by pickpockets.[63] The province of Florence receives roughly 13 million visitors per year[64] and in peak seasons, popular locations may become overcrowded as a result.[65] In 2015, Mayor Dario Nardella expressed concern over visitors who arrive on buses, stay only a few hours, spend little money but contribute significantly to overcrowding. "No museum visit, just a photo from the square, the bus back and then on to Venice ... We don’t want tourists like that", he said.[66]

Some tourists are less than respectful of the city's cultural heritage, according to Nardella. In June 2017, he instituted a programme of spraying church steps with water to prevent tourists from using such areas as picnic spots. While he values the benefits of tourism, he claims that there has been "an increase among those who sit down on church steps, eat their food and leave rubbish strewn on them", he explained.[67] To boost the sale of traditional foods, the mayor had introduced legislation (enacted in 2016) that requires restaurants to use typical Tuscan products and rejected McDonald's application to open a location in the Piazza del Duomo.[68]

In October 2021, Florence was shortlisted for the European Commission's 2022 European Capital of Smart Tourism award along with Bordeaux, Copenhagen, Dublin, Ljubljana, Palma de Mallorca and Valencia.[69]

Food and wine production

 
Fiaschi of basic Chianti

Food and wine have long been an important staple of the economy. The Chianti region is just south of the city, and its Sangiovese grapes figure prominently not only in its Chianti Classico wines but also in many of the more recently developed Supertuscan blends. Within 32 km (20 mi) to the west is the Carmignano area, also home to flavourful sangiovese-based reds. The celebrated Chianti Rufina district, geographically and historically separated from the main Chianti region, is also few kilometres east of Florence. More recently, the Bolgheri region (about 150 km or 93 mi southwest of Florence) has become celebrated for its "Super Tuscan" reds such as Sassicaia and Ornellaia.[70]

Government

 
Seats in the Florence City Council
(2019–2024)

The legislative body of the municipality is the City Council (Consiglio Comunale), which is composed of 36 councillors elected every five years with a proportional system, at the same time as the mayoral elections. The executive body is the City Committee (Giunta Comunale), composed of 7 assessors, nominated and presided over by a directly elected Mayor. The current mayor of Florence is Dario Nardella.

The municipality of Florence is subdivided into five administrative Boroughs (Quartieri). Each borough is governed by a Council (Consiglio) and a President, elected at the same time as the city mayor. The urban organisation is governed by the Italian Constitution (art. 114). The boroughs have the power to advise the Mayor with nonbinding opinions on a large spectrum of topics (environment, construction, public health, local markets) and exercise the functions delegated to them by the City Council; in addition they are supplied with an autonomous funding in order to finance local activities. The boroughs are:

  • Q1 – Centro storico (Historic Centre); population: 67,170;
  • Q2 – Campo di Marte; population: 88,588;
  • Q3 – Gavinana-Galluzzo; population: 40,907;
  • Q4 – Isolotto-Legnaia; population: 66,636;
  • Q5 – Rifredi; population: 103,761.

All of the five boroughs are governed by the Democratic Party.

The former Italian Prime Minister (2014–2016), Matteo Renzi, served as mayor from 2009 to 2014.

Culture

Art

 
Botticelli's Venus, stored in the Uffizi

Florence was the birthplace of High Renaissance art, which lasted from 1450 to 1527. While Medieval art focused on basic story telling of the Bible, Renaissance art focused on naturalism and human emotion.[71] Medieval art was abstract, formulaic, and largely produced by monks whereas Renaissance art was rational, mathematical, individualistic, consisted of linear perspective and shading (Chiaroscuro)[71] and produced by specialists (Leonardo da Vinci, Donatello, Michelangelo, and Raphael). Religion was important, but with this new age came the humanization[72][73] of religious figures in art, such as Expulsion from the Garden of Eden, Ecce Homo (Bosch, 1470s), and Madonna Della Seggiola; People of this age began to understand themselves as human beings, which reflected in art.[73] The Renaissance marked the rebirth of classical values in art and society as people studied the ancient masters of the Greco-Roman world;[72] Art became focused on realism as opposed to idealism.[73]

 
Sculptures in the Loggia dei Lanzi
 
Michelangelo's David

Cimabue and Giotto, the fathers of Italian painting, lived in Florence as well as Arnolfo and Andrea Pisano, renewers of architecture and sculpture; Brunelleschi, Donatello and Masaccio, forefathers of the Renaissance, Ghiberti and the Della Robbias, Filippo Lippi and Angelico; Botticelli, Paolo Uccello and the universal genius of Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo.[74][75]

Their works, together with those of many other generations of artists, are gathered in the several museums of the town: the Uffizi Gallery, the Palatina gallery with the paintings of the "Golden Ages",[76] the Bargello with the sculptures of the Renaissance, the museum of San Marco with Fra Angelico's works, the Academy, the chapels of the Medicis[77] Buonarroti's house with the sculptures of Michelangelo, the following museums: Bardini, Horne, Stibbert, Romano, Corsini, The Gallery of Modern Art, the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo, the museum of Silverware and the museum of Precious Stones.[78] Several monuments are located in Florence: the Florence Baptistery with its mosaics; the cathedral with its sculptures, the medieval churches with bands of frescoes; public as well as private palaces: Palazzo Vecchio, Palazzo Pitti, Palazzo Medici Riccardi, Palazzo Davanzati; monasteries, cloisters, refectories; the "Certosa". In the archaeological museum includes documents of Etruscan civilisation.[79] In fact the city is so rich in art that some first time visitors experience the Stendhal syndrome as they encounter its art for the first time.[80]

 
The Uffizi Gallery is the 10th most visited art museum in the world.

Florentine architects such as Filippo Brunelleschi (1377–1466) and Leon Battista Alberti (1404–1472) were among the fathers of both Renaissance and Neoclassical architecture.[81]

The cathedral, topped by Brunelleschi's dome, dominates the Florentine skyline. The Florentines decided to start building it – late in the 13th century, without a design for the dome. The project proposed by Brunelleschi in the 14th century was the largest ever built at the time, and the first major dome built in Europe since the two great domes of Roman times – the Pantheon in Rome, and Hagia Sophia in Constantinople. The dome of Santa Maria del Fiore remains the largest brick construction of its kind in the world.[82][83] In front of it is the medieval Baptistery. The two buildings incorporate in their decoration the transition from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance. In recent years, most of the important works of art from the two buildings – and from the nearby Giotto's Campanile, have been removed and replaced by copies. The originals are now housed in the Museum dell'Opera del Duomo, just to the east of the cathedral.

Florence has large numbers of art-filled churches, such as San Miniato al Monte, San Lorenzo, Santa Maria Novella, Santa Trinita, Santa Maria del Carmine, Santa Croce, Santo Spirito, the Annunziata, Ognissanti and numerous others.[11]

 
The Palazzo della Signoria, better known as the Palazzo Vecchio (English: The Old Palace)

Artists associated with Florence range from Arnolfo di Cambio and Cimabue to Giotto, Nanni di Banco, and Paolo Uccello; through Lorenzo Ghiberti, and Donatello and Massaccio and the della Robbia family; through Fra Angelico and Botticelli and Piero della Francesca, and on to Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci. Others include Benvenuto Cellini, Andrea del Sarto, Benozzo Gozzoli, Domenico Ghirlandaio, Filippo Lippi, Bernardo Buontalenti, Orcagna, Pollaiuolo, Filippino Lippi, Verrocchio, Bronzino, Desiderio da Settignano, Michelozzo, the Rossellis, the Sangallos, and Pontormo. Artists from other regions who worked in Florence include Raphael, Andrea Pisano, Giambologna, Il Sodoma and Peter Paul Rubens.

 
Brunelleschi's dome

Picture galleries in Florence include the Uffizi and the Pitti Palace. Two superb collections of sculpture are in the Bargello and the Museum of the Works of the Duomo. They are filled with the creations of Donatello, Verrochio, Desiderio da Settignano, Michelangelo and others. The Galleria dell'Accademia has Michelangelo's David – perhaps the best-known work of art anywhere, plus the unfinished statues of the slaves Michelangelo created for the tomb of Pope Julius II.[84][85] Other sights include the medieval city hall, the Palazzo della Signoria (also known as the Palazzo Vecchio), the Archeological Museum, the Museum of the History of Science, the Palazzo Davanzatti, the Stibbert Museum, St. Marks, the Medici Chapels, the Museum of the Works of Santa Croce, the Museum of the Cloister of Santa Maria Novella, the Zoological Museum ("La Specola"), the Bardini, and the Museo Horne. There is also a collection of works by the modern sculptor, Marino Marini, in a museum named after him. The Strozzi Palace is the site of special exhibits.[86]

Language

Florentine (fiorentino), spoken by inhabitants of Florence and its environs, is a Tuscan dialect and the immediate parent language to modern Italian.

Although its vocabulary and pronunciation are largely identical to standard Italian, differences do exist. The Vocabolario del fiorentino contemporaneo (Dictionary of Modern Florentine) reveals lexical distinctions from all walks of life.[87] Florentines have a highly recognisable accent in phonetic terms due to the so-called gorgia toscana): "hard c" /k/ between two vowels is pronounced as a fricative [h] similar to an English h, so that dico 'I say' is phonetically [ˈdiːho], i cani 'the dogs' is [iˈhaːni]. Similarly, t between vowels is pronounced [θ] as in English thin, and p in the same position is the bilabial fricative [ɸ]. Other traits include using a form of the subjunctive mood last commonly used in medieval times,[citation needed] a frequent usage in everyday speech of the modern subjunctive, and a shortened pronunciation of the definite article, [i] instead of "il", causing doubling of the consonant that follows, so that il cane 'the dog', for example, is pronounced [ikˈkaːne].

Dante, Petrarch, and Boccaccio pioneered the use of the vernacular[88] instead of the Latin used for most literary works at the time.

Literature

 
The introduction of the Decameron (1350–1353) by Giovanni Boccaccio

Despite Latin being the main language of the courts and the Church in the Middle Ages, writers such as Dante Alighieri[88] and many others used their own language, the Florentine vernacular descended from Latin, in composing their greatest works. The oldest literary pieces written in Florentine go as far back as the 13th century. Florence's literature fully blossomed in the 14th century, when not only Dante with his Divine Comedy (1306–1321) and Petrarch, but also poets such as Guido Cavalcanti and Lapo Gianni composed their most important works.[88] Dante's masterpiece is the Divine Comedy, which mainly deals with the poet himself taking an allegoric and moral tour of Hell, Purgatory and finally Heaven, during which he meets numerous mythological or real characters of his age or before. He is first guided by the Roman poet Virgil, whose non-Christian beliefs damned him to Hell. Later on he is joined by Beatrice, who guides him through Heaven.[88]

In the 14th century, Petrarch[89] and Giovanni Boccaccio[89] led the literary scene in Florence after Dante's death in 1321. Petrarch was an all-rounder writer, author and poet, but was particularly known for his Canzoniere, or the Book of Songs, where he conveyed his unremitting love for Laura.[89] His style of writing has since become known as Petrarchism.[89] Boccaccio was better known for his Decameron, a slightly grim story of Florence during the 1350s bubonic plague, known as the Black Death, when some people fled the ravaged city to an isolated country mansion, and spent their time there recounting stories and novellas taken from the medieval and contemporary tradition. All of this is written in a series of 100 distinct novellas.[89]

In the 16th century, during the Renaissance, Florence was the home town of political writer and philosopher Niccolò Machiavelli, whose ideas on how rulers should govern the land, detailed in The Prince, spread across European courts and enjoyed enduring popularity for centuries. These principles became known as Machiavellianism.

Music

 
The Teatro della Pergola

Florence became a musical centre during the Middle Ages and music and the performing arts remain an important part of its culture. The growth of Northern Italian Cities in the 1500s likely contributed to its increased prominence. During the Renaissance, there were four kinds of musical patronage in the city with respect to both sacred and secular music: state, corporate, church, and private. It was here that the Florentine Camerata convened in the mid-16th century and experimented with setting tales of Greek mythology to music and staging the result—in other words, the first operas, setting the wheels in motion not just for the further development of the operatic form, but for later developments of separate "classical" forms such as the symphony and concerto. After the year 1600, Italian trends prevailed across Europe, by 1750 it was the primary musical language. The genre of the Madrigal, born in Italy, gained popularity in Britain and elsewhere. Several Italian cities were "larger on the musical map than their real-size for power suggested. Florence, was once such city which experienced a fantastic period in the early seventeenth Century of musico-theatrical innovation, including the beginning and flourishing of opera.[90]

Opera was invented in Florence in the late 16th century when Jacopo Peri's Dafne an opera in the style of monody, was premiered. Opera spread from Florence throughout Italy and eventually Europe. Vocal Music in the choir setting was also taking new identity at this time. At the beginning of the 17th century, two practices for writing music were devised, one the first practice or Stile Antico/Prima Prattica the other the Stile Moderno/Seconda Prattica. The Stile Antico was more prevalent in Northern Europe and Stile Moderno was practiced more by the Italian Composers of the time.[91] The piano was invented in Florence in 1709 by Bartolomeo Cristofori. Composers and musicians who have lived in Florence include Piero Strozzi (1550 – after 1608), Giulio Caccini (1551–1618) and Mike Francis (1961–2009). Giulio Caccini's book Le Nuove Musiche was significant in performance practice technique instruction at the time.[90] The book specified a new term, in use by the 1630s, called monody which indicated the combination of voice and basso continuo and connoted a practice of stating text in a free, lyrical, yet speech-like manner. This would occur while an instrument, usually a keyboard type such as harpsichord, played and held chords while the singer sang/spoke the monodic line.[92]

Cinema

Florence has been a setting for numerous works of fiction and movies, including the novels and associated films, such as Light in the Piazza, The Girl Who Couldn't Say No, Calmi Cuori Appassionati, Hannibal, A Room with a View, Tea with Mussolini, Virgin Territory and Inferno. The city is home to renowned Italian actors and actresses, such as Roberto Benigni, Leonardo Pieraccioni and Vittoria Puccini.

Video games

Florence has appeared as a location in video games such as Assassin's Creed II.[93] The Republic of Florence also appears as a playable nation in Paradox Interactive's grand strategy game Europa Universalis IV.

Other media

16th century Florence is the setting of the Japanese manga and anime series Arte.

Cuisine

 
Florentine steak in Florence

Florentine food grows out of a tradition of peasant eating rather than rarefied high cooking. The majority of dishes are based on meat. The whole animal was traditionally eaten; tripe (trippa) and stomach (lampredotto) were once regularly on the menu and still are sold at the food carts stationed throughout the city. Antipasti include crostini toscani, sliced bread rounds topped with a chicken liver-based pâté, and sliced meats (mainly prosciutto and salame, often served with melon when in season). The typically saltless Tuscan bread, obtained with natural levain frequently features in Florentine courses, especially in its soups, ribollita and pappa al pomodoro, or in the salad of bread and fresh vegetables called panzanella that is served in summer. The bistecca alla fiorentina is a large (the customary size should weigh around 1.2 to 1.5 kg or 2 lb 10 oz to 3 lb 5 oz) – the "date" steak – T-bone steak of Chianina beef cooked over hot charcoal and served very rare with its more recently derived version, the tagliata, sliced rare beef served on a bed of arugula, often with slices of Parmesan cheese on top. Most of these courses are generally served with local olive oil, also a prime product enjoying a worldwide reputation.[94]
Among the desserts, schiacciata alla fiorentina, a white flatbread cake, is one of the most popular; it is a very soft cake, prepared with extremely simple ingredients, typical of Florentine cuisine, and is especially eaten at Carnival.

Research activity

Research institutes and university departments are located within the Florence area and within two campuses at Polo di Novoli and Polo Scientifico di Sesto Fiorentino[95] as well as in the Research Area of Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche.[96]

Science and discovery

 
A display of proboscideans in the Museo di Storia Naturale di Firenze, or the Natural History Museum of Florence

Florence has been an important scientific centre for centuries, notably during the Renaissance with scientists such as Leonardo da Vinci.

Florentines were one of the driving forces behind the Age of Discovery. Florentine bankers financed Henry the Navigator and the Portuguese explorers who pioneered the route around Africa to India and the Far East. It was a map drawn by the Florentine Paolo dal Pozzo Toscanelli, a student of Brunelleschi, that Christopher Columbus used to sell his "enterprise" to the Spanish monarchs, and which he used on his first voyage. Mercator's "Projection" is a refined version of Toscanelli's, taking the Americas into account.

Galileo and other scientists pioneered the study of optics, ballistics, astronomy, anatomy, and other scientific disciplines. Pico della Mirandola, Leonardo Bruni, Machiavelli, and many others laid the groundwork for modern scientific understanding.

