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The heart of Florence, stretching from the Piazza del Duomo south to the Arno, is dense with artistic treasures. The churches, medieval towers, Renaissance palaces, and world-class museums and galleries contain some of the most outstanding aesthetic achievements of Western history.

Much of the centro storico (historic center) is closed to automobile traffic, but you still must dodge mopeds, cyclists, and masses of fellow tourists as you walk the narrow streets, especially in the area bounded by the Duomo, Piazza della Signoria, Galleria degli Uffizi, and Ponte Vecchio.

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Top Attractions

Fodor’s Choice | Duomo (Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore).
In 1296 Arnolfo di Cambio (circa 1245–circa 1310) was commissioned to build “the loftiest, most sumptuous edifice human invention could devise” in the Romanesque style on the site of the old church of Santa Reparata. The immense Duomo was not completed until 1436, the year it was consecrated. The imposing facade dates only from the 19th century; its neo-Gothic style somewhat complements Giotto’s genuine Gothic 14th-century campanile. The real glory of the Duomo, however, is Filippo Brunelleschi’s dome, presiding over the cathedral with a dignity and grace that few domes to this day can match. Brunelleschi’s cupola was an ingenious engineering feat. The space to be enclosed by the dome was so large and so high above the ground that traditional methods of dome construction—wooden centering and scaffolding—were of no use whatsoever. So Brunelleschi developed entirely new building methods, which he implemented with equipment of his own design (including a novel scaffolding method). Beginning work in 1420, he built not one dome but two, one inside the other, and connected them with common ribbing that stretched across the intervening empty space, thereby considerably lessening the crushing weight of the structure. He also employed a new method of bricklaying, based on an ancient Roman herringbone pattern, interlocking each course of bricks with the course below in a way that made the growing structure self-supporting. The result was one of the great engineering breakthroughs of all time: most of Europe’s later domes, including that of St. Peter’s in Rome, were built employing Brunelleschi’s methods, and today the Duomo has come to symbolize Florence in the same way that the Eiffel Tower symbolizes Paris. The Florentines are justly proud of it, and to this day the Florentine phrase for “homesick” is nostalgia del cupolone (homesick for the dome). The interior is a fine example of Florentine Gothic. Much of the cathedral’s best-known art has been moved to the nearby Museo dell’Opera del Duomo. Notable among the works that remain, however, are two massive equestrian frescoes honoring famous soldiers: Niccolò da Tolentino, painted in 1456 by Andrea del Castagno (circa 1419–57), and Sir John Hawkwood, painted 20 years earlier by Paolo Uccello (1397–1475); both are on the left-hand wall of the nave. A 1995 restoration repaired the dome and cleaned the vastly crowded fresco of the Last Judgment, executed by Giorgio Vasari (1511–74) and Zuccaro, on its interior. Originally Brunelleschi wanted mosaics to cover the interior of the great ribbed cupola, but by the time the Florentines got around to commissioning the decoration, 150 years later, tastes had changed. Too bad: it’s a fairly dreadful Last Judgment and hardly worth the effort of craning your neck to see it. Your can explore the upper and lower reaches of the cathedral. The remains of a Roman wall and an 11th-century cemetery have been excavated beneath the nave; the way down is near the first pier on the right. The climb to the top of the dome (463 steps) is not for the faint of heart, but the view is superb. | Piazza del Duomo | 055/2302885 | www.operaduomo.firenze.it | Church free, crypt €3, cupola €8 | Crypt and Duomo: Mon.–Wed. and Fri 10–5, Thurs. 10–4:30, Sat. 10–4:45, Sun. 1:30–4:45, 1st Sat. of month 10–3:30. Cupola: Weekdays 8:30–7, Sat. 8:30–5:40, 1st Sat. of month 8:30–4.

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Florence Through the Ages

Guelph vs. Ghibelline. Though Florence can lay claim to a modest importance in the ancient world, it didn’t come into its own until the Middle Ages. In the early 1200s the city, like most of the rest of Italy, was rent by civic unrest.

