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informaciones tursticas -
FLORENCE: tourism and culture
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FLORENCE: tourism and culture
Some useful and interesting information about Florence: history, art, events, nature, gastronomy.
WHERE:
Firenze is situated on the Appenines slopes, on a plain crossed by the Arno and surrounded by green hills, that are typical of Toscana.
Firenze is the town which gave its own language to Italy, helping her to become a nation and which gave to Europe that unique great season of cultural, artistic and scientific development called Renaissance.
Firenze has got an enormous amount of sculptures, paintings and architectural works of art. In fact they are of great importance and accompany the tourist during his walks through this town, which is run through by the sometimes peaceful, sometimes threatening Arno.
The streets and the roads in Firenze evoke the poetry by Dante, the Renaissance atmosphere and every year welcome almost two million tourists from all over the world.
If you want to reach Firenze by car: from the North of Italy take the motorway A1 Milano-Bologna-Firenze-Roma, that goes on to Naples too.
On the contrary if you arrive from Venice you can take the A13 as far as Bologna and then get onto the already mentioned A1. On the other hand leaving from Genoa the A12 will lead you to Pisa and then you will reach Firenze onto the A11.
The railway line follows the one of the motorway, with the possibility to have links with fast trains from Milan and Bologna.
But if you like flying you can make use of the airport A.Vespucci, a few km far from Firenze.
HISTORY
In 570 it was occupied by the Longobards, that guaranteed stability and independence to the town, but only with the supremacy of the Carolingians the two counties Firenze and Fiesole were unified
Firenze was founded in 59 B.C. by the Romans and its name makes reference to the season of Ludi Floreales, in honour of the goddess Flora. The town was built on a square plant and, in ancient times, it had a forum, the thermal baths and the Capitol.
In 570 it was occupied by the Longobards, that guaranteed stability and independence to the town, but only with the supremacy of the Carolingians the two counties Firenze and Fiesole were unified and gave origin to the greatest county ever existed in Tuscany.
After the end of the Carolingian dinasty, the town had a difficult period and, only about 1000, it started again its expansion and continued to gain more and more independence from the empire, aiming to become rich and powerful.
At that time Firenze was enriched by walls and monuments in order to become, in 1183, a free commune, despite the division of the citizens into two factions: on one side the Guelphs allied with the Pope and, on the other side, the Ghibellines, allied with the emperor. So the two factions alternated in the town power, until the definite dominion of the Guelphs in 1267.
In 1300 Firenze was a flourishing town and was enriched by important churches such as
St Croce, St Maria del Fiore and St Maria Novella and even by Palazzo dei Priori (the priors? palace) and the Casa del Popolo (the people?s house), later called Palazzo Vecchio. Then Piazza del Popolo became a building masterpiece, later called Piazza della Signoria.
In 1400 Firenze continued its explosive blooming, that made appear the powerful Medici family who, after Cosimo I, would rule until the first half of the eighteenth century, except a short period.
Under Lorenzo de Medici, called the Magnifico (the Magnificent), who was an intellectual and a patron of arts, Firenze was called ?the second Athens? and thanks to his grand personality, the Renaissance could definetely flourish.
After the conclusion of the Renaissance, notwithstanding the changed political conditions because of Lorenzo?s death, the sixteenth century was just as positive and rich as the period before: Michelangelo, Brunelleschi, Vasari, Buontalenti and others created splendid works of art and architecture, as the Uffizi open arcade and the Dome.
From 1737 on the Lorena family took the place of the Medicis and continued to rule with liberalism and temperance. After the unity of Italy Firenze became the capital of the new State only for a short time. During the second world war the old town centre underwent serious damages and some important buildings were lost for ever but, despite of this, Firenze has succeeded in maintaining its charme, untouched until today.
ART
The central old part of Firenze is formed by Piazza del Duomo
Describing Firenze from the artistic point of view in a complete way is really a great achievment, because of the extent of its wealth, which represents a treasure not only for Italy, but for the whole world. What we would like to do is to give at least a general picture of its wonders.
The central old part of Firenze is formed by Piazza del Duomo, the church St Maria del Fiore, with its famous dome by Brunelleschi, and the Campanile (bell tower) by Giotto, which is 85 m high. This square (Piazza) contains the Battistero, with its famous bronze doors and the Museum of the Opera del Duomo, where you can find some peaces belonging to the Dome, but that have been removed from the exterior throughout the years.
Then you meet Palazzo della Signoria and Palazzo Vecchio, whose original role was that of town hall, then you find the David statue by Michelangelo and the Uffizi art gallery, with all its precious works of art.
On the East side of the town stands the Gothic basilica of Santa Croce and, on the West side, Santa Maria Novella, with its front rebuilt by Leon Battista Alberti.
If you cross the Arno you reach the Santo Spirito church and Palazzo Pitti, which was the old seat of the Medicis.
Very important are also the church Santa Maria del Carmine, with the frescoes of the Cappella Brancacci, the Spedale degli Innocenti by Brunelleschi, then Palazzo Strozzi and Palazzo Ruccellai, with their architectures of great value.
We recommend you to visit the Bargello museum and the collection of Palazzo Pitti, besides the already mentioned museums Uffizi and Opera del Duomo.
NATURE
Firenze is called the town of flowers, but it would be better to call it the town of trees, because of the presence of many wooded avenues and gardens and of so many varieties of trees.
In Firenze there are several important parks that allow people to get fresh air and a contact with nature.
Some interesting parks: Cascine, Albereta, Villa Fabbricotti, Villa Strozzi, Villa Vogel, Villa Favard
The widest is Parco delle Cascine, that skirts the Arno with its area composed of 160 hectares of vegetation and which was given to the municipality in 1865.
In ancient times this park was rich in oaks, elms and maples, which now are being slowly substituted by other trunks, such as acacias, elders and by ivy, as well.
We also want to point out these other parks: Parco dell?Albereta, Villa Fabbricotti park, Villa Strozzi park, with horse-chestnuts, cedars and holm-oaks, Villa Vogel park, with poplars and cypresses, where you can find very good sport facilities, then Villa Favard park, that is rich in holm-oaks and limes and where you can try the routes for some guided exercises.
EVENTS
In such a rich town as Firenze you can find a lot of folk and historical celebrations, which follow one another all through the year. We would like to mention only some of them, that highlight the historical aspect of almost all the events promoted by the town council.
In June, for example, you can see the Palio dei Navicelli and the San Giovanni Tournament.
Then we also recommend you to see the beautiful parade in period costume called the Historical Parade of the Florentine Republic.
GASTRONOMY
The typical Firenze cooking summerizes the whole regional gastronomy, with a big variety of first courses and dishes of meat.
You must taste the fettunta, made with bread and the oil coming from the Tuscan oil presses, then also the typical bistecca alla fiorentina (grilled T-bone steak) and the panzanelle, made with stale bread and tomatoes.
Particularly tasty are the fritti misti ( mixed fried food) di carciofi (artichokes), cervella e zucchine (brains and marrows), the fegatelli (pieces of pig?s liver), the pappardelle alla lepre (wide ribbon noodles with hare sauce), the pappa al pomodoro (tomato soup made with fresh tomatoes, garlic, basil and pepper) and, for those who love this kind of food, the trippa alla fiorentina (tripe).
In the pastry shops we recommend you to try the different homemade biscuits, as the cenci (ribbons of sweet pastry, which are fried and sprinkled with sugar), the brigidini (wafers with an anisette flavour), the biscottini di Prato and the zuccotto.
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