Fashion

 
Luxury boutiques along Florence's prestigious Via de' Tornabuoni

By the year 1300 Florence had become a centre of textile production in Europe. Many of the rich families in Renaissance Florence were major purchasers of locally produced fine clothing, and the specialists of fashion in the economy and culture of Florence during that period is often underestimated.[97] Florence is regarded by some as the birthplace and earliest centre of the modern (post World War Two) fashion industry in Italy. The Florentine "soirées" of the early 1950s organised by Giovanni Battista Giorgini were events where several Italian designers participated in group shows and first garnered international attention.[98] Florence has served as the home of the Italian fashion company Salvatore Ferragamo since 1928. Gucci, Roberto Cavalli, and Emilio Pucci are also headquartered in Florence. Other major players in the fashion industry such as Prada and Chanel have large offices and stores in Florence or its outskirts. Florence's main upscale shopping street is Via de' Tornabuoni, where major luxury fashion houses and jewellery labels, such as Armani and Bulgari, have boutiques. Via del Parione and Via Roma are other streets that are also well known for their high-end fashion stores.[99]

Historical evocations

Scoppio del Carro

The Scoppio del Carro ("Explosion of the Cart") is a celebration of the First Crusade. During the day of Easter, a cart, which the Florentines call the Brindellone and which is led by four white oxen, is taken to the Piazza del Duomo between the Baptistery of St. John the Baptist (Battistero di San Giovanni) and the Florence Cathedral (Santa Maria del Fiore). The cart is connected by a rope to the interior of the church. Near the cart there is a model of a dove, which, according to legend, is a symbol of good luck for the city: at the end of the Easter mass, the dove emerges from the nave of the Duomo and ignites the fireworks on the cart.

Calcio Storico

 
Calcio Storico

Calcio Storico Fiorentino ("Historic Florentine Football"), sometimes called Calcio in costume, is a traditional sport, regarded as a forerunner of soccer, though the actual gameplay most closely resembles rugby. The event originates from the Middle Ages, when the most important Florentine nobles amused themselves playing while wearing bright costumes. The most important match was played on 17 February 1530, during the siege of Florence. That day Papal troops besieged the city while the Florentines, with contempt of the enemies, decided to play the game notwithstanding the situation. The game is played in the Piazza di Santa Croce. A temporary arena is constructed, with bleachers and a sand-covered playing field. A series of matches are held between four teams representing each quartiere (quarter) of Florence during late June and early July.[100] There are four teams: Azzurri (light blue), Bianchi (white), Rossi (red) and Verdi (green). The Azzurri are from the quarter of Santa Croce, Bianchi from the quarter of Santo Spirito, Verdi are from San Giovanni and Rossi from Santa Maria Novella.

Main sights

 
Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore
 
Palazzo Vecchio
 
1835 City Map of Florence, still largely in the confines of its medieval city centre
 
Ponte Vecchio, which spans the Arno river

Florence is known as the "cradle of the Renaissance" (la culla del Rinascimento) for its monuments, churches, and buildings. The best-known site of Florence is the domed cathedral of the city, Santa Maria del Fiore, known as The Duomo, whose dome was built by Filippo Brunelleschi. The nearby Campanile (partly designed by Giotto) and the Baptistery buildings are also highlights. The dome, 600 years after its completion, is still the largest dome built in brick and mortar in the world.[101] In 1982, the historic centre of Florence (Italian: centro storico di Firenze) was declared a World Heritage Site by the UNESCO.[102] The centre of the city is contained in medieval walls that were built in the 14th century to defend the city. At the heart of the city, in Piazza della Signoria, is Bartolomeo Ammannati's Fountain of Neptune (1563–1565), which is a masterpiece of marble sculpture at the terminus of a still functioning Roman aqueduct.

The layout and structure of Florence in many ways harkens back to the Roman era, where it was designed as a garrison settlement.[11] Nevertheless, the majority of the city was built during the Renaissance.[11] Despite the strong presence of Renaissance architecture within the city, traces of medieval, Baroque, Neoclassical and modern architecture can be found. The Palazzo Vecchio as well as the Duomo, or the city's Cathedral, are the two buildings which dominate Florence's skyline.[11]

The river Arno, which cuts through the old part of the city, is as much a character in Florentine history as many of the people who lived there. Historically, the locals have had a love-hate relationship with the Arno – which alternated between nourishing the city with commerce, and destroying it by flood.

 
Florence at night from Piazzale Michelangelo

One of the bridges in particular stands out – the Ponte Vecchio (Old Bridge), whose most striking feature is the multitude of shops built upon its edges, held up by stilts. The bridge also carries Vasari's elevated corridor linking the Uffizi to the Medici residence (Palazzo Pitti). Although the original bridge was constructed by the Etruscans, the current bridge was rebuilt in the 14th century. It is the only bridge in the city to have survived World War II intact. It is the first example in the western world of a bridge built using segmental arches, that is, arches less than a semicircle, to reduce both span-to-rise ratio and the numbers of pillars to allow lesser encumbrance in the riverbed (being in this much more successful than the Roman Alconétar Bridge).

 
Ponte Santa Trinita with the Oltrarno district
 
The city of Florence as seen from the hill of Fiesole

The church of San Lorenzo contains the Medici Chapel, the mausoleum of the Medici family—the most powerful family in Florence from the 15th to the 18th century. Nearby is the Uffizi Gallery, one of the finest art museums in the world – founded on a large bequest from the last member of the Medici family.

 
Florence Duomo as seen from Michelangelo hill

The Uffizi is located at the corner of Piazza della Signoria, a site important for being the centre of Florence's civil life and government for centuries. The Palazzo della Signoria facing it is still home of the municipal government. Many significant episodes in the history of art and political changes were staged here, such as:

  • In 1301, Dante Alighieri was sent into exile from here (commemorated by a plaque on one of the walls of the Uffizi).
  • On 26 April 1478, Jacopo de' Pazzi and his retainers tried to raise the city against the Medici after the plot known as La congiura dei Pazzi (The Pazzi conspiracy), murdering Giuliano di Piero de' Medici and wounding his brother Lorenzo. All the members of the plot who could be apprehended were seized by the Florentines and hanged from the windows of the palace.
  • In 1497, it was the location of the Bonfire of the Vanities instigated by the Dominican friar and preacher Girolamo Savonarola
  • On 23 May 1498, the same Savonarola and two followers were hanged and burnt at the stake. (A round plate in the ground marks the spot where he was hanged)
  • In 1504, Michelangelo's David (now replaced by a replica, since the original was moved in 1873 to the Galleria dell'Accademia) was installed in front of the Palazzo della Signoria (also known as Palazzo Vecchio).

The Loggia dei Lanzi in Piazza della Signoria is the location of a number of statues by other sculptors such as Donatello, Giambologna, Ammannati and Cellini, although some have been replaced with copies to preserve the originals.

Monuments, museums and religious buildings

 
Baptistry, cathedral and campanile
 
Piazzale degli Uffizi

Florence contains several palaces and buildings from various eras. The Palazzo Vecchio is the town hall of Florence and also an art museum. This large Romanesque crenellated fortress-palace overlooks the Piazza della Signoria with its copy of Michelangelo's David statue as well as the gallery of statues in the adjacent Loggia dei Lanzi. Originally called the Palazzo della Signoria, after the Signoria of Florence, the ruling body of the Republic of Florence, it was also given several other names: Palazzo del Popolo, Palazzo dei Priori, and Palazzo Ducale, in accordance with the varying use of the palace during its long history. The building acquired its current name when the Medici duke's residence was moved across the Arno to the Palazzo Pitti. It is linked to the Uffizi and the Palazzo Pitti through the Corridoio Vasariano.

Palazzo Medici Riccardi, designed by Michelozzo di Bartolomeo for Cosimo il Vecchio, of the Medici family, is another major edifice, and was built between 1445 and 1460. It was well known for its stone masonry that includes rustication and ashlar. Today it is the head office of the Metropolitan City of Florence and hosts museums and the Riccardiana Library. The Palazzo Strozzi, an example of civil architecture with its rusticated stone, was inspired by the Palazzo Medici, but with more harmonious proportions. Today the palace is used for international expositions like the annual antique show (founded as the Biennale dell'Antiquariato in 1959), fashion shows and other cultural and artistic events. Here also is the seat of the Istituto Nazionale del Rinascimento and the noted Gabinetto Vieusseux, with the library and reading room.
There are several other notable places, including the Palazzo Rucellai, designed by Leon Battista Alberti between 1446 and 1451 and executed, at least in part, by Bernardo Rossellino; the Palazzo Davanzati, which houses the museum of the Old Florentine House; the Palazzo delle Assicurazioni Generali, designed in the Neo-Renaissance style in 1871; the Palazzo Spini Feroni, in Piazza Santa Trinita, a historic 13th-century private palace, owned since the 1920s by shoe-designer Salvatore Ferragamo; as well as various others, including the Palazzo Borghese, the Palazzo di Bianca Cappello, the Palazzo Antinori, and the Royal building of Santa Maria Novella.[103]

Florence contains numerous museums and art galleries where some of the world's most important works of art are held. The city is one of the best preserved Renaissance centres of art and architecture in the world and has a high concentration of art, architecture and culture.[104] In the ranking list of the 15 most visited Italian art museums, ⅔ are represented by Florentine museums.[105] The Uffizi is one of these, having a very large collection of international and Florentine art. The gallery is articulated in many halls, catalogued by schools and chronological order. Engendered by the Medici family's artistic collections through the centuries, it houses works of art by various painters and artists. The Vasari Corridor is another gallery, built connecting the Palazzo Vecchio with the Pitti Palace passing by the Uffizi and over the Ponte Vecchio. The Galleria dell'Accademia houses a Michelangelo collection, including the David. It has a collection of Russian icons and works by various artists and painters. Other museums and galleries include the Bargello, which concentrates on sculpture works by artists including Donatello, Giambologna and Michelangelo; the Palazzo Pitti, containing part of the Medici family's former private collection. In addition to the Medici collection, the palace's galleries contain many Renaissance works, including several by Raphael and Titian, large collections of costumes, ceremonial carriages, silver, porcelain and a gallery of modern art dating from the 18th century. Adjoining the palace are the Boboli Gardens, elaborately landscaped and with numerous sculptures.

 
The façade of the Cathedral

There are several different churches and religious buildings in Florence. The cathedral is Santa Maria del Fiore. The San Giovanni Baptistery located in front of the cathedral, is decorated by numerous artists, notably by Lorenzo Ghiberti with the Gates of Paradise. Other churches in Florence include the Basilica of Santa Maria Novella, located in Santa Maria Novella square (near the Firenze Santa Maria Novella railway station) which contains works by Masaccio, Paolo Uccello, Filippino Lippi and Domenico Ghirlandaio; the Basilica of Santa Croce, the principal Franciscan church in the city, which is situated on the Piazza di Santa Croce, about 800 metres (2,600 feet) southeast of the Duomo, and is the burial place of some of the most illustrious Italians, such as Michelangelo, Galileo, Machiavelli, Foscolo, Rossini, thus it is known also as the Temple of the Italian Glories (Tempio dell'Itale Glorie); the Basilica of San Lorenzo, which is one of the largest churches in the city, situated at the centre of Florence's main market district, and the burial place of all the principal members of the Medici family from Cosimo il Vecchio to Cosimo III; Santo Spirito, in the Oltrarno quarter, facing the square with the same name; Orsanmichele, whose building was constructed on the site of the kitchen garden of the monastery of San Michele, now demolished; Santissima Annunziata, a Roman Catholic basilica and the mother church of the Servite order; Ognissanti, which was founded by the lay order of the Umiliati, and is among the first examples of Baroque architecture built in the city; the Santa Maria del Carmine, in the Oltrarno district of Florence, which is the location of the Brancacci Chapel, housing outstanding Renaissance frescoes by Masaccio and Masolino da Panicale, later finished by Filippino Lippi; the Medici Chapel with statues by Michelangelo, in the San Lorenzo; as well as several others, including Santa Trinita, San Marco, Santa Felicita, Badia Fiorentina, San Gaetano, San Miniato al Monte, Florence Charterhouse, and Santa Maria del Carmine. The city additionally contains the Orthodox Russian church of Nativity, and the Great Synagogue of Florence, built in the 19th century.

Florence contains various theatres and cinemas. The Odeon Cinema of the Palazzo dello Strozzino is one of the oldest cinemas in the city. Established from 1920 to 1922[106] in a wing of the Palazzo dello Strozzino, it used to be called the Cinema Teatro Savoia (Savoy Cinema-Theatre), yet was later called Odeon. The Teatro della Pergola, located in the centre of the city on the eponymous street, is an opera house built in the 17th century. Another theatre is the Teatro Comunale (or Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino), originally built as the open-air amphitheatre, the Politeama Fiorentino Vittorio Emanuele, which was inaugurated on 17 May 1862 with a production of Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor and which seated 6,000 people. There are several other theatres, such as the Saloncino Castinelli, the Teatro Puccini, the Teatro Verdi, the Teatro Goldoni and the Teatro Niccolini.

Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore

Florence Cathedral, formally the Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore, is the cathedral of Florence, Italy. It was begun in 1296 in the Gothic style to a design of Arnolfo di Cambio and was structurally completed by 1436, with the dome designed by Filippo Brunelleschi.

Squares, streets and parks

 
Panorama composite, overview of Firenze, taken from the Giardino Bardini viewpoint

Aside from such monuments, Florence contains numerous major squares (piazze) and streets. The Piazza della Repubblica is a square in the city centre, location of the cultural cafés and bourgeois palaces. Among the square's cafés (like Caffè Gilli, Paszkowski or the Hard Rock Cafè), the Giubbe Rosse café has long been a meeting place for artists and writers, notably those of Futurism. The Piazza Santa Croce is another; dominated by the Basilica of Santa Croce, it is a rectangular square in the centre of the city where the Calcio Fiorentino is played every year. Furthermore, there is the Piazza Santa Trinita, a square near the Arno that mark the end of the Via de' Tornabuoni street.

 
Replica of David and other statues, Piazza della Signoria

Other squares include the Piazza San Marco, the Piazza Santa Maria Novella, the Piazza Beccaria and the Piazza della Libertà. The centre additionally contains several streets. Such include the Via Camillo Cavour, one of the main roads of the northern area of the historic centre; the Via Ghibellina, one of central Florence's longest streets; the Via dei Calzaiuoli, one of the most central streets of the historic centre which links Piazza del Duomo to Piazza della Signoria, winding parallel to via Roma and Piazza della Repubblica; the Via de' Tornabuoni, a luxurious street in the city centre that goes from Antinori square to ponte Santa Trinita, across Piazza Santa Trinita, characterised by the presence of fashion boutiques; the Viali di Circonvallazione, 6-lane boulevards surrounding the northern part of the historic centre; as well as others, such as Via Roma, Via degli Speziali, Via de' Cerretani, and the Viale dei Colli.

Florence also contains various parks and gardens. Such include the Boboli Gardens, the Parco delle Cascine, the Giardino Bardini and the Giardino dei Semplici, amongst others.

Sport

In association football Florence is represented by ACF Fiorentina, which plays in Serie A, the top league of Italian league system. ACF Fiorentina has won two Italian Championships, in 1956 and 1969, and 6 Italian cups,[107] since their formation in 1926. They play their games at the Stadio Artemio Franchi, which holds 47,282. The female squad of ACF Fiorentina have won the women's association football Italian Championship of the 2016–17 season.

The city is home of the Centro Tecnico Federale di Coverciano, in Coverciano, Florence, the main training ground of the Italian national team, and the technical department of the Italian Football Federation.

Florence was one of the host cities for cycling's 2013 UCI Road World Championships.[108][109] The city has also hosted stages of the Giro d'Italia, most recently in 2017.

Since 2017 Florence is also represented in Eccellenza, the top tier of rugby union league system in Italy, by I Medicei, which is a club established in 2015 by the merging of the senior squads of I Cavalieri (of Prato) and Firenze Rugby 1931. I Medicei won the Serie A Championship in 2016–17 and were promoted to Eccellenza for the 2017–18 season.

Rari Nantes Florentia is a successful water polo club based in Florence; both its male and female squads have won several Italian championships and the female squad has also European titles in their palmarès.

Transportation

Cars

The centre of Florence is closed to through-traffic, although buses, taxis and residents with appropriate permits are allowed in. This area is commonly referred to as the ZTL (Zona Traffico Limitato), which is divided into several subsections.[110] Residents of one section, therefore, will only be able to drive in their district and perhaps some surrounding ones. Cars without permits are allowed to enter after 7.30 pm, or before 7.30 am. The rules shift during the tourist-filled summers, putting more restrictions on where one can get in and out.[111]

Buses

ATAF&Li-nea was the bus company who run the principal public transit network in the city; it was one the companies of the consortium ONE Scarl[112] to accomplish the contract stipulated with the Regione Toscana for the public transport in the 2018-2019 period. Individual tickets, or a pass called Carta Agile with multiple rides, are purchased in advance and must be validated once on board. These tickets may be used on ATAF&Li-nea buses, Tramvia and second-class local trains only within city railway stations. The bus fleet consisted of 446 urban, 5 suburban, 20 intercity and 15 tourism buses.

Intercity bus transit is run by the SITA, COPIT, and CAP Autolinee companies. The transit companies also accommodate travellers from the Amerigo Vespucci Airport, which is 5 km (3 mi) west of the city centre, and which has scheduled services run by major European carriers.

