Home to the likes of Gucci and Ferragamo, Florence means one thing: style, both past and present. Phalanxes of stylish boutiques line up alongside art galleries and the palazzi. And when the shops close, it’s time to eat. Florence is a city of restaurants and cafes, churches and stylish boutiques, so come eat, pray and shop.
Text and Photos by Melani Semuel
In 1300, Pope Boniface VIII said that Aristotle was wrong, the universe was made up five elements, not four: Earth, Air, Fire, Water and Florentines. So many lookers in such a good-looking city! Naked like Michelangelo’s David or wrapped up in the latest winter fashions by their own world-class designers, Florentines and their city never fail to impress.
The best way to get around Florence is by foot. Walking is not only an easy way to get around; it also offers the chance to take in much more of the city life. Florence is a very small, very compact city and most of the major tourist sights are within easy walking distance of each other.
Great places to walk include along the Arno River and across any of its bridges, through narrow, medieval streets in the Santa Croce area and in the Oltr’Arno – on the south side of the river, in many ways like Rome’s Trastevere or Paris’s Left Bank, only far, far smaller.
To get a great overview of the city, you have plenty of choices: climb the dome of the Cathedral or Giotto’s Bell Tower – which is much easier – or head for Piazzale Michelangelo, a large parking lot on the hillside just south of the centre of town. Or climb a bit further to the church of San Miniato al Monte, a sublime 11th century masterpiece, with superb Renaissance sculptures.
No discussion of Florence is complete without mentioning the Medici family, perhaps the most important family that ever lived. The Medici, who for centuries commanded Florence’s fortunes and were, as generous patrons, instrumental in unleashing the Renaissance, live on. To this day the family crest of six balls adorns many public buildings. Over the centuries, the city’s artists and sculptors, supported by the Medici and other powerful families, regaled the city with their finest creations. Michelangelo, Leonardo, Donatello, Masaccio, Botticelli, Pontormo and a host of others left their mark, and formidable galleries such as the Uffizi, Pitti and Accademia today house many of their works. Florence’s great families built fine mansions and lavished money on churches, public buildings and the arts. To display greatness was to be great. The majesty of the Romanesque Baptistery, the Gothic Duomo and Renaissance basilicas was an advertisement as much of the power and wealth of Florence’s leading families as of the city’s artistic prowess.