Two factions, the Guelphs and the Ghibellines, competed for power. The Guelphs supported the papacy, and the Ghibellines supported the Holy Roman Empire. Bloody battles—most notably one at Montaperti in 1260—tore Florence and other Italian cities apart. By the end of the 13th century the Guelphs ruled securely and the Ghibellines had been vanquished. This didn’t end civic strife, however: the Guelphs split into the Whites and the Blacks for reasons still debated by historians. Dante, author of the Divine Comedy, was banished from Florence in 1301 because he was a White.

The Guilded Age. Local merchants had organized themselves into guilds by 1250. In that year they proclaimed themselves the primo popolo (literally, “first people”), making a landmark attempt at elective, republican rule.

Though the episode lasted only 10 years, it constituted a breakthrough in Western history. Such a daring stance by the merchant class was a by-product of Florence’s emergence as an economic powerhouse. Florentines were papal bankers; they instituted the system of international letters of credit; and the gold florin became the international standard of currency. With this economic strength came a building boom. Palaces and basilicas were erected, enlarged, or restructured. Sculptors such as Donatello and Ghiberti decorated them; painters such as Giotto and Botticelli frescoed their walls.

Mighty Medici. Though ostensibly a republic, Florence was blessed (or cursed) with one very powerful family, the Medici, who came to prominence in the 1430s and were the de facto rulers of Florence for several hundred years. It was under patriarch Cosimo il Vecchio (1389–1464) that the Medici’s position in Florence was securely established. Florence’s golden age occurred during the reign of his grandson Lorenzo de’ Medici (1449–92). Lorenzo was not only an astute politician but also a highly educated man and a great patron of the arts. Called “Il Magnifico” (the Magnificent), he gathered around him poets, artists, philosophers, architects, and musicians.

Lorenzo’s son, Piero (1471–1503), proved inept at handling the city’s affairs. He was run out of town in 1494, and Florence briefly enjoyed its status as a republic while dominated by the Dominican friar Girolamo Savonarola (1452–98). After a decade of internal unrest, the republic fell and the Medici were recalled to power, but Florence never regained its former prestige. By the 1530s most of the major artistic talent had left the city—Michelangelo, for one, had settled in Rome. The now-ineffectual Medici, eventually attaining the title of grand dukes, remained nominally in power until the line died out in 1737, after which time Florence passed from the Austrians to the French and back again until the unification of Italy (1865–70), when it briefly became the capital under King Vittorio Emanuele II.

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Bargello.
For Renaissance art lovers, the Bargello is to sculpture what the Uffizi is to painting. For it now houses the Museo Nazionale, home to what is probably the finest collection of Renaissance sculpture in Italy. The concentration of masterworks by Michelangelo (1475–1564), Donatello (circa 1386–1466), and Benvenuto Cellini (1500–71) is remarkable; the works are distributed among an eclectic collection of arms, ceramics, and miniature bronzes, among other things. Here you’ll find such masterworks as Donatello’s bronze (and homoerotic) David, Michelangelo’s tipsy Bacchus, and Ghiberti’s Sacrifice of Isaac. The backstory behind the latter: In 1401 Filippo Brunelleschi (1377–1446) and Lorenzo Ghiberti (circa 1378–1455) competed to earn the most prestigious commission of the day: the decoration of the north doors of the Baptistery in Piazza del Duomo. For the contest, each designed a bronze bas-relief panel depicting the Sacrifice of Isaac; the panels are displayed together in the room devoted to the sculpture of Donatello, on the upper floor. The judges chose Ghiberti for the commission; see if you agree with their choice. | Via del Proconsolo 4, Bargello | 50122 | 055/294883 | www.polomuseale.firenze.it | €4 | Daily 8:15–1:50; closed 2nd and 4th Mon. of month and 1st, 3rd, and 5th Sun. of month.