Since 1 November 2021 the public local transport is operated by Autolinee Toscane.[113]

Trams

 
Tramway Sirio in Florence
 
Route map of the tramway

In an effort to reduce air pollution and car traffic in the city, a multi-line tram network called Tramvia is under construction. The first line began operation on 14 February 2010 and connects Florence's primary intercity railway station (Santa Maria Novella) with the southwestern suburb of Scandicci. This line is 7.4 km (4+58 mi) long and has 14 stops. The construction of a second line began on 5 November 2011, construction was stopped due to contractors' difficulties and restarted in 2014 with the new line opening on 11 February 2019. This second line connects Florence's airport with the city centre. A third line (from Santa Maria Novella to the Careggi area, where the most important hospitals of Florence are located) is also under construction.[114][115][116][circular reference]

Florence public transport statistics

The average amount of time people spend commuting with public transit in Firenze, for example to and from work, on a weekday is 59 min. 13% of public transit riders ride for more than 2 hours every day. The average amount of time people wait at a stop or station for public transit is 14 min, while 22% of riders wait for over 20 minutes on average every day. The average distance people usually ride in a single trip with public transit is 4.1 km, while 3% travel for over 12 km in a single direction.[117]

Airport

The Florence Airport, Peretola, is one of two main airports in the Tuscany region though it is not widely used by popular airlines. The other airport in the Tuscany region is the Galileo Galilei International Airport in Pisa.

Mobike (bike-sharing)

 
Mobikes at Parco delle Cascine, Florence

Mobike, a Chinese dockless bike sharing company, has been operating in Florence since July 2017. As of 2019, the company operates 4,000 bikes in Florence. The users scan the QR code on the bike using the Mobike app, and end the ride by parking curbside. The bikes have a fixed rate of €1 every 20 minutes. Since Mobike is a dock-less bike-sharing system, it does not provide stations, therefore the bikes can be left almost anywhere.

Railway station

Firenze Santa Maria Novella railway station is the main national and international railway station in Florence and is used by 59 million people every year.[118] The building, designed by Giovanni Michelucci, was built in the Italian Rationalism style and it is one of the major rationalist buildings in Italy. It is located in Piazza della Stazione, near the Fortezza da Basso, a masterpiece of the military Renaissance architecture, and the Viali di Circonvallazione, and in front of the Basilica of Santa Maria Novella's apse from which it takes its name. As well as numerous high speed trains to major Italian cities Florence is served by international overnight sleeper services to Munich and Vienna operated by Austrian railways ÖBB.

Train tickets must be validated before boarding. The main bus station is next to Santa Maria Novella railway station. Trenitalia runs trains between the railway stations within the city, and to other destinations around Italy and Europe. The central railway station, Santa Maria Novella, is about 500 m (1,600 ft) northwest of the Piazza del Duomo. There are two other important stations: Campo di Marte and Rifredi. Most bundled routes are Firenze–Pisa, Firenze–Viareggio and Firenze–Arezzo (along the main line to Rome). Other local railways connect Florence with Borgo San Lorenzo in the Mugello area (Faentina railway) and Siena.

A new high-speed rail station is under construction and is contracted to be operational by 2015.[119] It is planned to be connected to Vespucci airport, Santa Maria Novella railway station, and to the city centre by the second line of Tramvia.[120] The architectural firms Foster + Partners and Lancietti Passaleva Giordo and Associates designed this new rail station.[121]

Education

 
Rectorate's auditorium of University of Florence

The University of Florence was first founded in 1321, and was recognized by Pope Clement VI in 1349. In 2019, over 50,000 students were enrolled at the university. The European University Institute has been based in the suburb of Fiesole since 1976. Several American universities host a campus in Florence. Including New York University, Marist College, Pepperdine, Stanford, Florida State and James Madison.The Harvard University Center for Italian Renaissance Studies is based in Villa I Tatti. The center for arts and humanities advanced research has been located on the border of Florence, Fiesole and Settignano since 1961. Over 8,000 American students are enrolled for study in Florence, although mostly while studying in US based degree programmes.[122]

The private school, Centro Machiavelli which teaches Italian language and culture to foreigners, is located in Piazza Santo Spirito in Florence.

Notable residents

International relations

Twin towns – sister cities

Florence is twinned with:[125]

Other partnerships

Florence has friendly relations with:[125]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Obsolete Tuscan form: Fiorenza [fjoˈrɛntsa], from Latin: Florentia.

References

  1. ^ "Superficie di Comuni Province e Regioni italiane al 9 ottobre 2011". Italian National Institute of Statistics. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
  2. ^ "Bilancio demografico anno 2015 e popolazione residente al 31 dicembre; Comune: Firenze". ISTAT. Select: Italia Centrale/Toscana/Firenze/Firenze.
  3. ^ Paoletti, John T. and Radke, Gary M., Art in Renaissance Italy, Laurence King Publishing, 2005, p.79ISBN 9781856694391
  4. ^ a b Bilancio demografico anno 2013, dati ISTAT
  5. ^ . Search.barnesandnoble.com. 23 April 2009. Archived from the original on 4 April 2010. Retrieved 22 January 2010.
  6. ^ "Firenze-del-rinascimento: Documenti, foto e citazioni nell'Enciclopedia Treccani".
  7. ^ Spencer Baynes, L.L.D., and W. Robertson Smith, L.L.D., Encyclopædia Britannica. Akron, Ohio: The Werner Company, 1907: p. 675
  8. ^ "Florence | History, Geography, & Culture". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  9. ^ Brucker, Gene A. (1969). Renaissance Florence. New York: Wiley. p. 23. ISBN 978-0520046955.
  10. ^ "storia della lingua in 'Enciclopedia dell'Italiano'". Treccani.it. Retrieved 28 October 2017.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Florence (Italy)". Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica.com. Retrieved 22 January 2010.
  12. ^ a b c . Time. 4 February 1952. Archived from the original on 25 November 2010. Retrieved 9 October 2013.
  13. ^ Tim Kiladze (22 January 2010). "World's Most Beautiful Cities". Forbes. Retrieved 12 April 2011.
  14. ^ "Paris Towers Over World of Fashion as Top Global Fashion Capital for 2015". Languagemonitor.com. 6 July 2017. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
  15. ^ This explanation is favoured by the Accademia della Crusca
  16. ^ "History of Florence". Encyclopædia Britannica (Online ed.). Retrieved 9 February 2023.
  17. ^ Hibbert, Christopher (1994). Florence: The Biography of a City. Penguin Books. p. 4. ISBN 0-14-016644-0.
  18. ^ "Cradle of capitalism". The Economist. 16 April 2009. ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
  19. ^ defeated by Genoa in 1284 and subjugated by Florence in 1406
  20. ^ Peters, Edward (1995). "The Shadowy, Violent Perimeter: Dante Enters Florentine Political Life". Dante Studies, with the Annual Report of the Dante Society (113): 69–87. JSTOR 40166507.
  21. ^ Day, W.R. (3 January 2012). "The population of Florence before the Black Death: survey and synthesis". Journal of Medieval History. 28 (2): 93–129. doi:10.1016/S0304-4181(02)00002-7. S2CID 161168875.
  22. ^ "Decameron Web, Boccaccio, Plague". Brown University.
  23. ^ Eimerl, Sarel (1967). The World of Giotto: c. 1267–1337. et al. Time-Life Books. p. 184. ISBN 0-900658-15-0.
  24. ^ Pallanti, Giuseppe (2006). Mona Lisa Revealed: The True Identity of Leonardo's Model. Florence, Italy: Skira. pp. 17, 23, 24. ISBN 978-88-7624-659-3.
  25. ^ "Treccani - la cultura italiana | Treccani, il portale del sapere".
  26. ^ "History of Florence". Britannica.com. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
  27. ^ "Laurentian Library". michelangelo.net. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
  28. ^ Davis-Marks, Isis (2 June 2021). "Italian Art Restorers Used Bacteria to Clean Michelangelo Masterpieces". Smithsonian. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
  29. ^ Ryan, Billy (19 August 2020). "The Time When Jesus Was The King Of Florence". ucatholic.com. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
  30. ^ "July 3, 1944 newspaper archive".
  31. ^ "University Study Center, Florence « The GI University Project". Giuniversity.wordpress.com. 4 July 2010. Retrieved 16 November 2012.
  32. ^ Turner, Joseph Mallord William (1819). "Fiesole from the River Mugnone outside of Florence". Tate. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
  33. ^ Dinelli, Enrico (January 2005). "Sources of major and trace elements in the stream sediments of the Arno river catchment (northern Tuscany, Italy)". Geochemical Journal. 39 (6): 531–545. Bibcode:2005GeocJ..39..531D. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.605.4368. doi:10.2343/geochemj.39.531. S2CID 129636310. Retrieved 15 February 2020 – via ResearchGate. Map showing the Arno river catchment and its major tributaries, the largest towns, and the sampling stations subdivided according to the sampling year. Coordinates refer to UTM32T (ED50) system.
  34. ^ "World map of Köppen – Geiger Climate Classification". koeppen-geiger.vu-wien.ac.at. April 2006. Retrieved 28 September 2010.
  35. ^ "Clima en Firenze / Peretola Históricos desde 1964 hasta 2016 (METAR)". tutiempo.net (in Spanish). Retrieved 29 May 2016.
  36. ^ Borchi, Emilio; Macii, Renzo (2011). La neve a Firenze (1874–2010) [Snow in Florence (1874–2010)] (in Italian). Florence: Pagnini Editore. ISBN 978-88-8251-382-5.
  37. ^ MeteoAM.it! Il portale Italiano della Meteorologia (20 May 2005). . Meteoam.it. Archived from the original on 8 October 2006. Retrieved 22 January 2010.
  38. ^ "FIRENZE/PERETOLA" (PDF). Servizio Meteorologico. Retrieved 13 October 2012.
  39. ^ "World Weather Information Service - Florence". Retrieved 14 April 2010.
  40. ^ "Florence, Italy - Monthly weather forecast and Climate data". Weather Atlas. Retrieved 26 January 2019.
  41. ^ "Florence, Italy – Monthly weather forecast and Climate data". Weather Atlas. Retrieved 26 January 2019.
  42. ^ Spruyt, H. (1996). The Sovereign State and Its Competitors: An Analysis of Systems Change. Princeton University Press. p. 132. ISBN 9780691029108. Retrieved 27 October 2014.
  43. ^ Bruce, S.G. (2010). Ecologies and Economies in Medieval and Early Modern Europe: Studies in Environmental History for Richard C. Hoffmann. Brill. p. 48. ISBN 9789004180079. Retrieved 27 October 2014.
  44. ^ Chant, C.; Goodman, D. (2005). Pre-Industrial Cities and Technology. Taylor & Francis. p. 141. ISBN 9781134636204. Retrieved 27 October 2014.
  45. ^ Tellier, L.N. (2009). Urban World History: An Economic and Geographical Perspective. Presses de l'Universite du Quebec. p. 311. ISBN 9782760522091. Retrieved 27 October 2014.
  46. ^ . Demo.istat.it. Archived from the original on 26 April 2009. Retrieved 5 May 2009.
  47. ^ , Chicago Tribune, 1 January 2009
  48. ^ . Demo.istat.it. Archived from the original on 14 August 2013. Retrieved 5 May 2009.
  49. ^ "Archdiocese of Firenze {Florence}" Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David M. Cheney. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
  50. ^ "Metropolitan Archdiocese of Firenze" GCatholic.org. Gabriel Chow. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
  51. ^ a b "Economy of Florence twice the national average – The Florentine". Theflorentine.net. 27 May 2016. Retrieved 28 October 2017.
  52. ^ "The world best cities are..." CNN. 16 October 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2013.
  53. ^ . Il Sole 24 ORE. Archived from the original on 12 May 2011. Retrieved 19 May 2010.
  54. ^ "Florence, Italy: Tourist Travel Guide for Holidays in Florence, Firenze, Italy". www.visitflorence.com. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
  55. ^ "Travel + Leisure". Travelandleisure.com. Retrieved 11 June 2011.
  56. ^ "15 Best Things to Do in Florence, Italy". Cntraveler.com. July 2016. Retrieved 28 October 2017.
  57. ^ Tourists spend more than ever before on cultural destinations 9 February 2010 at the Wayback Machine (for 2004–2005) at Euromonitor International
  58. ^ "Study Abroad in Florence Italy – Florentine artisan courses for school groups". Florenceart.net. Retrieved 22 January 2010.
  59. ^ "Florence's Uffizi leading the pack in terms of visitors' numbers, after the Colosseum and Pompeii". Florence’s Uffizi leading the pack in terms of visitors' numbers, after the Colosseum and Pompeii. Retrieved 28 October 2017.
  60. ^ Poinelli, Ezio; Trakas, Themis; Brivio, Filippo (27 February 2017). "In Focus: Florence, Italy". HVS. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
  61. ^ Bill.Alen@tourism-review.com, Bill Alen. "Florence: A Record Year for the Tourism Industry – .TR". Tourism-review.com. Retrieved 28 October 2017.
  62. ^ "Euromonitor International's Top City Destinations Ranking". Euromonitor.com. 2016. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
  63. ^ "Where in Europe are you Most Likely to be a Victim of Pickpocketing?". Yourcoffeebreak.co.uk. Retrieved 28 October 2017.
  64. ^ Bill.Alen@tourism-review.com, Bill Alen. "Florence: A Record Year for the Tourism Industry – .TR". Tourism-review.com. Retrieved 28 October 2017.
  65. ^ "Italian hotspots struggling with 'too many tourists'". Thelocal.it. 18 July 2016. Retrieved 28 October 2017.
  66. ^ Kirchgaessner, Stephanie (6 December 2015). "Florence seeks a better class of tourist to share its besieged medieval treasures". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 October 2017.
  67. ^ Giuffrida, Angela (31 May 2017). "Florence mayor aims to keep picnicking tourists at bay with hosepipes". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 October 2017.
  68. ^ "Florence is hosing down monuments to deter tourists". Independent.co.uk. 1 June 2017. Retrieved 28 October 2017.
  69. ^ "Winners of the European Capitals of Smart Tourism 2022 competition". European Commission. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
  70. ^ Oxford Companion to Wine. . Archived from the original on 8 August 2008.
  71. ^ a b Kagan, Donald (2013). The Western Heritage. Pearson. p. 296. ISBN 9780205393923.
  72. ^ a b Kleiner, Fred (2013). Art Through the Ages. Boston: Clark Baxtor. pp. 417, 421. ISBN 978-0-495-91542-3.
  73. ^ a b c "The Power of the Past with Bill Moyers: Florence". 1990.
  74. ^ . learner.org. Archived from the original on 25 October 2019. Retrieved 27 September 2010.
  75. ^ . library.thinkquest.org. Archived from the original on 24 November 2010. Retrieved 28 September 2010.
  76. ^ . Virtualuffizi.com. Archived from the original on 18 February 2009. Retrieved 5 May 2009.
  77. ^ Peter Barenboim, Sergey Shiyan, Michelangelo: Mysteries of Medici Chapel, SLOVO, Moscow, 2006. ISBN 5-85050-825-2
  78. ^ "Palace of Bargello (Bargello's Palace), Florence Italy". ItalyGuides.it. 28 October 2006. Retrieved 5 May 2009.
  79. ^ "Inner court of Pitti Palace (Palazzo Pitti), Florence Italy". ItalyGuides.it. 28 October 2006. Retrieved 5 May 2009.
  80. ^ . Archived from the original on 12 October 2006. Retrieved 12 October 2006. (excerpts in Italian)
  81. ^ "Why Was Florence Considered Important For Culture And Arts? – Essay – Michellekim". StudyMode.com. Retrieved 14 March 2010.
  82. ^ . tripleman.com. Archived from the original on 6 December 2009. Retrieved 25 March 2010.
  83. ^ "brunelleschi's dome – Brunelleschi's Dome". Brunelleschisdome.com. Retrieved 25 March 2010.
  84. ^ "Florence, Tuscany Region, Italy – The Duomo, Statue of David, Piazza Dell Signoria". Europe.travelonline.com. Retrieved 25 March 2010.
  85. ^ "Florence Art Gallery: Art Galleries and Museums in Florence Area, Italy". Florence.world-guides.com. Retrieved 25 March 2010.
  86. ^ . Palazzostrozzi.org. Archived from the original on 27 July 2011. Retrieved 25 March 2010.
  87. ^ "Vocabolario del fiorentino contemporaneo" [Dictionary of Contemporary Florentine] (in Italian). Accademia della Crusca. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
  88. ^ a b c d "Literature in Florence, Florentine Writers and Poets". Florenceholidays.com. Retrieved 25 March 2010.
  89. ^ a b c d e "Literature in Florence – Petrarch and Boccaccio, Florentine Writers and Poet: Petrarch and Boccaccio". Florenceholidays.com. Retrieved 25 March 2010.
  90. ^ a b .Hanning, Barbara Russano, J. Peter Burkholder, Donald Jay Grout, and Claude V. Palisca. Concise History of Western Music. New York: W.W. Norton, 2010.pg. 182.
  91. ^ Grout, Donald Jay, Donald Jay Grout, and Claude V. Palisca. A History of Western Music. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1973.
  92. ^ Bonds, Mark E., Etd. Kassell, Richard. A History of Music in Western Culture. Combined Volume.3rd edition. Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ. ISBN 0-205-64531-3.
  93. ^ Ponce, Javier (1 May 2017). "Assassin's Creed II - The magic of the Renaissance in a video game". Bachtrack. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
  94. ^ welcometuscany.it. "Tuscany italy tuscany tourists guide, travel tips extra virgin olive oil wines and foods of the most beautiful land in the world". welcometuscany.it. Retrieved 5 May 2009.
  95. ^ . Polosci.unifi.it. Archived from the original on 18 March 2014. Retrieved 18 March 2014.
  96. ^ . Area.fi.cnr.it. Archived from the original on 7 August 2014. Retrieved 18 March 2014.
  97. ^ Frick, Carole Collier. Dressing Renaissance Florence: Families, Fortunes, and Fine Clothing. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2002.
  98. ^ . Gbgiorgini.it. Archived from the original on 11 July 2018. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  99. ^ "Conde Nast Traveller's guide to shopping in Florence". Cntraveller.com. 11 November 2009. Retrieved 9 October 2013.
  100. ^ Calcio Storico Fiorentino (Official site) (in Italian)
  101. ^ Ross King, Brunelleschi's Dome, The Story of the great Cathedral of Florence, Penguin, 2001
  102. ^ Centre, UNESCO. "Historic Centre of Florence – UNESCO World Heritage Centre". whc.unesco.org. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
  103. ^ Travel in Tuscany. Gardens in Tuscany. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
  104. ^ Miner, Jennifer (2 September 2008). . Travelguide.affordabletours.com. Archived from the original on 29 January 2010. Retrieved 22 January 2010.
  105. ^ (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 April 2012. Retrieved 12 April 2011.
  106. ^ "Gruppo Cine Hall". Cinehall.it. Retrieved 19 May 2010.
  107. ^ "FootballHistory.org". ACF Fiorentina. Martin Wahl. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
  108. ^ "UCI confirms 2013 WorldTour calendar". UCI. 20 September 2012. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  109. ^ "General Information Bulletin" (PDF). UCI. (PDF) from the original on 28 September 2013. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  110. ^ "The ZTL – Avoid Restricted Traffic Zones & Fines in Italy – Italy Perfect Travel Blog". Italy Perfect Travel Blog. 16 June 2015. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
  111. ^ "Florence Driving Map, the ZTL explained : Florence on Line". www.florence-on-line.com. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
  112. ^ "Muoversi in Toscana". ONE Scarl. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  113. ^ "Guida al primo giorno di servizio". Autolinee Toscane. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  114. ^ . GEST. Archived from the original on 8 October 2013. Retrieved 11 December 2011.
  115. ^ . Archived from the original on 2 February 2012. Retrieved 11 December 2011., Tramvia page of Florence's city government web site (in Italian).
  116. ^ Trams in Florence, Wikipedia article "Florence tramway"
  117. ^ "Firenze Public Transportation Statistics". Global Public Transit Index by Moovit. Retrieved 19 June 2017.   Material was copied from this source, which is available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
  118. ^ . Grandistazioni.it. Archived from the original on 9 May 2018. Retrieved 22 June 2009.
  119. ^ (PDF). Rete Ferroviaria Italiana. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 May 2012. Retrieved 11 December 2011.
  120. ^ (PDF). Comune di Firenze. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 May 2012. Retrieved 11 December 2011.
  121. ^ . Foster + Partners. Archived from the original on 27 November 2011. Retrieved 11 December 2011.
  122. ^ "Association of American College and University Programs in Italy". Association of American College and University Programs in Italy. Retrieved 22 September 2019.
  123. ^ . journal.su.ac.th. Archived from the original on 8 October 2011. Retrieved 27 October 2014.
  124. ^ Jeffares, Neil (2019). Dictionary of Pastellists Before 1800 (PDF) (online ed.). (PDF) from the original on 4 March 2016.
  125. ^ a b "Gemellaggi e patti di amicizia" (in Italian). Florence. Retrieved 21 March 2022.

