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About the "town" of FLORENCE

Population: 374,500 (men 47 %; women 53 %)
Contry: Italy | Region: Tuscany
Languages: standard Italian, no dialects.
Time: GMT/UTC plus one hour (plus two hours in summer)
Annual growth: 1.7% | Inflation: 2.1%
Major industries: tourism, textiles, food processing
(wine and olive), clothing & footwear.

FLORENCE, capital of the region of Tuscany, has a population of around half a million inhabitants, spreads on the banks of the Arno, between the Adriatic and the Tyrrhenian seas, almost in the middle of the Italian peninsula. It is a city which bustles with industry and craft, commerce and culture, art and science. Being on the main national railway lines, it is easily accessible from most important places both in Italy and abroad. The Florence "Vespucci" airport, where both national and international airlines stop, is located 5 Km. from the city centre. The main motorway, A1, connects Florence with Bologna and Milano in the North and Rome and Naples in the South. The motorway A11 to the sea joins it to Prato, Pistoia, Montecatini, Lucca, Pisa and all the resorts on the Tyrrhenian sea. There is also motorway which connects Florence to Siena. The climate is temperate but rather variable, with breezy winters and hot summers.

The Chianti area, between Florence and Siena, is one of the most beautiful countrysides in Italy and a famous wine production area.

HISTORY

Founded by the Romans in the first century B.C., Florence began its rebirth after the decadence of the barbaric ages, in the Carolingian period, and reached its highest pinnacles of civilization between the 11th and 15th centuries, as a free city, balancing the authority of the Emperors with that of the Popes, overcoming the unfortunate internal dispute between Guelfs and Ghibellines. In the 15th century, it came under the rule of the Medici family, who later became the Grand Dukes of Tuscany. This in fact was the period when the city was at the height of its glory in art and culture, in politics and economic power. The Grand Duchy of the Medicis was succeeded, in the 18th century, by that of the House of Lorraine, when in 1860 Tuscany became part of the Kingdom of Italy of which Florence was the capital from 1865 to 1871. In this century, the city has once more taken up its role as an important centre for culture and the arts.

Il Ponte Vecchio è uno dei simboli della città di Firenze ed uno dei ponti più famosi del mondo.

Le botteghe di Ponte Vecchio si affacciano tutte sul passaggio centrale, ciascuna con un'unica vetrina chiusa da spesse porte in legno, e spesso presentano un retrobottega costruito a sbalzo sul fiume e sostenuto da beccatelli (o "sporti").

THE "CATHEDRAL"

The CATHEDRAL ("Duomo") is dedicated to Santa Maria del Fiore and is of typical Italian Gothic architecture. The present building was designed by Arnolfo di Cambio (1245-1302), one of the greatest architect/sculptors of his age. Finished around 1367 it was completely covered with coloured marble like the earlier Baptistery, earlier Baptistery, although the uncompleted facade was given its covering in the nineteenth century.

In contrast with structure's taut Gothic style, which is completely different from medieval buildings north of the Alps, there are several classic and important works of art. Of primary importance are the two frescoes on the right-hand wall showing the equestrian monuments of the "condottieri" (generals) by Paolo Uccello (1436) and Andrea del Castagno (1456).

Many of the sculptures from the Duomo are now kept in the Museum of the "Opera del Duomo" but others are still in place, such as the lunettes by Luca della Robbia above the doors of the Sacristy or the bronze door of the Mass Sacristy and the great Pietà by Michelangelo. The splendid stained glass windows should not be forgotten, mainly executed from 1434-1445 to the designs of such important artists as Donatello, Andrea del Castagno and Paolo Uccello. Also notable are the wooden inlays of the Sacristy cupboards to the designs of Brunelleschi, Antonio Del Pollaiolo and others.

THE "CUPOLA"

Filippo Brunelleschi started in 1420 with the construction of the CUPOLA. The diameter of the inner span (m. 41.50) is close to the maximum limit for any kind of masonry dome. Instead of re-using usual methods, Brunelleschi invented a technique based on his knowledge of the Roman's "way of building," which he put at the service of a new concept and new kinds of technical, cultural, aesthetic problems, involved in the realization of the cupola. Basically, the construction of the dome depended on the use of a building technique capable of avoiding any dangerous discontinuity in the 27,000 tons of masonry. The cupola was thus built as a self supporting growing form. The dome is surprisingly modern: in this double shell, the lighter exterior cupola protects the inner cupola from the elements, while the two work together thanks to the powerful connecting ribs. Completed in 1436, the Cupola is the most characteristic feature of the Florentine skyline, symbolising a great cultural tradition and the city's civic awareness. The interior celing of the Cupola was painted by Giorgio Vasari (1511-1574) and Federico Zuccari (c. 1540-1609) with a huge fresco representing the Last Judgement.

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