Fodor’s Choice | Battistero (Baptistery).
Entered via the “Doors of Paradise,” Florence’s octagonal Baptistery is one of the supreme monuments of the Italian Romanesque style and one of the city’s oldest structures. Local legend has it that it was once a Roman temple dedicated to Mars; modern excavations, however, suggest that its foundations date from the 1st century AD. The round Romanesque arches on the exterior date from the 11th century. The interior dome mosaics from the beginning of the 14th century are justly renowned, but—glittering beauties though they are—they could never outshine the building’s famed bronze Renaissance doors decorated with panels crafted by Lorenzo Ghiberti. The doors—or at least copies of them—on which Ghiberti worked most of his adult life (1403–52) are on the north and east sides of the Baptistery, and the Gothic panels on the south door were designed by Andrea Pisano (circa 1290–1348) in 1330. The original Ghiberti doors were removed to protect them from the effects of pollution and acid rain and have been beautifully restored; they are now on display in the Museo dell’Opera del Duomo.

Ghiberti’s north doors depict scenes from the life of Christ; his later east doors (dating from 1425–52), facing the Duomo facade, render scenes from the Old Testament. Both merit close examination, for they are very different in style and illustrate the artistic changes that marked the beginning of the Renaissance. Look at the far right panel of the middle row on the earlier (1403–24) north doors (Jesus Calming the Waters). Ghiberti here captured the chaos of a storm at sea with great skill and economy, but the artistic conventions he used are basically pre-Renaissance: Jesus is the most important figure, so he is the largest; the disciples are next in size, being next in importance; the ship on which they founder looks like a mere toy.

The exquisitely rendered panels on the east doors are larger, more expansive, more sweeping—and more convincing. The middle panel on the left-hand door tells the story of Jacob and Esau, and the various episodes of the story—the selling of the birthright, Isaac ordering Esau to go hunting, the blessing of Jacob, and so forth—have been merged into a single beautifully realized street scene. Ghiberti’s use of perspective suggests depth: the background architecture looks far more credible than on the north-door panels, the figures in the foreground are grouped realistically, and the naturalism and grace of the poses (look at Esau’s left leg and the dog next to him) have nothing to do with the sacred message being conveyed. Although the religious content remains, the figures and their place in the natural world are given new prominence, and are portrayed with a realism not seen in art since the fall of the Roman Empire nearly a thousand years before.

As a footnote to Ghiberti’s panels, one small detail of the east doors is worth a special look. To the lower left of the Jacob and Esau panel, Ghiberti placed a tiny self-portrait bust. From either side, the portrait is extremely appealing—Ghiberti looks like everyone’s favorite uncle—but the bust is carefully placed so that you can make direct eye contact with the tiny head from a single spot. When that contact is made, the impression of intelligent life—of modern intelligent life—is astonishing. It’s no wonder that these doors received one of the most famous compliments in the history of art from an artist known to be notoriously stingy with praise: Michelangelo declared them so beautiful that they could serve as the Gates of Paradise. | Piazza del Duomo | 50122 | 055/2302885 | www.operaduomo.firenze.it | €4 | Mon.–Sat. 12:15–7; Sun. 8:30–2, 1st Sat. of month 8:30–2.

Fodor’s Choice | Galleria degli Uffizi.
The most fabled museum in Italy, the venerable Uffizi Gallery today houses the finest collection of paintings from the Early and High Renaissance. The museum occupies the top floor of the U-shaped Palazzo degli Uffizi, designed by Giorgio Vasari (1511–74) in 1560 to hold the uffizi (administrative offices) of the Medici grand duke Cosimo I (1519–74). Later, the Medici installed their art collections here, creating what was Europe’s first modern museum, open to the public (at first only by request) since 1591.