Sources

  • Niccolò Machiavelli. Florentine Histories
  • Brucker, Gene A. (1983). Renaissance Florence.
  • Brucker, Gene A. (1971). The Society of Renaissance Florence: A Documentary Study. New York, Harper & Row. ISBN 9780061316074.
  • Chamberlin, Russell (22 May 2008). Travellers Florence & Tuscany, 3rd: Guides to Destinations Worldwide. Thomas Cook Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84157-844-6. Retrieved 11 March 2010.
  • Chaney, Edward (2003), A Traveller's Companion to Florence.
  • Goldthwaite, Richard A. (1982). The Building of Renaissance Florence: An Economic and Social History.
  • Hibbert, Christopher (1999). The House of Medici: Its Rise and Fall.
  • Lewis, R.W.B. (1996). The City of Florence: Historical Vistas and Personal Sightings. ISBN 9780374124045.
  • Najemy, John (2006). A History of Florence 1200–1575.
  • Schevill, Ferdinand (1936). History of Florence: From the Founding of the City Through the Renaissance. New York, Harcourt, Brace and Co.
  • Trexler, Richard C. (1991). Public Life in Renaissance Florence.
  • Ferdinand Schevill, History of Florence: From the Founding of the City Through the Renaissance (Frederick Ungar, 1936) is the standard overall history of Florence.
  • Sciacca, Christine (2012). . Getty Publications. ISBN 978-1-60606-126-8. Archived from the original on 20 September 2012. Retrieved 12 February 2016.

