Florence landmarks

the Campanile

After the Duomo, the Campanile or bell tower (see photo below) is one of the most recognizable buildings in Florence. It is 278 feet high and offers fine views of Florence. Construction of the Campanile began in 1334 under the direction of Giotto di Bondone. The Campanile is often called Giotto's Bell Tower, even though the famous Renaissance artist only lived to see the completion of its lower story. We will discuss Giotto more in our next learning unit. To see inside the bell tower click here . And, for more information on all of the Duomo structures,

The Campanile (Bell Tower) and Battistero (Baptistery)

It is important to know that in addition to the cathedral itself, there is also a Bell Tower and Baptistery. As the map below shows, these structures are not attached to the cathedral, but are in the plaza and considered part of the church.

Masaccio's Trinity

Masaccio's Trinity is one of the earliest and best examples of advanced perspective techniques developed in the period. It is a fresco, which means that the painting was done rapidly in watercolor on wet plaster on a wall or ceiling, so that the colors penetrate the plaster and become fixed into the surface (Michelangelo's Sistine Ceiling paintings are frescoes). we will revisit Masaccio's Trinity when we discuss the development of perspective in the renaissance

Vasari corridor

Note that the Vasari corridor runs along the top of the Ponte Vecchio (point 3 above).

Old Pharmacy of Santa Maria Novella

On the way out of Santa Maria Novella plaza, we have to top by one of the worlds oldest pharmacies, established in 1221

Piazza Signoria

Outside of the Palazzo Vecchio is the Piazza Signoria where several statues are displayed. Including some by Donatello.

Palazzo Vecchio

The Palazzo Vecchio, literally the "Old Palace", was completed in 1302 by Arnolfo di Cambio and still fulfills its original role as Florence's town hall. The building resembles a fortress and represents the pre-Renaissance "Romanesque" style. It is highlighted by a 308 foot campanile which was a supreme feat of engineering at the time. The interior was remodeled for Duke Cosimo (di Medici) when he moved in in 1540. It became known as Palazzo Vecchio when Cosimo transferred his court to the Palazzo Pitti ( for a link to excellent short videos on Cosimo di Medici, click here ). During the brief period that Florence was the capital of Italy (1865-71), it housed the Parliament and Foreign Ministry.

Ponte Vecchio

The Ponte Vecchio (the "old bridge") was until 1218 the only bridge across the Arno in Florence. The current bridge was rebuilt after a flood in in 1345. During World War II it was the only bridge across the Arno that the fleeing Germans did not destroy. There have been stores on the Ponte Vecchio since the 13th century. Initially, there were all types of shops, including butchers and fishmongers and later tanners, whose industrial waste caused a pretty rank stench. In 1593, Ferdinand I decreed that only goldsmiths and jewelers be allowed to have their stores on the bridge. Cellini, a 16th century goldsmith, is honored with a bust on the bridge. By night, the wooden shutters of the shops make them look like suitcases and wooden chests, making it a very suggestive route to take along an evening passeggiata, or stroll.

The Baptistery

The ceiling inside the Baptistery is covered with beautiful Byzantine mosaic designs

Michelangelo's David copy

The collection also includes a replica of Michelangelo's David. It is important to know that this is not the original statue. Michelangelo's original is housed in the Accademia di Belle Arti in Florence

Santa Maria Novella

The main structure of the church was built by Dominican monks between 1279 and 1357. AS you can see in the photo above, there is a facade on the front of the church that was added later. The facade's lower half was done in a Tuscan Romanesque style by Fra' Jacopo Talenti, but the upper half was added in 1456-70 by the great Renaissance architectural theorist Leon Battista Alberti, who managed to stamp it firmly with his exacting Neoclassical ideals while still managing to meld it seamlessly to the Romanesque bottom half. So . it is an architectural hybrid. The pointed-arch niches and decorative marble patterns in the lower half reflect the Romanesque/Gothic style of the day. Alberti's decoration of his upper story clearly defers to the already existing work below, but the architectural motifs he added evince an entirely different style. The central doorway, the four ground-floor half-columns with Corinthian capitals, the triangular pediment atop the second story, the inscribed frieze immediately below the pediment—these are borrowings from antiquity, and they reflect the new Renaissance style in architecture.

the Duomo

he Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore (Saint Mary of the Flower) is nicknamed the Duomo after the enormous octagonal dome designed by Brunelleschi. It is the cathedral of Florence, Italy. The Duomo is the home church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Florence, which traces its roots to 394 CE.

The Baptistery

is dedicated to her patron saint, John the Baptist. The structure dated from before the cathedral and was built on the foundations of a Roman building, it is a characteristic example of the Tuscan Romanesque style, dating according to some authorities from around the 11th century (it was consecrated in 1059). Intended for the liturgical function of baptism, in the 11th century it also acted as the city's Cathedral.

Palazzo Pitti

n 1458 the wealthy Florentine banker Luca Pitti, who sought to build a palace rivaling those of the ruling Medici family, commissioned the construction of the Palazzo Pitti in Oltrarno, then a rural area across the river Arno. The design of the palace is attributed to Filippo Brunelleschi, but since Brunelleschi died 12 years before the construction started, his assistant Luca Fancelli was most likely the architect. Construction continued until 1465. In 1549, when Luca Pitti's descendants ran into financial problems, they sold the palace to Eleonora di Toledo, the Spanish wife of grand duke Cosimo I de' Medici. She suffered from poor health and convinced Cosimo I the rural environment would be good for her health. Even though it was only a short distance removed from the heart of Florence, the area was sparsely populated. The following year the Medici moved from the Palazzo Vecchio to the Palazzo Pitti, which would continue to be the main residence for the rulers of Florence.

Michelangelo's David

original