Among the highlights are Paolo Uccello’s Battle of San Romano, its brutal chaos of lances one of the finest visual metaphors for warfare ever captured in paint (at press time, it was in restoration); the Madonna and Child with Two Angels, by Fra Filippo Lippi (1406–69), in which the impudent eye contact established by the angel would have been unthinkable prior to the Renaissance; the Birth of Venus and Primavera by Sandro Botticelli (1445–1510), the goddess of the former seeming to float on air and the fairy-tale charm of the latter exhibiting the painter’s idiosyncratic genius at its zenith; the portraits of the Renaissance duke Federico da Montefeltro and his wife Battista Sforza, by Piero della Francesca (circa 1420–92); the Madonna of the Goldfinch by Raphael (1483–1520), which underwent a stunning years-long restoration, completed in 2009 (check out the brilliant blues that decorate the sky, as well as the eye contact between mother and child, both clearly anticipating the painful future; Michelangelo’s Doni Tondo; the Venus of Urbino by Titian (circa 1488/90–1576); and the splendid Bacchus by Caravaggio (circa 1571/72–1610). In the last two works, the approaches to myth and sexuality are diametrically opposed, to put it mildly. Don’t forget to see the Caravaggios, which are in an easily-missable room during the exiting process.

Late in the afternoon is the least crowded time to visit. For a €4 fee, advance tickets can be reserved by phone, online, or, once in Florence, at the Uffizi reservation booth (advance tickets | Consorzio ITA, Piazza Pitti 1 | 055/294883) at least one day in advance of your visit. Keep the confirmation number and take it with you to the door at the museum marked “Reservations.” Usually you’re ushered in almost immediately. Come with cash, because credit cards are not accepted (though you can use a credit card when booking online). When there’s a special exhibit on, which is often, the base ticket price goes up to €11. | Piazzale degli Uffizi 6, Piazza della Signoria | 50100 | 055/23885 | www.uffizi.firenze.it; reservations www.polomuseale.firenze.it | €10, €11 during special exhibitions; reservation fee €4 | Tues.–Sun. 8:15–6:50.

Piazza della Signoria.
Home to Michelangelo’s David, the very heart of Florence, surrounded by venerable medieval and Renaissance buildings, this is by far the most striking square in the city. It was here, in 1497, that the famous “bonfire of the vanities” took place, when the fanatical friar Savonarola induced his followers to hurl their worldly goods into the flames; it was also here, a year later, that he was hanged as a heretic and, ironically, burned. A bronze plaque in the piazza pavement marks the exact spot of his execution.

The statues in the square and in the 14th-century Loggia dei Lanzi on the south side vary in quality. Cellini’s famous bronze Perseus holding the severed head of Medusa is certainly the most important sculpture in the loggia. Other works here include The Rape of the Sabine and Hercules and the Centaur, both late-16th-century works by Giambologna (1529–1608), and in the back, a row of sober matrons dating from Roman times.

In the square, the Neptune Fountain, created between 1550 and 1575, takes something of a booby prize. It was created by Bartolomeo Ammannati, who considered it a failure himself. The Florentines call it il Biancone, which may be translated as “the big white man” or “the big white lump.” Giambologna’s equestrian statue, to the left of the fountain, portrays Grand Duke Cosimo I. Occupying the steps of the Palazzo Vecchio are a copy of Donatello’s proud heraldic lion of Florence, the Marzocco (the original is now in the Bargello); a copy of Donatello’s Judith and Holofernes (the original is in the Palazzo Vecchio); and Baccio Bandinelli’s Hercules (1534), and, presiding over all, a copy of Michelangelo’s David (the original is in the Galleria dell’Accademia). The Marzocco, the Judith, and the David were symbols of Florentine civic pride—the latter two subjects had stood up to their oppressors. They provided apt metaphors for the republic-loving Florentines, who often chafed at Medici hegemony.