External links

  • Florence Art Museums
  • UNESCO video

florence, firenze, redirects, here, other, uses, disambiguation, florentin, disambiguation, florentine, disambiguation, firenze, disambiguation, florr, ənss, italian, firenze, fiˈrɛntse, listen, city, central, italy, capital, city, tuscany, region, most, popul. Firenze redirects here For other uses see Florence disambiguation Florentin disambiguation Florentine disambiguation and Firenze disambiguation Florence ˈ f l ɒr en s FLORR enss Italian Firenze fiˈrɛntse listen a is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region It is the most populated city in Tuscany with 383 083 inhabitants in 2016 and over 1 520 000 in its metropolitan area 4 Florence FirenzeComuneComune di FirenzeA collage of Florence showing the Galleria degli Uffizi top left followed by the Palazzo Pitti a sunset view of the city and the Fountain of Neptune in the Piazza della SignoriaFlagCoat of armsLocation of FlorenceFlorenceLocation of Florence in TuscanyShow map of ItalyFlorenceFlorence Tuscany Show map of TuscanyCoordinates 43 46 17 N 11 15 15 E 43 77139 N 11 25417 E 43 77139 11 25417 Coordinates 43 46 17 N 11 15 15 E 43 77139 N 11 25417 E 43 77139 11 25417CountryItalyRegionTuscanyMetropolitan cityFlorence FI FrazioniBaronta Callai Cascine del Riccio Croce di Via Ema I Ema II Montignano Ugnano Parigi Piazza Calda Pontignale San Michele a MonteripaldiGovernment MayorDario Nardella PD Area 1 Total102 32 km2 39 51 sq mi Elevation50 m 160 ft Population 1 January 2022 2 Total367 150 Density3 600 km2 9 300 sq mi DemonymsEnglish Florentine Italian fiorentino m fiorentina f Time zoneUTC 1 CET Summer DST UTC 2 CEST Postal code50121 50145Dialing code055ISTAT code048017Patron saintJohn the Baptist 3 Saint day24 JuneWebsiteOfficial websiteFlorence was a centre of medieval European trade and finance and one of the wealthiest cities of that era 5 It is considered by many academics 6 to have been the birthplace of the Renaissance becoming a major artistic cultural commercial political economic and financial center 7 During this time Florence rose to a position of enormous influence in Italy Europe and beyond 8 Its turbulent political history includes periods of rule by the powerful Medici family and numerous religious and republican revolutions 9 From 1865 to 1871 the city served as the capital of the Kingdom of Italy The Florentine dialect forms the base of Standard Italian and it became the language of culture throughout Italy 10 due to the prestige of the masterpieces by Dante Alighieri Petrarch Giovanni Boccaccio Niccolo Machiavelli and Francesco Guicciardini The city attracts millions of tourists each year and UNESCO declared the Historic Centre of Florence a World Heritage Site in 1982 The city is noted for its culture Renaissance art and architecture and monuments 11 The city also contains numerous museums and art galleries such as the Uffizi Gallery and the Palazzo Pitti and still exerts an influence in the fields of art culture and politics 12 Due to Florence s artistic and architectural heritage Forbes ranked it as the most beautiful city in the world in 2010 13 Florence plays an important role in Italian fashion 12 and is ranked in the top 15 fashion capitals of the world by Global Language Monitor 14 furthermore it is a major national economic centre 12 as well as a tourist and industrial hub Contents 1 Etymology 2 History 2 1 Roman origins 2 2 Early Middle Ages 2 3 Second millennium 2 4 Middle Ages and Renaissance 2 4 1 Rise of the Medici 2 4 2 Savonarola Machiavelli and the Medici popes 2 5 18th and 19th centuries 2 6 20th century 3 Geography 3 1 Climate 4 Demographics 5 Economy 5 1 Industry commerce and services 5 2 Tourism 5 3 Food and wine production 6 Government 7 Culture 7 1 Art 7 2 Language 7 3 Literature 7 4 Music 7 5 Cinema 7 6 Video games 7 7 Other media 7 8 Cuisine 7 9 Research activity 7 10 Science and discovery 7 11 Fashion 7 12 Historical evocations 7 12 1 Scoppio del Carro 7 12 2 Calcio Storico 8 Main sights 8 1 Monuments museums and religious buildings 8 2 Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore 8 3 Squares streets and parks 9 Sport 10 Transportation 10 1 Cars 10 2 Buses 10 3 Trams 10 4 Florence public transport statistics 10 5 Airport 10 6 Mobike bike sharing 10 7 Railway station 11 Education 12 Notable residents 13 International relations 13 1 Twin towns sister cities 13 2 Other partnerships 14 See also 15 Notes 16 References 17 Sources 18 External linksEtymology EditThis section does not cite any sources Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed April 2023 Learn how and when to remove this template message There are a number of theories as to the origin of the Latin name Florentia from which the name of Florence and Firenze derived Legend attributes the origin of the name Florentia to Florio a soldier killed on the spot It may be related to the Latin word for flowers found in the area It may be related to Flora since it was founded during the Floralia festival There is a theory that Florentia is a name to convey good luck may you be florid 15 History EditMain article History of Florence For a chronological guide see Timeline of Florence Timeline of Florence Historical affiliations Roman Republic 59 27 BC Roman Empire 27 BC AD 285 Western Roman Empire 285 476 Kingdom of Odoacer 476 493 Ostrogothic Kingdom 493 553 Eastern Roman Empire 553 568 Lombard Kingdom 570 773 Carolingian Empire 774 797 Regnum Italiae 797 1001 March of Tuscany 1002 1115 Republic of Florence 1115 1532 Duchy of Florence 1532 1569 Grand Duchy of Tuscany 1569 1801 Kingdom of Etruria 1801 1807 First French Empire 1807 1815 Grand Duchy of Tuscany 1815 1859 United Provinces of Central Italy 1859 1860 Kingdom of Italy 1861 1943 Italian Social Republic 1943 1945 Italy 1946 present View of Florence by Hartmann Schedel published in 1493 Florence originated as a Roman city and later after a long period as a flourishing trading and banking medieval commune it was the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance It was politically economically and culturally one of the most important cities in Europe and the world from the 14th to 16th centuries 11 The language spoken in the city during the 14th century came to be accepted as the model for what would become the Italian language Thanks especially to the works of the Tuscans Dante Petrarch and Boccaccio the Florentine dialect above all the local dialects was adopted as the basis for a national literary language citation needed Starting from the late Middle Ages Florentine money in the form of the gold florin financed the development of industry all over Europe from Britain to Bruges to Lyon and Hungary Florentine bankers financed the English kings during the Hundred Years War They similarly financed the papacy including the construction of their provisional capital of Avignon and after their return to Rome the reconstruction and Renaissance embellishment of Rome Florence was home to the Medici one of European history s most important noble families Lorenzo de Medici was considered a political and cultural mastermind of Italy in the late 15th century Two members of the family were popes in the early 16th century Leo X and Clement VII Catherine de Medici married King Henry II of France and after his death in 1559 reigned as regent in France Marie de Medici married Henry IV of France and gave birth to the future King Louis XIII The Medici reigned as Grand Dukes of Tuscany starting with Cosimo I de Medici in 1569 and ending with the death of Gian Gastone de Medici in 1737 The Kingdom of Italy which was established in 1861 moved its capital from Turin to Florence in 1865 although the capital was moved to Rome in 1871 Roman origins Edit Main article Florentia Roman city Florence was established by the Romans in 59 BC as a colony for veteran soldiers and was built in the style of an army camp 16 Situated along the Via Cassia the main route between Rome and the north and within the fertile valley of the Arno the settlement quickly became an important commercial centre and in AD 285 became the capital of the Tuscia region Early Middle Ages Edit The Goth King Totila razes the walls of Florence during the Gothic War illumination from the Chigi manuscript of Villani s Cronica In centuries to come the city experienced turbulent alternate periods of Ostrogoth and Byzantine rule during which the city was fought over helping to cause the population to fall to as low as 1 000 people 17 Peace returned under Lombard rule in the 6th century and Florence was in turn conquered by Charlemagne in 774 becoming part of the March of Tuscany centred on Lucca The population began to grow again and commerce prospered Second millennium Edit The Basilica di San Miniato al Monte Margrave Hugo chose Florence as his residency instead of Lucca around 1000 AD The Golden Age of Florentine art began around this time In 1100 Florence was a commune meaning a city state The city s primary resource was the Arno river providing power and access for the industry mainly textile industry and access to the Mediterranean sea for international trade helping the growth of an industrious merchant community The Florentine merchant banking skills became recognised in Europe after they brought decisive financial innovation e g bills of exchange 18 double entry bookkeeping system to medieval fairs This period also saw the eclipse of Florence s formerly powerful rival Pisa 19 The growing power of the merchant elite culminated in an anti aristocratic uprising led by Giano della Bella resulting in the Ordinances of Justice 20 which entrenched the power of the elite guilds until the end of the Republic Middle Ages and Renaissance Edit Main articles Republic of Florence and Italian Renaissance Rise of the Medici Edit Leonardo da Vinci statue outside the Uffizi Gallery At the height of demographic expansion around 1325 the urban population may have been as great as 120 000 and the rural population around the city was probably close to 300 000 21 The Black Death of 1348 reduced it by over half 22 23 about 25 000 are said to have been supported by the city s wool industry in 1345 Florence was the scene of an attempted strike by wool combers ciompi who in 1378 rose up in a brief revolt against oligarchic rule in the Revolt of the Ciompi After their suppression Florence came under the sway 1382 1434 of the Albizzi family who became bitter rivals of the Medici In the 15th century Florence was among the largest cities in Europe with a population of 60 000 and was considered rich and economically successful 24 Cosimo de Medici was the first Medici family member to essentially control the city from behind the scenes Although the city was technically a democracy of sorts his power came from a vast patronage network along with his alliance to the new immigrants the gente nuova new people The fact that the Medici were bankers to the pope also contributed to their ascendancy Cosimo was succeeded by his son Piero who was soon after succeeded by Cosimo s grandson Lorenzo in 1469 Lorenzo was a great patron of the arts commissioning works by Michelangelo Leonardo da Vinci and Botticelli Lorenzo was an accomplished poet and musician and brought composers and singers to Florence including Alexander Agricola Johannes Ghiselin and Heinrich Isaac By contemporary Florentines and since he was known as Lorenzo the Magnificent Lorenzo il Magnifico Following Lorenzo de Medici s death in 1492 he was succeeded by his son Piero II When the French king Charles VIII invaded northern Italy Piero II chose to resist his army But when he realised the size of the French army at the gates of Pisa he had to accept the humiliating conditions of the French king These made the Florentines rebel and they expelled Piero II With his exile in 1494 the first period of Medici rule ended with the restoration of a republican government Savonarola Machiavelli and the Medici popes Edit Girolamo Savonarola being burnt at the stake in 1498 The brooding Palazzo Vecchio is at centre right During this period the Dominican friar Girolamo Savonarola had become prior of the San Marco monastery in 1490 He was famed for his penitential sermons lambasting what he viewed as widespread immorality and attachment to material riches He praised the exile of the Medici as the work of God punishing them for their decadence He seized the opportunity to carry through political reforms leading to a more democratic rule But when Savonarola publicly accused Pope Alexander VI of corruption he was banned from speaking in public When he broke this ban he was excommunicated The Florentines tired of his teachings turned against him and arrested him He was convicted as a heretic hanged and burned at the stake on the Piazza della Signoria on 23 May 1498 His ashes were dispersed in the Arno river 25 Another Florentine of this period was Niccolo Machiavelli whose prescriptions for Florence s regeneration under strong leadership have often been seen as a legitimization of political expediency and even malpractice Machiavelli was a political thinker renowned for his political handbook The Prince which is about ruling and exercising power Commissioned by the Medici Machiavelli also wrote the Florentine Histories the history of the city In 1512 the Medici retook control of Florence with the help of Spanish and Papal troops 26 They were led by two cousins Giovanni and Giulio de Medici both of whom would later become Popes of the Catholic Church Leo X and Clement VII respectively Both were generous patrons of the arts commissioning works like Michelangelo s Laurentian Library and Medici Chapel in Florence to name just two 27 28 Their reigns coincided with political upheaval in Italy and thus in 1527 Florentines drove out the Medici for a second time and re established a theocratic republic on 16 May 1527 Jesus Christ was named King of Florence 29 The Medici returned to power in Florence in 1530 with the armies of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and the blessings of Pope Clement VII Giulio de Medici Florence officially became a monarchy in 1531 when Emperor Charles and Pope Clement named Alessandro de Medici as Duke of the Florentine Republic The Medici s monarchy would last over two centuries Alessandro s successor Cosimo I de Medici was named Grand Duke of Tuscany in 1569 in all Tuscany only the Republic of Lucca later a Duchy and the Principality of Piombino were independent from Florence 18th and 19th centuries Edit Leopold II Holy Roman Emperor and his family Leopold was from 1765 to 1790 the Grand Duke of Tuscany The extinction of the Medici dynasty and the accession in 1737 of Francis Stephen duke of Lorraine and husband of Maria Theresa of Austria led to Tuscany s temporary inclusion in the territories of the Austrian crown It became a secundogeniture of the Habsburg Lorraine dynasty who were deposed for the House of Bourbon Parma in 1801 From 1801 to 1807 Florence was the capital of the Napoleonic client state Kingdom of Etruria The Bourbon Parma were deposed in December 1807 when Tuscany was annexed by France Florence was the prefecture of the French departement of Arno from 1808 to the fall of Napoleon in 1814 The Habsburg Lorraine dynasty was restored on the throne of Tuscany at the Congress of Vienna but finally deposed in 1859 Tuscany became a region of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861 Florence replaced Turin as Italy s capital in 1865 and in an effort to modernise the city the old market in the Piazza del Mercato Vecchio and many medieval houses were pulled down and replaced by a more formal street plan with newer houses The Piazza first renamed Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II then Piazza della Repubblica the present name was significantly widened and a large triumphal arch was constructed at the west end This development was unpopular and was prevented from continuing by the efforts of several British and American people living in the city citation needed A museum recording the destruction stands nearby today The country s second capital city was superseded by Rome six years later after the withdrawal of the French troops allowed the capture of Rome 20th century Edit Porte Sante cemetery burial place of notable figures of Florentine history During World War II the city experienced a year long German occupation 1943 1944 being part of the Italian Social Republic Hitler declared it an open city on 3 July 1944 as troops of the British 8th Army closed in 30 In early August the retreating Germans decided to demolish all the bridges along the Arno linking the district of Oltrarno to the rest of the city making it difficult for troops of the 8th Army to cross However at the last moment Charles Steinhauslin at the time consul of 26 countries in Florence convinced the German general in Italy that the Ponte Vecchio was not to be destroyed due to its historical value citation needed Instead an equally historic area of streets directly to the south of the bridge including part of the Corridoio Vasariano was destroyed using mines Since then the bridges have been restored to their original forms using as many of the remaining materials as possible but the buildings surrounding the Ponte Vecchio have been rebuilt in a style combining the old with modern design Shortly before leaving Florence as they knew that they would soon have to retreat the Germans executed many freedom fighters and political opponents publicly in streets and squares including the Piazza Santo Spirito citation needed 1 5 Mahratta Light Infantry Florence 28 August 1944 Florence was liberated by New Zealand South African and British troops on 4 August 1944 alongside partisans from the Tuscan Committee of National Liberation CTLN The Allied soldiers who died driving the Germans from Tuscany are buried in cemeteries outside the city Americans about nine kilometres or 5 1 2 miles south of the city British and Commonwealth soldiers a few kilometres east of the centre on the right bank of the Arno At the end of World War II in May 1945 the US Army s Information and Educational Branch was ordered to establish an overseas university campus for demobilised American service men and women in Florence The first American university for service personnel was established in June 1945 at the School of Aeronautics Some 7 500 soldier students were to pass through the university during its four one month sessions see G I American Universities 31 In November 1966 the Arno flooded parts of the centre damaging many art treasures Around the city there are tiny placards on the walls noting where the flood waters reached at their highest point Geography Edit Florence with snow cover in December 2009 Florence lies in a basin formed by the hills of Careggi Fiesole Settignano Arcetri Poggio Imperiale and Bellosguardo Florence The Arno river three other minor rivers Mugnone 32 Ema and Greve and some streams flow through it 33 Climate Edit Florence has a humid subtropical climate Cfa tending to Mediterranean Csa 34 It has hot summers with moderate or light rainfall and cool damp winters As Florence lacks a prevailing wind summer temperatures are higher than along the coast Rainfall in summer is convectional while relief rainfall dominates in the winter Snow flurries occur almost every year 35 but often result in no accumulation 36 The highest officially recorded temperature was 42 6 C 108 7 F on 26 July 1983 and the lowest was 23 2 C 9 8 F on 12 January 1985 37 Climate data for FlorenceMonth Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec YearRecord high C F 21 6 70 9 23 4 74 1 28 5 83 3 28 7 83 7 33 8 92 8 41 8 107 2 42 6 108 7 39 5 103 1 36 4 97 5 30 8 87 4 25 2 77 4 20 4 68 7 42 6 108 7 Average high C F 10 1 50 2 12 5 54 5 15 7 60 3 18 5 65 3 23 7 74 7 27 7 81 9 31 4 88 5 31 5 88 7 26 7 80 1 20 9 69 6 14 7 58 5 11 1 52 0 20 4 68 7 Daily mean C F 5 7 42 3 7 5 45 5 10 3 50 5 13 0 55 4 17 7 63 9 21 4 70 5 24 6 76 3 24 6 76 3 20 5 68 9 15 5 59 9 9 9 49 8 6 8 44 2 14 8 58 6 Average low C F 1 4 34 5 2 5 36 5 4 9 40 8 7 5 45 5 11 6 52 9 15 0 59 0 17 7 63 9 17 7 63 9 14 4 57 9 10 1 50 2 5 1 41 2 2 6 36 7 9 2 48 6 Record low C F 23 2 9 8 9 9 14 2 8 0 17 6 2 2 28 0 3 6 38 5 5 6 42 1 10 2 50 4 9 6 49 3 3 6 38 5 1 4 29 5 6 0 21 2 8 6 16 5 23 2 9 8 Average precipitation mm inches 60 5 2 38 63 7 2 51 63 5 2 50 86 4 3 40 70 0 2 76 57 1 2 25 36 7 1 44 56 0 2 20 79 6 3 13 104 2 4 10 113 6 4 47 81 3 3 20 872 6 34 34 Average precipitation days 1 0 mm 8 3 7 1 7 5 9 7 8 4 6 3 3 5 5 4 6 2 8 5 9 0 8 3 88 2Mean daily sunshine hours 3 0 4 0 5 0 6 0 8 0 9 0 10 0 9 0 7 0 5 0 3 0 3 0 6 0Percent possible sunshine 33 40 42 46 53 60 67 64 58 45 30 33 48Source 1 Servizio Meteorologico 38 Source 2 World Meteorological Organization United Nations 39 Weather Atlas 40 Climate data for FlorenceMonth Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec YearMean daily daylight hours 9 0 10 0 12 0 13 0 15 0 15 0 15 0 14 0 12 0 11 0 10 0 9 0 12 1Average Ultraviolet index 1 2 4 5 7 8 8 7 5 3 2 1 4 4Source Weather Atlas 41 Demographics EditHistorical populationYearPop 120050 000 1300120 000 140 0 150070 000 41 7 165070 000 0 0 1861150 864 115 5 1871201 138 33 3 1881196 072 2 5 1901236 635 20 7 1911258 056 9 1 1921280 133 8 6 1931304 160 8 6 1936321 176 5 6 1951374 625 16 6 1961436 516 16 5 1971457 803 4 9 1981448 331 2 1 1991403 294 10 0 2001356 118 11 7 2011358 079 0 6 Source ISTAT 2011In 1200 the city was home to 50 000 people 42 By 1300 the population of the city proper was 120 000 with an additional 300 000 living in the Contado 43 Between 1500 and 1650 the population was around 70 000 44 45 As of 31 October 2010 update the population of the city proper is 370 702 while Eurostat estimates that 696 767 people live in the urban area of Florence The Metropolitan Area of Florence Prato and Pistoia constituted in 2000 over an area of roughly 4 800 square kilometres 1 850 sq mi is home to 1 5 million people Within Florence proper 46 8 of the population was male in 2007 and 53 2 were female Minors children aged 18 and less totalled 14 10 percent of the population compared to pensioners who numbered 25 95 percent This compares with the Italian average of 18 06 percent minors and 19 94 percent pensioners The average age of Florence resident is 49 compared to the Italian average of 42 In the five years between 2002 and 2007 the population of Florence grew by 3 22 percent while Italy as a whole grew by 3 56 percent 46 The birth rate of Florence is 7 66 births per 1 000 inhabitants compared to the Italian average of 9 45 births As of 2009 update 87 46 of the population was Italian An estimated 6 000 Chinese live in the city 47 The largest immigrant group came from other European countries mostly Romanians and Albanians 3 52 East Asia mostly Chinese and Filipino 2 17 the Americas 1 41 and North Africa mostly Moroccan 0 9 48 Much like