Florence

Florence is the cradle of the Renaissance or the soul of Italy. This historic city with the capital Rome built the remarkable cultural image of Italy and is popular worldwide.

Florence is situated among the incredibly beautiful and scenic natural area, around the town are queues of vineyards and elegant estates of typical architecture. Some of these houses are owned by one of the richest and most influential people in Italy or belong to stars of world rank.

Florence is located just above the central part of Italy, in the picturesque Tuscany region. The River Arno passes right through the city. Florence extends around the river area of about 102 sq. km and has a population of around 360 000 people.

The history of Florence begins in 59 BC, when it exists in the Latin name Florentia, which translates to "flourishing". Later became a city that is in the 4th century residence of the bishop. Further, over the centuries Florence was successively conquered by Byzantium, Ostrogoths, Lombards and Franks. As a result, the population was substantially reduced about 1000.

The revival of the city began in 10c. And in 1115 Florence became the autonomous region. In 1252 Florence already had its own gold coin - Florian, whose quote in Europe was quite high. Florence was rapidly growing and in 1340 the population reached 80, 000 people. Not long after, however, the plague reduced this number sharply. Before the Black Death about 25, 000 had worked in the textile industry, production of wool and silk were providing much of the revenue of the city.

From around 1400 Florence was actually managed by the Medici family, who were bankers to the pope. This fact has an important role in increasing the influence and wealth of the family. Lorenzo "the Magnificent" Medici was such a great protector and patron of the arts. When he had power in Florence, he awarded many projects to names like Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and Botticelli. In the 15th century the architecture of Florence was enriched by the works that go from under the hands of Brunelleschi, Masaccio, Donatello, Alberti, Giberti, and many others.

The central part of Florence is now closed to cars. Today the feeling of the late medieval city state, is as what Florence was actually like. It is noticeable when walking around the medieval buildings. You can feel the greatness of this city, which has important cultural and political development of Europe. Florence probably boasts the most amazing series of architectural masterpieces in the galleries. Florence is the birthplace of Renaissance architecture. The most vivid examples are buildings like, Innocenti Ospedale of Brunelleschi, which is a shelter for homeless, and also the chapel "Patsy" in the remarkable church of Santa Croce.

Incredible works of Michelangelo can be seen in San Lorenzo in the Medici chapel and library Laurentsiana.

Santa Maria del Fiore is a remarkable cathedral in Florence and is considered the fourth largest in the world. Here they baptize infants and is one of the oldest buildings in Florence. The cathedral is especially impressive mostly because of the beautiful mosaics and the huge bronze door which has written on it "The Door of Heaven" as you can see depicted biblical scenes. Interestingly, you will not see figures of men on the doors.

Santa Maria del Fiore, in Florence is remarkable and the Tower of Giotto is incredibly bold for its time with a dome of Brunelleschi case. It is a double shell dome without support columns. Years later, Michelangelo used the same structure to raise the great dome of the basilica of St. Peter in Rome. Nearby is the patron, which is the married Dante. She is not impressive with size but has spectacular architecture and is very modest and small. Before the temple was made a special plate that displays the date of marriage of the great author.