Fodor’s Choice | Ponte Vecchio (Old Bridge).
This charmingly simple bridge was built in 1345 to replace an earlier bridge swept away by flood. Its shops first housed butchers, then grocers, blacksmiths, and other merchants. But in 1593 the Medici grand duke Ferdinand I (1549–1609), whose private corridor linking the Medici palace (Palazzo Pitti) with the Medici offices (the Uffizi) crossed the bridge atop the shops, decided that all this plebeian commerce under his feet was unseemly. So he threw out the butchers and blacksmiths and installed 41 goldsmiths and eight jewelers. The bridge has been devoted solely to these two trades ever since.

The Corridoio Vasariano ( Piazzale degli Uffizi 6, Piazza della Signoria | 055/23885 or 055/294883), the private Medici corridor, was built by Vasari in 1565. Though the ostensible reason for its construction was one of security, it was more likely designed so that the Medici family wouldn’t have to walk amid the commoners. The corridor is notoriously fickle with its operating hours; at this writing, it is temporarily open but only to groups. It can sometimes be visited by prior special arrangement. Call for the most up-to-date details. Take a moment to study the Ponte Santa Trinita, the next bridge downriver, from either the bridge or the corridor. It was designed by Bartolomeo Ammannati in 1567 (probably from sketches by Michelangelo), blown up by the retreating Germans during World War II, and painstakingly reconstructed after the war. The view from the Ponte Santa Trinita is beautiful, which might explain why so many young lovers seem to hang out there.

Worth Noting

Fodor’s Choice | Campanile.
The Gothic bell tower of the city’s great Duomo was designed by the fabled artist Giotto (circa 1266–1337). Mostly known for his great fresco cycles in Padua and Assisi—he was the first to depict the first fully rounded people since the ancient Romans and the first, some say, to paint blue skies (not the gilded ones favored by medieval art)—he was also an important architect and here he created a soaring structure of multicolor marble originally decorated with sculptures by Donatello and reliefs by Giotto, Andrea Pisano, and others (which are now in the Museo dell’Opera del Duomo). A climb of 414 steps rewards you with a close-up of Brunelleschi’s cupola on the Duomo next door and a sweeping view of the city. | Piazza del Duomo | 50122 | 055/2302885 | www.operaduomo.firenze.it | €6 | Daily 8:30–7:30.

Mercato Nuovo (New Market).
The open-air loggia, built in 1551, teems with souvenir stands, but the real attraction is a copy of Pietro Tacca’s bronze Porcellino (which translates as “little pig” despite the fact the animal is, in fact, a wild boar). The Porcellino is Florence’s equivalent of the Trevi Fountain: put a coin in his mouth, and if it falls through the grate below (according to one interpretation), it means you’ll return to Florence someday. What you’re seeing is a copy of a copy: Tacca’s original version, in the Museo Bardini, is actually a copy of an ancient Greek work. | Corner of Via Por Santa Maria and Via Porta Rossa, Piazza della Repubblica | 50123 | Market: Tues.–Sat. 8–7, Mon. 1–7.

Museo dell’Opera del Duomo (Cathedral Museum).
Ghiberti’s original Baptistery door panels (in restoration at press time) and the cantorie (choir loft) reliefs by Donatello and Luca della Robbia (1400–82) keep company with Donatello’s Mary Magdalene and Michelangelo’s Pietà (not to be confused with his more famous Pietà in St. Peter’s in Rome). Renaissance sculpture is in part defined by its revolutionary realism, but in its palpable suffering Donatello’s Magdalene goes beyond realism. Michelangelo’s heart-wrenching Pietà was unfinished at his death; the female figure supporting the body of Christ on the left was added by Tiberio Calcagni (1532–65), and never has the difference between competence and genius been manifested so clearly. | Piazza del Duomo 9 | 50122 | 055/2302885 | www.operaduomo.firenze.it | €6 | Mon.–Sat. 9–7:30, Sun. 9–1:45.