the rest of Italy most of the people in Florence are Roman Catholic with more than 90 of the population belonging to the Archdiocese of Florence 49 50 Economy EditTourism is by far the most important of all industries and most of the Florentine economy relies on the money generated by international arrivals and students studying in the city 11 The value tourism to the city totalled some 2 5 billion in 2015 and the number of visitors had increased by 5 5 from the previous year 51 In 2013 Florence was listed as the second best world city by Conde Nast Traveler 52 Manufacturing and commerce however still remain highly important Florence is also Italy s 17th richest city in terms of average workers earnings with the figure being 23 265 the overall city s income is 6 531 204 473 coming after Mantua yet surpassing Bolzano 53 Industry commerce and services Edit Florence is a major production and commercial centre in Italy where the Florentine industrial complexes in the suburbs produce all sorts of goods from furniture rubber goods chemicals and food 11 However traditional and local products such as antiques handicrafts glassware leatherwork art reproductions jewellery souvenirs elaborate metal and iron work shoes accessories and high fashion clothes also dominate a fair sector of Florence s economy 11 The city s income relies partially on services and commercial and cultural interests such as annual fairs theatrical and lyrical productions art exhibitions festivals and fashion shows such as the Calcio Fiorentino Heavy industry and machinery also take their part in providing an income In Nuovo Pignone numerous factories are still present and small to medium industrial businesses are dominant The Florence Prato Pistoia industrial districts and areas were known as the Third Italy in the 1990s due to the exports of high quality goods and automobile especially the Vespa and the prosperity and productivity of the Florentine entrepreneurs Some of these industries even rivalled the traditional industrial districts in Emilia Romagna and Veneto due to high profits and productivity 11 In the fourth quarter of 2015 manufacturing increased by 2 4 and exports increased by 7 2 Leading sectors included mechanical engineering fashion pharmaceutics food and wine During 2015 permanent employment contracts increased by 48 8 percent boosted by nationwide tax break 51 Tourism Edit Tourists flock to the Fontana del Porcellino Tourism is the most significant industry in central Florence From April to October tourists outnumber local population Tickets to the Uffizi and Accademia museums are regularly sold out and large groups regularly fill the basilicas of Santa Croce and Santa Maria Novella both of which charge for entry Tickets for The Uffizi and Accademia can be purchased online prior to visiting 54 In 2010 readers of Travel Leisure magazine ranked the city as their third favourite tourist destination 55 In 2015 Conde Nast Travel readers voted Florence as the best city in Europe 56 Studies by Euromonitor International have concluded that cultural and history oriented tourism is generating significantly increased spending throughout Europe 57 Florence is believed to have the greatest concentration of art in proportion to its size in the world 58 Thus cultural tourism is particularly strong with world renowned museums such as the Uffizi selling over 1 93 million tickets in 2014 59 The city s convention centre facilities were restructured during the 1990s and host exhibitions conferences meetings social forums concerts and other events all year Tourists and restaurant in the Piazza del Duomo In 2016 Florence had 20 588 hotel rooms in 570 facilities International visitors use 75 of the rooms some 18 of those were from the U S 60 In 2014 the city had 8 5 million overnight stays 61 A Euromonitor report indicates that in 2015 the city ranked as the world s 36th most visited in the world with over 4 95 million arrivals for the year 62 Tourism brings revenue to Florence but also creates certain problems The Ponte Vecchio The San Lorenzo Market and Santa Maria Novella are plagued by pickpockets 63 The province of Florence receives roughly 13 million visitors per year 64 and in peak seasons popular locations may become overcrowded as a result 65 In 2015 Mayor Dario Nardella expressed concern over visitors who arrive on buses stay only a few hours spend little money but contribute significantly to overcrowding No museum visit just a photo from the square the bus back and then on to Venice We don t want tourists like that he said 66 Some tourists are less than respectful of the city s cultural heritage according to Nardella In June 2017 he instituted a programme of spraying church steps with water to prevent tourists from using such areas as picnic spots While he values the benefits of tourism he claims that there has been an increase among those who sit down on church steps eat their food and leave rubbish strewn on them he explained 67 To boost the sale of traditional foods the mayor had introduced legislation enacted in 2016 that requires restaurants to use typical Tuscan products and rejected McDonald s application to open a location in the Piazza del Duomo 68 In October 2021 Florence was shortlisted for the European Commission s 2022 European Capital of Smart Tourism award along with Bordeaux Copenhagen Dublin Ljubljana Palma de Mallorca and Valencia 69 Food and wine production Edit Fiaschi of basic Chianti Food and wine have long been an important staple of the economy The Chianti region is just south of the city and its Sangiovese grapes figure prominently not only in its Chianti Classico wines but also in many of the more recently developed Supertuscan blends Within 32 km 20 mi to the west is the Carmignano area also home to flavourful sangiovese based reds The celebrated Chianti Rufina district geographically and historically separated from the main Chianti region is also few kilometres east of Florence More recently the Bolgheri region about 150 km or 93 mi southwest of Florence has become celebrated for its Super Tuscan reds such as Sassicaia and Ornellaia 70 Government EditSee also List of mayors of Florence The traditional boroughs of the whole comune of Florence The 5 administrative boroughs of the whole comune of Florence Seats in the Florence City Council 2019 2024 The legislative body of the municipality is the City Council Consiglio Comunale which is composed of 36 councillors elected every five years with a proportional system at the same time as the mayoral elections The executive body is the City Committee Giunta Comunale composed of 7 assessors nominated and presided over by a directly elected Mayor The current mayor of Florence is Dario Nardella The municipality of Florence is subdivided into five administrative Boroughs Quartieri Each borough is governed by a Council Consiglio and a President elected at the same time as the city mayor The urban organisation is governed by the Italian Constitution art 114 The boroughs have the power to advise the Mayor with nonbinding opinions on a large spectrum of topics environment construction public health local markets and exercise the functions delegated to them by the City Council in addition they are supplied with an autonomous funding in order to finance local activities The boroughs are Q1 Centro storico Historic Centre population 67 170 Q2 Campo di Marte population 88 588 Q3 Gavinana Galluzzo population 40 907 Q4 Isolotto Legnaia population 66 636 Q5 Rifredi population 103 761 All of the five boroughs are governed by the Democratic Party The former Italian Prime Minister 2014 2016 Matteo Renzi served as mayor from 2009 to 2014 Culture EditArt Edit Main articles Florentine painting and Italian Renaissance sculpture See also Guilds of Florence Botticelli s Venus stored in the UffiziFlorence was the birthplace of High Renaissance art which lasted from 1450 to 1527 While Medieval art focused on basic story telling of the Bible Renaissance art focused on naturalism and human emotion 71 Medieval art was abstract formulaic and largely produced by monks whereas Renaissance art was rational mathematical individualistic consisted of linear perspective and shading Chiaroscuro 71 and produced by specialists Leonardo da Vinci Donatello Michelangelo and Raphael Religion was important but with this new age came the humanization 72 73 of religious figures in art such as Expulsion from the Garden of Eden Ecce Homo Bosch 1470s and Madonna Della Seggiola People of this age began to understand themselves as human beings which reflected in art 73 The Renaissance marked the rebirth of classical values in art and society as people studied the ancient masters of the Greco Roman world 72 Art became focused on realism as opposed to idealism 73 Sculptures in the Loggia dei Lanzi Michelangelo s David Cimabue and Giotto the fathers of Italian painting lived in Florence as well as Arnolfo and Andrea Pisano renewers of architecture and sculpture Brunelleschi Donatello and Masaccio forefathers of the Renaissance Ghiberti and the Della Robbias Filippo Lippi and Angelico Botticelli Paolo Uccello and the universal genius of Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo 74 75 Their works together with those of many other generations of artists are gathered in the several museums of the town the Uffizi Gallery the Palatina gallery with the paintings of the Golden Ages 76 the Bargello with the sculptures of the Renaissance the museum of San Marco with Fra Angelico s works the Academy the chapels of the Medicis 77 Buonarroti s house with the sculptures of Michelangelo the following museums Bardini Horne Stibbert Romano Corsini The Gallery of Modern Art the Museo dell Opera del Duomo the museum of Silverware and the museum of Precious Stones 78 Several monuments are located in Florence the Florence Baptistery with its mosaics the cathedral with its sculptures the medieval churches with bands of frescoes public as well as private palaces Palazzo Vecchio Palazzo Pitti Palazzo Medici Riccardi Palazzo Davanzati monasteries cloisters refectories the Certosa In the archaeological museum includes documents of Etruscan civilisation 79 In fact the city is so rich in art that some first time visitors experience the Stendhal syndrome as they encounter its art for the first time 80 The Uffizi Gallery is the 10th most visited art museum in the world Florentine architects such as Filippo Brunelleschi 1377 1466 and Leon Battista Alberti 1404 1472 were among the fathers of both Renaissance and Neoclassical architecture 81 The cathedral topped by Brunelleschi s dome dominates the Florentine skyline The Florentines decided to start building it late in the 13th century without a design for the dome The project proposed by Brunelleschi in the 14th century was the largest ever built at the time and the first major dome built in Europe since the two great domes of Roman times the Pantheon in Rome and Hagia Sophia in Constantinople The dome of Santa Maria del Fiore remains the largest brick construction of its kind in the world 82 83 In front of it is the medieval Baptistery The two buildings incorporate in their decoration the transition from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance In recent years most of the important works of art from the two buildings and from the nearby Giotto s Campanile have been removed and replaced by copies The originals are now housed in the Museum dell Opera del Duomo just to the east of the cathedral Florence has large numbers of art filled churches such as San Miniato al Monte San Lorenzo Santa Maria Novella Santa Trinita Santa Maria del Carmine Santa Croce Santo Spirito the Annunziata Ognissanti and numerous others 11 The Palazzo della Signoria better known as the Palazzo Vecchio English The Old Palace Artists associated with Florence range from Arnolfo di Cambio and Cimabue to Giotto Nanni di Banco and Paolo Uccello through Lorenzo Ghiberti and Donatello and Massaccio and the della Robbia family through Fra Angelico and Botticelli and Piero della Francesca and on to Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci Others include Benvenuto Cellini Andrea del Sarto Benozzo Gozzoli Domenico Ghirlandaio Filippo Lippi Bernardo Buontalenti Orcagna Pollaiuolo Filippino Lippi Verrocchio Bronzino Desiderio da Settignano Michelozzo the Rossellis the Sangallos and Pontormo Artists from other regions who worked in Florence include Raphael Andrea Pisano Giambologna Il Sodoma and Peter Paul Rubens Brunelleschi s dome Picture galleries in Florence include the Uffizi and the Pitti Palace Two superb collections of sculpture are in the Bargello and the Museum of the Works of the Duomo They are filled with the creations of Donatello Verrochio Desiderio da Settignano Michelangelo and others The Galleria dell Accademia has Michelangelo s David perhaps the best known work of art anywhere plus the unfinished statues of the slaves Michelangelo created for the tomb of Pope Julius II 84 85 Other sights include the medieval city hall the Palazzo della Signoria also known as the Palazzo Vecchio the Archeological Museum the Museum of the History of Science the Palazzo Davanzatti the Stibbert Museum St Marks the Medici Chapels the Museum of the Works of Santa Croce the Museum of the Cloister of Santa Maria Novella the Zoological Museum La Specola the Bardini and the Museo Horne There is also a collection of works by the modern sculptor Marino Marini in a museum named after him The Strozzi Palace is the site of special exhibits 86 Language Edit Main article Florentine dialect See also Tuscan language Florentine fiorentino spoken by inhabitants of Florence and its environs is a Tuscan dialect and the immediate parent language to modern Italian Although its vocabulary and pronunciation are largely identical to standard Italian differences do exist The Vocabolario del fiorentino contemporaneo Dictionary of Modern Florentine reveals lexical distinctions from all walks of life 87 Florentines have a highly recognisable accent in phonetic terms due to the so called gorgia toscana hard c k between two vowels is pronounced as a fricative h similar to an English h so that dico I say is phonetically ˈdiːho i cani the dogs is iˈhaːni Similarly t between vowels is pronounced 8 as in English thin and p in the same position is the bilabial fricative ɸ Other traits include using a form of the subjunctive mood last commonly used in medieval times citation needed a frequent usage in everyday speech of the modern subjunctive and a shortened pronunciation of the definite article i instead of il causing doubling of the consonant that follows so that il cane the dog for example is pronounced ikˈkaːne Dante Petrarch and Boccaccio pioneered the use of the vernacular 88 instead of the Latin used for most literary works at the time Literature Edit The introduction of the Decameron 1350 1353 by Giovanni Boccaccio Despite Latin being the main language of the courts and the Church in the Middle Ages writers such as Dante Alighieri 88 and many others used their own language the Florentine vernacular descended from Latin in composing their greatest works The oldest literary pieces written in Florentine go as far back as the 13th century Florence s literature fully blossomed in the 14th century when not only Dante with his Divine Comedy 1306 1321 and Petrarch but also poets such as Guido Cavalcanti and Lapo Gianni composed their most important works 88 Dante s masterpiece is the Divine Comedy which mainly deals with the poet himself taking an allegoric and moral tour of Hell Purgatory and finally Heaven during which he meets numerous mythological or real characters of his age or before He is first guided by the Roman poet Virgil whose non Christian beliefs damned him to Hell Later on he is joined by Beatrice who guides him through Heaven 88 In the 14th century Petrarch 89 and Giovanni Boccaccio 89 led the literary scene in Florence after Dante s death in 1321 Petrarch was an all rounder writer author and poet but was particularly known for his Canzoniere or the Book of Songs where he conveyed his unremitting love for Laura 89 His style of writing has since become known as Petrarchism 89 Boccaccio was better known for his Decameron a slightly grim story of Florence during the 1350s bubonic plague known as the Black Death when some people fled the ravaged city to an isolated country mansion and spent their time there recounting stories and novellas taken from the medieval and contemporary tradition All of this is written in a series of 100 distinct novellas 89 In the 16th century during the Renaissance Florence was the home town of political writer and philosopher Niccolo Machiavelli whose ideas on how rulers should govern the land detailed in The Prince spread across European courts and enjoyed enduring popularity for centuries These principles became known as Machiavellianism Music Edit Main article Music of Florence See also Music of Tuscany The Teatro della Pergola Florence became a musical centre during the Middle Ages and music and the performing arts remain an important part of its culture The growth of Northern Italian Cities in the 1500s likely contributed to its increased prominence During the Renaissance there were four kinds of musical patronage in the city with respect to both sacred and secular music state corporate church and private It was here that the Florentine Camerata convened in the mid 16th century and experimented with setting tales of Greek mythology to music and staging the result in other words the first operas setting the wheels in motion not just for the further development of the operatic form but for later developments of separate classical forms such as the symphony and concerto After the year 1600 Italian trends prevailed across Europe by 1750 it was the primary musical language The genre of the Madrigal born in Italy gained popularity in Britain and elsewhere Several Italian cities were larger on the musical map than their real size for power suggested Florence was once such city which experienced a fantastic period in the early seventeenth Century of musico theatrical innovation including the beginning and flourishing of opera 90 Opera was invented in Florence in the late 16th century when Jacopo Peri s Dafne an opera in the style of monody was premiered Opera spread from Florence throughout Italy and eventually Europe Vocal Music in the choir setting was also taking new identity at this time At the beginning of the 17th century two practices for writing music were devised one the first practice or Stile Antico Prima Prattica the other the Stile Moderno Seconda Prattica The Stile Antico was more prevalent in Northern Europe and Stile Moderno was practiced more by the Italian Composers of the time 91 The piano was invented in Florence in 1709 by Bartolomeo Cristofori Composers and musicians who have lived in Florence include Piero Strozzi 1550 after 1608 Giulio Caccini 1551 1618 and Mike Francis 1961 2009 Giulio Caccini s book Le Nuove Musiche was significant in performance practice technique instruction at the time 90 The book specified a new term in use by the 1630s called monody which indicated the combination of voice and basso continuo and connoted a practice of stating text in a free lyrical yet speech like manner This would occur while an instrument usually a keyboard type such as harpsichord played and held chords while the singer sang spoke the monodic line 92 Cinema Edit Florence has been a setting for numerous works of fiction and movies including the novels and associated films such as Light in the Piazza The Girl Who Couldn t Say No Calmi Cuori Appassionati Hannibal A Room with a View Tea with Mussolini Virgin Territory and Inferno The city is home to renowned Italian actors and actresses such as Roberto Benigni Leonardo Pieraccioni and Vittoria Puccini Video games Edit Florence has appeared as a location in video games such as Assassin s Creed II 93 The Republic of Florence also appears as a playable nation in Paradox Interactive s grand strategy game Europa Universalis IV Other media Edit 16th century Florence is the setting of the Japanese manga and anime series Arte Cuisine Edit Florentine steak in Florence Florentine food grows out of a tradition of peasant eating rather than rarefied high cooking The majority of dishes are based on meat The whole animal was traditionally eaten tripe trippa and stomach lampredotto were once regularly on the menu and still are sold at the food carts stationed throughout the city Antipasti include crostini toscani sliced bread rounds topped with a chicken liver based pate and sliced meats mainly prosciutto and salame often served with melon when in season The typically saltless Tuscan bread obtained with natural levain frequently features in Florentine courses especially in its soups ribollita and pappa al pomodoro or in the salad of bread and fresh vegetables called panzanella that is served in summer The bistecca alla fiorentina is a large the customary size should weigh around 1 2 to 1 5 kg or 2 lb 10 oz to 3 lb 5 oz the date steak T bone steak of Chianina beef cooked over hot charcoal and served very rare with its more recently derived version the tagliata sliced rare beef served on a bed of arugula often with slices of Parmesan cheese on top Most of these courses are generally served with local olive oil also a prime product enjoying a worldwide reputation 94 Among the desserts schiacciata alla fiorentina a white flatbread cake is one of the most popular it is a very soft cake prepared with extremely simple ingredients typical of Florentine cuisine and is especially eaten at Carnival Research activity Edit UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre Research institutes and university departments are located within the Florence area and within two campuses at Polo di Novoli and Polo Scientifico di Sesto Fiorentino 95 as well as in the Research Area of Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche 96 Science and discovery Edit A display of proboscideans in the Museo di Storia Naturale di Firenze or the Natural History Museum of Florence Florence has been an important scientific centre for centuries notably during the Renaissance with scientists such as Leonardo da Vinci Florentines were one of the driving forces behind the Age of Discovery Florentine bankers financed Henry the Navigator and the Portuguese explorers who pioneered the route around Africa to India and the Far East It was a map drawn by the Florentine Paolo dal Pozzo Toscanelli a student of Brunelleschi that Christopher Columbus used to sell his enterprise to the Spanish monarchs and which he used on his first voyage Mercator s Projection is a refined version of Toscanelli s taking the Americas into account Galileo and other scientists pioneered the study of optics ballistics astronomy anatomy and other scientific