Built by the Romans with the name of
Florentia along the Arno river, Florence is now a modern and bright city, but it keeps its ancient charm thanks to the incredible artistic and cultural heritage.
One of the best ways to visit the city is to buy the ticket "Florence PassePartout" that allows to use the touristic bus Firenze City Sightseeing and the bus network or alternatively to rent a bike.
The visit can start from the old district of the city, around the cathedral of St. John and the Dom. First of all a stop is worth to the "Battistero of San Giovanni", not far from the city's symbol, the
Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, built upon the old Roman cathedral of Santa Reparata on the 11th Century. The impressive dome was built by Brunelleschi and was ended in 1436 and is 86,70 meters high.
At the rightside of the cathedral, there's the
bell tower built by Giotto in the 14th Century.
Art lovers can not miss the museums of museums of Polo Museale Fiorentino, a network that include 13 of the most important museums of the city such as the famous
Galleria degli Uffizi.
Besides this,
Piazza della Signoria became the power centre of the city in the 13th Century and is still the real centre of the city. The monumental
Fonte del Nettuno captures immediately the eyes of the visitors, while other sculptures like Perseo and Ratto delle Sabine are located in the Loggia della Signoria.
The building that "dominates" the square is
Palazzo Vecchio, or della Signoria, as it was the residence of the Medici family that leaded Florence in the Middle Ages. In front of the builiding there are the copy the famous sculpture called
David di Michelangelo, as the original one is shown into the halls of Galleria dell'Accademia, and also the group "Giuditta e Oloferne" of Donatello.
Another symbol of the city is the old bridge,
Ponte Vecchio, the most ancient in Florence, built in Roman epoque and rebuilt in the 14th Century. The bridge is plenty of houses and old handicraft workshops, first of tanners and then of goldsmiths. This second group divided the bridge into the many shops that are already existing.