Fodor’s Choice | Orsanmichele.
Famous today as a treasury of Early Renaissance sculpture—with fabled pieces by Donatello and Verrocchio—this multipurpose structure began as an 8th-century oratory and then in 1290 was turned into an open-air loggia for selling grain. Destroyed by fire in 1304, it was rebuilt as a loggia-market and, at century’s end, turned into a church. While the interior features a beautifully detailed 14th-century Gothic tabernacle by Andrea Orcagna (1308–68)—celebrated for it reflects the dire mood of the 14th-century city under assault by the “Black Death,” plague—Orsanmichele is most known for its exterior niches, which contain sculptures (all copies) dating from the early 1400s to the early 1600s by Donatello and Verrocchio (1435–88), paid for by the guilds. Although it is a copy, Verrocchio’s Doubting Thomas (circa 1470) is particularly deserving of attention. Here you see Christ, like the building’s other figures, entirely framed within the niche, and St. Thomas standing on its bottom ledge, with his right foot outside the niche frame. This one detail, the positioning of a single foot, brings the whole composition to life. It’s possible to see the original sculptures at the Museo di Orsanmichele, which is open Monday. | Via dei Calzaiuoli, Piazza della Repubblica | 50100 | 055/284944 | Museum: Mon. 10–5.

Palazzo Davanzati.
The prestigious Davanzati family owned this 14th-century palace in one of Florence’s swankiest medieval neighborhoods. The place is a delight, as you can wander through the surprisingly light-filled courtyard, and climb the steep stairs to the piano nobile, where the family did most of its living. The beautiful Sala dei Pappagalli (Parrot Room) is adorned with trompe-l’oeil tapestries and gaily painted birds. Though some claim that these date from the 14th century, many art historians are much less sure. | Piazza Davanzati 13, Piazza della Repubblica | 50100 | 055/2388610 | €2 | Daily 8:15–1:50. Closed 1st, 3rd, and 5th Sun. of month; closed 2nd and 4th Mon. of month.

Palazzo Vecchio (Old Palace).
With its massive bulk and towering campanile, Florence’s forbidding, fortresslike city hall has been the showpiece of the Piazza della Signoria ever since the structure was constructed in 1299. Presumably designed by Arnolfo di Cambio, it was built as a meeting place for the guildsmen governing the city at the time; today it is still City Hall. The interior courtyard is a good deal less severe, having been remodeled by Michelozzo (1396–1472) in 1453; a copy of Verrocchio’s bronze puttino (cherub), topping the central fountain, softens the space. (The original is upstairs.)

The main attraction is on the second floor: two adjoining rooms that supply one of the most startling contrasts in Florence. The first is the opulently vast Sala dei Cinquecento (Room of the Five Hundred), named for the 500-member Great Council, the people’s assembly established after the death of Lorenzo the Magnificent, that met here. Giorgio Vasari and others decorated the room, around 1563–65, with gargantuan frescoes celebrating Florentine history; depictions of battles with nearby cities predominate. Continuing the martial theme, the room also contains Michelangelo’s Victory, intended for the never-completed tomb of Pope Julius II (1443–1513), plus other sculptures of decidedly lesser quality.

In comparison, the little Studiolo, just off the Sala dei Cinquecento’s entrance, was a private room meant for the duke and those whom he invited in. Designed by Vasari, this is a great masterpiece of Mannerism, the super-stylish art trend that became the fashion in the mid-16th-century. The room is lined with painted panels, many of them masterworks by such artists as Bronzino and Giambologna. Here is where the melancholy Francesco I (1541–87), son of Cosimo I, stored his priceless treasures and conducted scientific experiments. | Piazza della Signoria | 50122 | 055/2768465 | €6 | Mon.–Wed. and Fri.–Sun. 9–7, Thurs. 9–2.

Piazza della Repubblica.
The square marks the site of the ancient forum that was the core of the original Roman settlement. The street plan around the piazza still reflects the carefully plotted Roman military encampment. The Mercato Vecchio (Old Market), which had been here since the Middle Ages, was demolished and the current piazza was constructed between 1885 and 1895 as a neoclassical showpiece. The piazza is lined with outdoor cafés, affording an excellent opportunity for people-watching.

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