disciplines Pico della Mirandola Leonardo Bruni Machiavelli and many others laid the groundwork for modern scientific understanding Fashion Edit Main article Italian fashion See also Fashion designers of Florence and Polimoda Luxury boutiques along Florence s prestigious Via de Tornabuoni By the year 1300 Florence had become a centre of textile production in Europe Many of the rich families in Renaissance Florence were major purchasers of locally produced fine clothing and the specialists of fashion in the economy and culture of Florence during that period is often underestimated 97 Florence is regarded by some as the birthplace and earliest centre of the modern post World War Two fashion industry in Italy The Florentine soirees of the early 1950s organised by Giovanni Battista Giorgini were events where several Italian designers participated in group shows and first garnered international attention 98 Florence has served as the home of the Italian fashion company Salvatore Ferragamo since 1928 Gucci Roberto Cavalli and Emilio Pucci are also headquartered in Florence Other major players in the fashion industry such as Prada and Chanel have large offices and stores in Florence or its outskirts Florence s main upscale shopping street is Via de Tornabuoni where major luxury fashion houses and jewellery labels such as Armani and Bulgari have boutiques Via del Parione and Via Roma are other streets that are also well known for their high end fashion stores 99 Historical evocations Edit Scoppio del Carro Edit The Scoppio del Carro Explosion of the Cart is a celebration of the First Crusade During the day of Easter a cart which the Florentines call the Brindellone and which is led by four white oxen is taken to the Piazza del Duomo between the Baptistery of St John the Baptist Battistero di San Giovanni and the Florence Cathedral Santa Maria del Fiore The cart is connected by a rope to the interior of the church Near the cart there is a model of a dove which according to legend is a symbol of good luck for the city at the end of the Easter mass the dove emerges from the nave of the Duomo and ignites the fireworks on the cart Calcio Storico Edit Calcio Storico See also Calcio Fiorentino Calcio Storico Fiorentino Historic Florentine Football sometimes called Calcio in costume is a traditional sport regarded as a forerunner of soccer though the actual gameplay most closely resembles rugby The event originates from the Middle Ages when the most important Florentine nobles amused themselves playing while wearing bright costumes The most important match was played on 17 February 1530 during the siege of Florence That day Papal troops besieged the city while the Florentines with contempt of the enemies decided to play the game notwithstanding the situation The game is played in the Piazza di Santa Croce A temporary arena is constructed with bleachers and a sand covered playing field A series of matches are held between four teams representing each quartiere quarter of Florence during late June and early July 100 There are four teams Azzurri light blue Bianchi white Rossi red and Verdi green The Azzurri are from the quarter of Santa Croce Bianchi from the quarter of Santo Spirito Verdi are from San Giovanni and Rossi from Santa Maria Novella Main sights EditMain article Architecture of Florence Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore Palazzo Vecchio code ita promoted to code it 1835 City Map of Florence still largely in the confines of its medieval city centre Ponte Vecchio which spans the Arno river Florence is known as the cradle of the Renaissance la culla del Rinascimento for its monuments churches and buildings The best known site of Florence is the domed cathedral of the city Santa Maria del Fiore known as The Duomo whose dome was built by Filippo Brunelleschi The nearby Campanile partly designed by Giotto and the Baptistery buildings are also highlights The dome 600 years after its completion is still the largest dome built in brick and mortar in the world 101 In 1982 the historic centre of Florence Italian centro storico di Firenze was declared a World Heritage Site by the UNESCO 102 The centre of the city is contained in medieval walls that were built in the 14th century to defend the city At the heart of the city in Piazza della Signoria is Bartolomeo Ammannati s Fountain of Neptune 1563 1565 which is a masterpiece of marble sculpture at the terminus of a still functioning Roman aqueduct The layout and structure of Florence in many ways harkens back to the Roman era where it was designed as a garrison settlement 11 Nevertheless the majority of the city was built during the Renaissance 11 Despite the strong presence of Renaissance architecture within the city traces of medieval Baroque Neoclassical and modern architecture can be found The Palazzo Vecchio code ita promoted to code it as well as the Duomo or the city s Cathedral are the two buildings which dominate Florence s skyline 11 The river Arno which cuts through the old part of the city is as much a character in Florentine history as many of the people who lived there Historically the locals have had a love hate relationship with the Arno which alternated between nourishing the city with commerce and destroying it by flood Florence at night from Piazzale Michelangelo Palazzo Pitti One of the bridges in particular stands out the Ponte Vecchio Old Bridge whose most striking feature is the multitude of shops built upon its edges held up by stilts The bridge also carries Vasari s elevated corridor linking the Uffizi to the Medici residence Palazzo Pitti Although the original bridge was constructed by the Etruscans the current bridge was rebuilt in the 14th century It is the only bridge in the city to have survived World War II intact It is the first example in the western world of a bridge built using segmental arches that is arches less than a semicircle to reduce both span to rise ratio and the numbers of pillars to allow lesser encumbrance in the riverbed being in this much more successful than the Roman Alconetar Bridge Ponte Santa Trinita with the Oltrarno district The city of Florence as seen from the hill of Fiesole The church of San Lorenzo contains the Medici Chapel the mausoleum of the Medici family the most powerful family in Florence from the 15th to the 18th century Nearby is the Uffizi Gallery one of the finest art museums in the world founded on a large bequest from the last member of the Medici family Florence Duomo as seen from Michelangelo hill The Uffizi is located at the corner of Piazza della Signoria a site important for being the centre of Florence s civil life and government for centuries The Palazzo della Signoria facing it is still home of the municipal government Many significant episodes in the history of art and political changes were staged here such as In 1301 Dante Alighieri was sent into exile from here commemorated by a plaque on one of the walls of the Uffizi On 26 April 1478 Jacopo de Pazzi and his retainers tried to raise the city against the Medici after the plot known as La congiura dei Pazzi The Pazzi conspiracy murdering Giuliano di Piero de Medici and wounding his brother Lorenzo All the members of the plot who could be apprehended were seized by the Florentines and hanged from the windows of the palace In 1497 it was the location of the Bonfire of the Vanities instigated by the Dominican friar and preacher Girolamo Savonarola On 23 May 1498 the same Savonarola and two followers were hanged and burnt at the stake A round plate in the ground marks the spot where he was hanged In 1504 Michelangelo s David now replaced by a replica since the original was moved in 1873 to the Galleria dell Accademia was installed in front of the Palazzo della Signoria also known as Palazzo Vecchio code ita promoted to code it The Loggia dei Lanzi in Piazza della Signoria is the location of a number of statues by other sculptors such as Donatello Giambologna Ammannati and Cellini although some have been replaced with copies to preserve the originals Further information Villa Pitiana Monuments museums and religious buildings Edit This section needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed October 2021 Learn how and when to remove this template message See also List of churches in Florence and Theatres in Florence Baptistry cathedral and campanile Piazzale degli Uffizi Florence contains several palaces and buildings from various eras The Palazzo Vecchio code ita promoted to code it is the town hall of Florence and also an art museum This large Romanesque crenellated fortress palace overlooks the Piazza della Signoria with its copy of Michelangelo s David statue as well as the gallery of statues in the adjacent Loggia dei Lanzi Originally called the Palazzo della Signoria after the Signoria of Florence the ruling body of the Republic of Florence it was also given several other names Palazzo del Popolo Palazzo dei Priori and Palazzo Ducale in accordance with the varying use of the palace during its long history The building acquired its current name when the Medici duke s residence was moved across the Arno to the Palazzo Pitti It is linked to the Uffizi and the Palazzo Pitti through the Corridoio Vasariano Palazzo Medici Riccardi designed by Michelozzo di Bartolomeo for Cosimo il Vecchio of the Medici family is another major edifice and was built between 1445 and 1460 It was well known for its stone masonry that includes rustication and ashlar Today it is the head office of the Metropolitan City of Florence and hosts museums and the Riccardiana Library The Palazzo Strozzi an example of civil architecture with its rusticated stone was inspired by the Palazzo Medici but with more harmonious proportions Today the palace is used for international expositions like the annual antique show founded as the Biennale dell Antiquariato in 1959 fashion shows and other cultural and artistic events Here also is the seat of the Istituto Nazionale del Rinascimento and the noted Gabinetto Vieusseux with the library and reading room There are several other notable places including the Palazzo Rucellai designed by Leon Battista Alberti between 1446 and 1451 and executed at least in part by Bernardo Rossellino the Palazzo Davanzati which houses the museum of the Old Florentine House the Palazzo delle Assicurazioni Generali designed in the Neo Renaissance style in 1871 the Palazzo Spini Feroni in Piazza Santa Trinita a historic 13th century private palace owned since the 1920s by shoe designer Salvatore Ferragamo as well as various others including the Palazzo Borghese the Palazzo di Bianca Cappello the Palazzo Antinori and the Royal building of Santa Maria Novella 103 Palazzo Pitti on Boboli Gardens side Florence contains numerous museums and art galleries where some of the world s most important works of art are held The city is one of the best preserved Renaissance centres of art and architecture in the world and has a high concentration of art architecture and culture 104 In the ranking list of the 15 most visited Italian art museums are represented by Florentine museums 105 The Uffizi is one of these having a very large collection of international and Florentine art The gallery is articulated in many halls catalogued by schools and chronological order Engendered by the Medici family s artistic collections through the centuries it houses works of art by various painters and artists The Vasari Corridor is another gallery built connecting the Palazzo Vecchio code ita promoted to code it with the Pitti Palace passing by the Uffizi and over the Ponte Vecchio The Galleria dell Accademia houses a Michelangelo collection including the David It has a collection of Russian icons and works by various artists and painters Other museums and galleries include the Bargello which concentrates on sculpture works by artists including Donatello Giambologna and Michelangelo the Palazzo Pitti containing part of the Medici family s former private collection In addition to the Medici collection the palace s galleries contain many Renaissance works including several by Raphael and Titian large collections of costumes ceremonial carriages silver porcelain and a gallery of modern art dating from the 18th century Adjoining the palace are the Boboli Gardens elaborately landscaped and with numerous sculptures The facade of the Cathedral There are several different churches and religious buildings in Florence The cathedral is Santa Maria del Fiore The San Giovanni Baptistery located in front of the cathedral is decorated by numerous artists notably by Lorenzo Ghiberti with the Gates of Paradise Other churches in Florence include the Basilica of Santa Maria Novella located in Santa Maria Novella square near the Firenze Santa Maria Novella railway station which contains works by Masaccio Paolo Uccello Filippino Lippi and Domenico Ghirlandaio the Basilica of Santa Croce the principal Franciscan church in the city which is situated on the Piazza di Santa Croce about 800 metres 2 600 feet southeast of the Duomo and is the burial place of some of the most illustrious Italians such as Michelangelo Galileo Machiavelli Foscolo Rossini thus it is known also as the Temple of the Italian Glories Tempio dell Itale Glorie the Basilica of San Lorenzo which is one of the largest churches in the city situated at the centre of Florence s main market district and the burial place of all the principal members of the Medici family from Cosimo il Vecchio to Cosimo III Santo Spirito in the Oltrarno quarter facing the square with the same name Orsanmichele whose building was constructed on the site of the kitchen garden of the monastery of San Michele now demolished Santissima Annunziata a Roman Catholic basilica and the mother church of the Servite order Ognissanti which was founded by the lay order of the Umiliati and is among the first examples of Baroque architecture built in the city the Santa Maria del Carmine in the Oltrarno district of Florence which is the location of the Brancacci Chapel housing outstanding Renaissance frescoes by Masaccio and Masolino da Panicale later finished by Filippino Lippi the Medici Chapel with statues by Michelangelo in the San Lorenzo as well as several others including Santa Trinita San Marco Santa Felicita Badia Fiorentina San Gaetano San Miniato al Monte Florence Charterhouse and Santa Maria del Carmine The city additionally contains the Orthodox Russian church of Nativity and the Great Synagogue of Florence built in the 19th century Florence contains various theatres and cinemas The Odeon Cinema of the Palazzo dello Strozzino is one of the oldest cinemas in the city Established from 1920 to 1922 106 in a wing of the Palazzo dello Strozzino it used to be called the Cinema Teatro Savoia Savoy Cinema Theatre yet was later called Odeon The Teatro della Pergola located in the centre of the city on the eponymous street is an opera house built in the 17th century Another theatre is the Teatro Comunale or Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino originally built as the open air amphitheatre the Politeama Fiorentino Vittorio Emanuele which was inaugurated on 17 May 1862 with a production of Donizetti s Lucia di Lammermoor and which seated 6 000 people There are several other theatres such as the Saloncino Castinelli the Teatro Puccini the Teatro Verdi the Teatro Goldoni and the Teatro Niccolini Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore Edit Florence Cathedral formally the Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore is the cathedral of Florence Italy It was begun in 1296 in the Gothic style to a design of Arnolfo di Cambio and was structurally completed by 1436 with the dome designed by Filippo Brunelleschi Squares streets and parks Edit See also Squares of Florence Piazza della Repubblica Panorama composite overview of Firenze taken from the Giardino Bardini viewpoint Aside from such monuments Florence contains numerous major squares piazze and streets The Piazza della Repubblica is a square in the city centre location of the cultural cafes and bourgeois palaces Among the square s cafes like Caffe Gilli Paszkowski or the Hard Rock Cafe the Giubbe Rosse cafe has long been a meeting place for artists and writers notably those of Futurism The Piazza Santa Croce is another dominated by the Basilica of Santa Croce it is a rectangular square in the centre of the city where the Calcio Fiorentino is played every year Furthermore there is the Piazza Santa Trinita a square near the Arno that mark the end of the Via de Tornabuoni street Replica of David and other statues Piazza della Signoria Other squares include the Piazza San Marco the Piazza Santa Maria Novella the Piazza Beccaria and the Piazza della Liberta The centre additionally contains several streets Such include the Via Camillo Cavour one of the main roads of the northern area of the historic centre the Via Ghibellina one of central Florence s longest streets the Via dei Calzaiuoli one of the most central streets of the historic centre which links Piazza del Duomo to Piazza della Signoria winding parallel to via Roma and Piazza della Repubblica the Via de Tornabuoni a luxurious street in the city centre that goes from Antinori square to ponte Santa Trinita across Piazza Santa Trinita characterised by the presence of fashion boutiques the Viali di Circonvallazione 6 lane boulevards surrounding the northern part of the historic centre as well as others such as Via Roma Via degli Speziali Via de Cerretani and the Viale dei Colli Florence also contains various parks and gardens Such include the Boboli Gardens the Parco delle Cascine the Giardino Bardini and the Giardino dei Semplici amongst others Sport Edit Stadio Artemio Franchi In association football Florence is represented by ACF Fiorentina which plays in Serie A the top league of Italian league system ACF Fiorentina has won two Italian Championships in 1956 and 1969 and 6 Italian cups 107 since their formation in 1926 They play their games at the Stadio Artemio Franchi which holds 47 282 The female squad of ACF Fiorentina have won the women s association football Italian Championship of the 2016 17 season The city is home of the Centro Tecnico Federale di Coverciano in Coverciano Florence the main training ground of the Italian national team and the technical department of the Italian Football Federation Florence was one of the host cities for cycling s 2013 UCI Road World Championships 108 109 The city has also hosted stages of the Giro d Italia most recently in 2017 Since 2017 Florence is also represented in Eccellenza the top tier of rugby union league system in Italy by I Medicei which is a club established in 2015 by the merging of the senior squads of I Cavalieri of Prato and Firenze Rugby 1931 I Medicei won the Serie A Championship in 2016 17 and were promoted to Eccellenza for the 2017 18 season Rari Nantes Florentia is a successful water polo club based in Florence both its male and female squads have won several Italian championships and the female squad has also European titles in their palmares Transportation EditCars Edit The centre of Florence is closed to through traffic although buses taxis and residents with appropriate permits are allowed in This area is commonly referred to as the ZTL Zona Traffico Limitato which is divided into several subsections 110 Residents of one section therefore will only be able to drive in their district and perhaps some surrounding ones Cars without permits are allowed to enter after 7 30 pm or before 7 30 am The rules shift during the tourist filled summers putting more restrictions on where one can get in and out 111 Buses Edit ATAF amp Li nea was the bus company who run the principal public transit network in the city it was one the companies of the consortium ONE Scarl 112 to accomplish the contract stipulated with the Regione Toscana for the public transport in the 2018 2019 period Individual tickets or a pass called Carta Agile with multiple rides are purchased in advance and must be validated once on board These tickets may be used on ATAF amp Li nea buses Tramvia and second class local trains only within city railway stations The bus fleet consisted of 446 urban 5 suburban 20 intercity and 15 tourism buses Intercity bus transit is run by the SITA COPIT and CAP Autolinee companies The transit companies also accommodate travellers from the Amerigo Vespucci Airport which is 5 km 3 mi west of the city centre and which has scheduled services run by major European carriers Since 1 November 2021 the public local transport is operated by Autolinee Toscane 113 Trams Edit Tramway Sirio in Florence Route map of the tramway Main article Trams in Florence In an effort to reduce air pollution and car traffic in the city a multi line tram network called Tramvia is under construction The first line began operation on 14 February 2010 and connects Florence s primary intercity railway station Santa Maria Novella with the southwestern suburb of Scandicci This line is 7 4 km 4 5 8 mi long and has 14 stops The construction of a second line began on 5 November 2011 construction was stopped due to contractors difficulties and restarted in 2014 with the new line opening on 11 February 2019 This second line connects Florence s airport with the city centre A third line from Santa Maria Novella to the Careggi area where the most important hospitals of Florence are located is also under construction 114 115 116 circular reference Florence public transport statistics Edit The average amount of time people spend commuting with public transit in Firenze for example to and from work on a weekday is 59 min 13 of public transit riders ride for more than 2 hours every day The average amount of time people wait at a stop or station for public transit is 14 min while 22 of riders wait for over 20 minutes on average every day The average distance people usually ride in a single trip with public transit is 4 1 km while 3 travel for over 12 km in a single direction 117 Airport Edit Florence Airport The Florence Airport Peretola is one of two main airports in the Tuscany region though it is not widely used by popular airlines The other airport in the Tuscany region is the Galileo Galilei International Airport in Pisa Mobike bike sharing Edit Mobikes at Parco delle Cascine Florence Mobike a Chinese dockless bike sharing company has been operating in Florence since July 2017 As of 2019 the company operates 4 000 bikes in Florence The users scan the QR code on the bike using the Mobike app and end the ride by parking curbside The bikes have a fixed rate of 1 every 20 minutes Since Mobike is a dock less bike sharing system it does not provide stations therefore the bikes can be left almost anywhere Railway station Edit Firenze Santa Maria Novella railway station is the main national and international railway station in Florence and is used by 59 million people every year 118 The building designed by Giovanni Michelucci was built in the Italian Rationalism style and it is one of the major rationalist buildings in Italy It is located in Piazza della Stazione near the Fortezza da Basso a masterpiece of the military Renaissance architecture and the Viali di Circonvallazione and in front of the Basilica of Santa Maria Novella s apse from which it takes its name As well as numerous high speed trains to major Italian cities Florence is served by international overnight sleeper services to Munich and Vienna operated by Austrian railways OBB Train tickets must be validated before boarding The main bus station is next to Santa Maria Novella railway station Trenitalia runs trains between the railway stations within the city and to other destinations around Italy and Europe The central railway station Santa Maria Novella is about 500 m 1 600 ft northwest of the Piazza del Duomo There are two other important stations Campo di Marte and Rifredi Most bundled routes are Firenze Pisa Firenze Viareggio and Firenze Arezzo along the main line to Rome Other local railways connect Florence with Borgo San Lorenzo in the Mugello area Faentina railway and Siena A new high speed rail station is under construction and is contracted to be operational by 2015 119 It is planned to be connected to Vespucci airport Santa Maria Novella railway station and to the city centre by the second line of Tramvia 120 The architectural firms Foster Partners and Lancietti Passaleva Giordo and Associates designed this new rail station 121 Education Edit Rectorate s auditorium of University of Florence The University of Florence was first founded in 1321 and was recognized by Pope Clement VI in 1349 In 2019 over 50 000 students were enrolled at the university The European University Institute has been based in the suburb of Fiesole since 1976 Several American universities host a campus in Florence Including New York University Marist College Pepperdine Stanford Florida State and James Madison The Harvard University Center for Italian Renaissance Studies is based in Villa I Tatti The center for arts and humanities advanced research has been located on the border of Florence Fiesole and Settignano since 1961 Over 8 000 American students are enrolled for study in Florence although mostly while studying in US based degree programmes 122 The private school Centro Machiavelli which teaches Italian language and culture to foreigners is located in Piazza Santo Spirito in Florence Notable residents EditSee also Category People from Florence Dante Alighieri Lorenzo de Medici Amerigo Vespucci Niccolo Machiavelli Antonia of Florence saint Agnes of Montepulciano saint Harold Acton author and aesthete John Argyropoulos scholar Leone Battista Alberti polymath Dante Alighieri 1265 1321 poet Giovanni Boccaccio poet Cesare Bomboni architect Baldassarre Bonaiuti 1336 1385 14th century chronicler Sandro Botticelli 1445 1510 painter Egisto Bracci 1830 1909 architect Aureliano Brandolini agronomist and development cooperation scholar Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett Browning 19th century English poets Filippo Brunelleschi 1377 1446 architect Michelangelo Buonarroti sculptor painter author of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and David Francesco Casagrande cyclist Roberto Cavalli fashion designer Carlo Collodi writer Enrico Coveri fashion designer Donatello sculptor Oriana Fallaci journalist and author Salvatore Ferragamo fashion designer and shoemaker Mike Francis born Francesco Puccioni singer and composer Silpa Bhirasri born Corrado Feroci sculptor credited as the principal figure of modern art in Thailand 123 Frescobaldi family notable bankers and wine producers Galileo Galilei Italian physicist astronomer and philosopher Giotto 1267 1337 early 14th century painter sculptor and architect Lorenzo Ghiberti 1378 1455 sculptor Guccio Gucci 1881 1953 founder of the Gucci label Pauline von Hugel 1858 1901 baroness writer philanthropist Bruno Innocenti 1906 1986 sculptor Robert Lowell poet Niccolo Machiavelli 1469 1527 poet philosopher and political thinker author of The Prince and The Discourses Masaccio painter Rose McGowan Florence born actress Medici family Girolamo Mei historian and humanist Antonio Meucci 1808 1889 inventor of the telephone Pirrho Musefili Florentine cryptographer and cryptanalyst Florence Nightingale pioneer of modern nursing and statistician Virginia Oldoini 1837 1899 Countess of Castiglione early photographic artist secret agent and courtesan Valerio Profondavalle Flemish painter Giulio Racah 1909 1965 Italian Israeli mathematician and physicist Acting President of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem Raphael painter Anna Sarfatti born 1950 children s author Girolamo Savonarola reformist Adriana Seroni politician Giovanni Spadolini 1925 1994 politician Antonio Squarcialupi 1416 1480 organist and composer Andrei Tarkovsky film director Lived in the city during his exile 4 Evangelista Torricelli Italian physicist Anna Tonelli c 1763 1846 Florence born portrait painter in the late 17th century and early 18th century 124 Giorgio Vasari painter architect and historian Amerigo Vespucci 1451 1512 explorer and cartographer namesake of the Americas Coriolano Vighi 1846 1905 landscape painter Leonardo da Vinci polymath Lisa del Giocondo model of the Mona Lisa Giorgio Antonucci physician psychoanalyst and an international reference on the questioning of the basis of psychiatryInternational relations EditTwin towns sister cities Edit See also List of twin towns and sister cities in Italy Florence is twinned with 125 Bethlehem Palestine Budapest Hungary Dresden Germany Edinburgh Scotland United Kingdom Fez Morocco Isfahan Iran Kassel Germany Kyiv Ukraine Kuwait City Kuwait Kyoto Japan Nanjing China Nazareth Israel Philadelphia United States Puebla Mexico Reims France Riga Latvia Salvador Brazil Sydney Australia Tirana Albania Turku Finland Valladolid Spain Other partnerships Edit Florence has friendly relations with 125 Arequipa Peru Cannes France Gifu Japan Jeonju South Korea Krakow Poland Malmo Municipality Sweden Ningbo China Porto Vecchio France Providence Rhode Island United States Tallinn EstoniaSee also Edit Italy portal EU portalChancellor of Florence Cronaca fiorentina European University Institute Florentine School List of historic states of Italy List of squares in Florence Category Buildings and structures in FlorenceNotes Edit Obsolete Tuscan form Fiorenza fjoˈrɛntsa from Latin Florentia References Edit Superficie di Comuni Province e Regioni italiane al 9 ottobre 2011 Italian National Institute of Statistics Retrieved 16 March 2019 Bilancio demografico anno 2015 e popolazione residente al 31 dicembre Comune Firenze ISTAT Select Italia Centrale Toscana Firenze Firenze Paoletti John T and Radke Gary M Art in Renaissance Italy Laurence King Publishing 2005 p 79ISBN 9781856694391 a b Bilancio demografico anno 2013 dati ISTAT Economy of Renaissance Florence Richard A Goldthwaite Book Barnes amp Noble Search barnesandnoble com 23 April 2009 Archived from the original on 4 April 2010 Retrieved 22 January 2010 Firenze del rinascimento Documenti foto e citazioni nell Enciclopedia Treccani Spencer Baynes L L D and W Robertson Smith L L D Encyclopaedia Britannica Akron Ohio The Werner Company 1907 p 675 Florence History Geography amp Culture Encyclopedia Britannica Retrieved 3 November 2021 Brucker Gene A 1969 Renaissance Florence New York Wiley p 23 ISBN 978 0520046955 storia della lingua in Enciclopedia dell Italiano Treccani it Retrieved 28 October 2017 a b c d e f g h i j Florence Italy Britannica Concise Encyclopedia Britannica com Retrieved 22 January 2010 a b c Fashion Italy s Renaissance Time 4 February 1952 Archived from the original on 25 November 2010 Retrieved 9 October 2013 Tim Kiladze 22 January 2010 World s Most Beautiful Cities Forbes Retrieved 12 April 2011 Paris Towers Over World of Fashion as Top Global Fashion Capital for 2015 Languagemonitor com 6 July 2017 Retrieved 20 January 2016 This explanation is favoured by the Accademia della Crusca History of Florence Encyclopaedia Britannica Online ed Retrieved 9 February 2023 Hibbert Christopher 1994 Florence The Biography of a City Penguin Books p 4 ISBN 0 14 016644 0 Cradle of capitalism The Economist 16 April 2009 ISSN 0013 0613 Retrieved 16 October 2016 defeated by Genoa in 1284 and subjugated by Florence in 1406 Peters Edward 1995 The Shadowy Violent Perimeter Dante Enters Florentine Political Life Dante Studies with the Annual Report of the Dante Society 113 69 87 JSTOR 40166507 Day W R 3 January 2012 The population of Florence before the Black Death survey and synthesis Journal of Medieval History 28 2 93 129 doi 10 1016 S0304 4181 02 00002 7 S2CID 161168875 Decameron Web Boccaccio Plague Brown University Eimerl Sarel 1967 The World of Giotto c 1267 1337 et al Time Life Books p 184 ISBN 0 900658 15 0 Pallanti Giuseppe 2006 Mona Lisa Revealed The True Identity of Leonardo s Model Florence Italy Skira pp 17 23 24 ISBN 978 88 7624 659 3 Treccani la cultura italiana Treccani il portale del sapere History of Florence Britannica com Retrieved 15 July 2021 Laurentian Library michelangelo net Retrieved 15 July 2021 Davis Marks Isis 2 June 2021 Italian Art Restorers Used Bacteria to Clean Michelangelo Masterpieces Smithsonian Retrieved 15 July 2021 Ryan Billy 19 August 2020 The Time When Jesus Was The King Of Florence ucatholic com Retrieved 15 July 2021 July 3 1944 newspaper archive University Study Center Florence The GI University Project Giuniversity wordpress com 4 July 2010 Retrieved 16 November 2012 Turner Joseph Mallord William 1819 Fiesole from the River Mugnone outside of Florence Tate Retrieved 15 February 2020 Dinelli Enrico January 2005 Sources of major and trace elements in the stream sediments of the Arno river catchment northern Tuscany Italy Geochemical Journal 39 6 531 545 Bibcode 2005GeocJ 39 531D CiteSeerX 10 1 1 605 4368 doi 10 2343 geochemj 39 531 S2CID 129636310 Retrieved 15 February 2020 via ResearchGate Map showing the Arno river catchment and its major tributaries the largest towns and the sampling stations subdivided according to the sampling year Coordinates refer to UTM32T ED50 system World map of Koppen Geiger Climate Classification koeppen geiger vu wien ac at April 2006 Retrieved 28 September 2010 Clima en Firenze Peretola Historicos desde 1964 hasta 2016 METAR tutiempo net in Spanish Retrieved 29 May 2016 Borchi Emilio Macii Renzo 2011 La neve a Firenze 1874 2010 Snow in Florence 1874 2010 in Italian Florence Pagnini Editore ISBN 978 88 8251 382 5 MeteoAM it Il portale Italiano della Meteorologia 20 May 2005 MeteoAM it Il portale Italiano della Meteorologia Meteoam it Archived from the original on 8 October 2006 Retrieved 22 January 2010 FIRENZE PERETOLA PDF Servizio Meteorologico Retrieved 13 October 2012 World Weather Information Service Florence Retrieved 14 April 2010 Florence Italy Monthly weather forecast and Climate data Weather Atlas Retrieved 26 January 2019 Florence Italy Monthly weather forecast and Climate data Weather Atlas Retrieved 26 January 2019 Spruyt H 1996 The Sovereign State and Its Competitors An Analysis of Systems Change Princeton University Press p 132 ISBN 9780691029108 Retrieved 27 October 2014 Bruce S G 2010 Ecologies and Economies in Medieval and Early Modern Europe Studies in Environmental History for Richard C Hoffmann Brill p 48 ISBN 9789004180079 Retrieved 27 October 2014 Chant C Goodman D 2005 Pre Industrial Cities and Technology Taylor amp Francis p 141 ISBN 9781134636204 Retrieved 27 October 2014 Tellier L N 2009 Urban World History An Economic and Geographical Perspective Presses de l Universite du Quebec p 311 ISBN 9782760522091 Retrieved 27 October 2014 Statistiche demografiche ISTAT Demo istat it Archived from the original on 26 April 2009 Retrieved 5 May 2009 Chinese immigrants to Italy build no ordinary Chinatown Chicago Tribune 1 January 2009 Statistiche demografiche ISTAT Demo istat it Archived from the original on 14 August 2013 Retrieved 5 May 2009 Archdiocese of Firenze Florence Catholic Hierarchy org David M Cheney Retrieved 7 October 2016 Metropolitan Archdiocese of Firenze GCatholic org Gabriel Chow Retrieved 7 October 2016 a b Economy of Florence twice the national average The Florentine Theflorentine net 27 May 2016 Retrieved 28 October 2017 The world best cities are CNN 16 October 2013 Retrieved 17 October 2013 La classifica dei redditi nei comuni capoluogo di provincia Il Sole 24 ORE Archived from the original on 12 May 2011 Retrieved 19 May 2010 Florence Italy Tourist Travel Guide for Holidays in Florence Firenze Italy www visitflorence com Retrieved 28 September 2015 Travel Leisure Travelandleisure com Retrieved 11 June 2011 15 Best Things to Do in Florence Italy Cntraveler com July 2016 Retrieved 28 October 2017 Tourists spend more than ever before on cultural destinations Archived 9 February 2010 at the Wayback Machine for 2004 2005 at Euromonitor International Study Abroad in Florence Italy Florentine artisan courses for school groups Florenceart net Retrieved 22 January 2010 Florence s Uffizi leading the pack in terms of visitors numbers after the Colosseum and Pompeii Florence s Uffizi leading the pack in terms of visitors numbers after the Colosseum and Pompeii Retrieved 28 October 2017 Poinelli Ezio Trakas Themis Brivio Filippo 27 February 2017 In Focus Florence Italy HVS Retrieved 2 July 2021 Bill Alen tourism review com Bill Alen Florence A Record Year for the Tourism Industry TR Tourism review com Retrieved 28 October 2017 Euromonitor International s Top City Destinations Ranking Euromonitor com 2016 Retrieved 1 July 2017 Where in Europe are you Most Likely to be a Victim of Pickpocketing Yourcoffeebreak co uk Retrieved 28 October 2017 Bill Alen tourism review com Bill Alen Florence A Record Year for the Tourism Industry TR Tourism review com Retrieved 28 October 2017 Italian hotspots struggling with too many tourists Thelocal it 18 July 2016 Retrieved 28 October 2017 Kirchgaessner Stephanie 6 December 2015 Florence seeks a better class of tourist to share its besieged medieval treasures The Guardian Retrieved 28 October 2017 Giuffrida Angela 31 May 2017 Florence mayor aims to keep picnicking tourists at bay with hosepipes The Guardian Retrieved 28 October 2017 Florence is hosing down monuments to deter tourists Independent co uk 1 June 2017 Retrieved 28 October 2017 Winners of the European Capitals of Smart Tourism 2022 competition European Commission Retrieved 7 November 2022 Oxford Companion to Wine Bolgheri Archived from the original on 8 August 2008 a b Kagan Donald 2013 The Western Heritage Pearson p 296 ISBN 9780205393923 a b Kleiner Fred 2013 Art Through the Ages Boston Clark Baxtor pp 417 421 ISBN 978 0 495 91542 3 a b c The Power of the Past with Bill Moyers Florence 1990 Art in Florence learner org Archived from the original on 25 October 2019 Retrieved 27 September 2010 Renaissance Artists library thinkquest org Archived from the original on 24 November 2010 Retrieved 28 September 2010 Uffizi Gallery Florence Uffizi Museum Ticket Reservation Virtualuffizi com Archived from the original on 18 February 2009 Retrieved 5 May 2009 Peter Barenboim Sergey Shiyan Michelangelo Mysteries of Medici Chapel SLOVO Moscow 2006 ISBN 5 85050 825 2 Palace of Bargello Bargello s Palace Florence Italy ItalyGuides it 28 October 2006 Retrieved 5 May 2009 Inner court of Pitti Palace Palazzo Pitti Florence Italy ItalyGuides it 28 October 2006 Retrieved 5 May 2009 Auxologia Graziella Magherini La Sindrome di Stendhal book Archived from the original on 12 October 2006 Retrieved 12 October 2006 excerpts in Italian Why Was Florence Considered Important For Culture And Arts Essay Michellekim StudyMode com Retrieved 14 March 2010 The Duomo of Florence Tripleman tripleman com Archived from the original on 6 December 2009 Retrieved 25 March 2010 brunelleschi s dome Brunelleschi s Dome Brunelleschisdome com Retrieved 25 March 2010 Florence Tuscany Region Italy The Duomo Statue of David Piazza Dell Signoria Europe travelonline com Retrieved 25 March 2010 Florence Art Gallery Art Galleries and Museums in Florence Area Italy Florence world guides com Retrieved 25 March 2010 Become a friend of Palazzo Strozzi Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi Firenze Palazzostrozzi org Archived from the original on 27 July 2011 Retrieved 25 March 2010 Vocabolario del fiorentino contemporaneo Dictionary of Contemporary Florentine in Italian Accademia della Crusca Retrieved 15 October 2019 a b c d Literature in Florence Florentine Writers and Poets Florenceholidays com Retrieved 25 March 2010 a b c d e Literature in Florence Petrarch and Boccaccio Florentine Writers and Poet Petrarch and Boccaccio Florenceholidays com Retrieved 25 March 2010 a b Hanning Barbara Russano J Peter Burkholder Donald Jay Grout and Claude V Palisca Concise History of Western Music New York W W Norton 2010 pg 182 Grout Donald Jay Donald Jay Grout and Claude V Palisca A History of Western Music New York W W Norton amp Company 1973 Bonds Mark E Etd Kassell Richard A History of Music in Western Culture Combined Volume 3rd edition Prentice Hall Upper Saddle River NJ ISBN 0 205 64531 3 Ponce Javier 1 May 2017 Assassin s Creed II The magic of the Renaissance in a video game Bachtrack Retrieved 20 August 2019 welcometuscany it Tuscany italy tuscany tourists guide travel tips extra virgin olive oil wines and foods of the most beautiful land in the world welcometuscany it Retrieved 5 May 2009 Polo Scientifico di Sesto Fiorentino Polosci unifi it Archived from the original on 18 March 2014 Retrieved 18 March 2014 Florence CNR Research Area Area fi cnr it Archived from the original on 7 August 2014 Retrieved 18 March 2014 Frick Carole Collier Dressing Renaissance Florence Families Fortunes and Fine Clothing Baltimore The Johns Hopkins University Press 2002 The birth of italian fashion Gbgiorgini it Archived from the original on 11 July 2018 Retrieved 7 May 2017 Conde Nast Traveller s guide to shopping in Florence Cntraveller com 11 November 2009 Retrieved 9 October 2013 Calcio Storico Fiorentino Official site in Italian Ross King Brunelleschi s Dome The Story of the great Cathedral of Florence Penguin 2001 Centre UNESCO Historic Centre of Florence UNESCO World Heritage Centre whc unesco org Retrieved 8 July 2015 Travel in Tuscany Gardens in Tuscany Retrieved 25 August 2020 Miner Jennifer 2 September 2008 Florence Art Tours Florence Museums Florence Architecture Travelguide affordabletours com Archived from the original on 29 January 2010 Retrieved 22 January 2010 Touring Club Italiano Dossier Musei 2009 PDF Archived from the original PDF on 18 April 2012 Retrieved 12 April 2011 Gruppo Cine Hall Cinehall it Retrieved 19 May 2010 FootballHistory org ACF Fiorentina Martin Wahl Retrieved 10 October 2019 UCI confirms 2013 WorldTour calendar UCI 20 September 2012 Retrieved 20 May 2021 General Information Bulletin PDF UCI Archived PDF from the original on 28 September 2013 Retrieved 20 May 2021 The ZTL Avoid Restricted Traffic Zones amp Fines in Italy Italy Perfect Travel Blog Italy Perfect Travel Blog 16 June 2015 Retrieved 3 February 2018 Florence Driving Map the ZTL explained Florence on Line www florence on line com Retrieved 3 February 2018 Muoversi in Toscana ONE Scarl Retrieved 24 May 2022 Guida al primo giorno di servizio Autolinee Toscane Retrieved 30 May 2022 Arriva La Tramvia in Italian GEST Archived from the original on 8 October 2013 Retrieved 11 December 2011 Tramvia Il Sistema Tramviario Fiorentino Archived from the original on 2 February 2012 Retrieved 11 December 2011 Tramvia page of Florence s city government web site in Italian Trams in Florence Wikipedia article Florence tramway Firenze Public Transportation Statistics Global Public Transit Index by Moovit Retrieved 19 June 2017 Material was copied from this source which is available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4 0 International License Grandi Stazioni Firenze S Maria Novella Grandistazioni it Archived from the original on 9 May 2018 Retrieved 22 June 2009 Report Quindiciale N 17 PDF Rete Ferroviaria Italiana Archived from the original PDF on 9 May 2012 Retrieved 11 December 2011 Descrizione Della Linea 2 PDF Comune di Firenze Archived from the original PDF on 9 May 2012 Retrieved 11 December 2011 Florence TAV Station Foster Partners Archived from the original on 27 November 2011 Retrieved 11 December 2011 Association of American College and University Programs in Italy Association of American College and University Programs in Italy Retrieved 22 September 2019 Special Note Professor Silpa Bhirasri s Life and Works journal su ac th Archived from the original on 8 October 2011 Retrieved 27 October 2014 Jeffares Neil 2019 Dictionary of Pastellists Before 1800 PDF online ed Archived PDF from the original on 4 March 2016 a b Gemellaggi e patti di amicizia in Italian Florence Retrieved 21 March 2022 Sources EditNiccolo Machiavelli Florentine Histories Brucker Gene A 1983 Renaissance Florence Brucker Gene A 1971 The Society of Renaissance Florence A Documentary Study New York Harper amp Row ISBN 9780061316074 Chamberlin Russell 22 May 2008 Travellers Florence amp Tuscany 3rd Guides to Destinations Worldwide Thomas Cook Publishing ISBN 978 1 84157 844 6 Retrieved 11 March 2010 Chaney Edward 2003 A Traveller s Companion to Florence Goldthwaite Richard A 1982 The Building of Renaissance Florence An Economic and Social History Hibbert Christopher 1999 The House of Medici Its Rise and Fall Lewis R W B 1996 The City of Florence Historical Vistas and Personal Sightings ISBN 9780374124045 Najemy John 2006 A History of Florence 1200 1575 Schevill Ferdinand 1936 History of Florence From the Founding of the City Through the Renaissance New York Harcourt Brace and Co Trexler Richard C 1991 Public Life in Renaissance Florence Ferdinand Schevill History of Florence From the Founding of the City Through the Renaissance Frederick Ungar 1936 is the standard overall history of Florence Sciacca Christine 2012 Florence at the Dawn of the Renaissance Painting and Illumination 1300 1500 Getty Publications ISBN 978 1 60606 126 8 Archived from the original on 20 September 2012 Retrieved 12 February 2016 External links EditFlorence at Wikipedia s sister projects Definitions from Wiktionary Media from Commons News from Wikinews Quotations from Wikiquote Texts from Wikisource Textbooks from Wikibooks Resources from Wikiversity Travel information from Wikivoyage Florence Art Museums The High Renaissance in Florence Video UNESCO video Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Florence amp oldid 1149551940, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

article

, read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games.