When making travel plans to Italy, Florence should definitely be on your itinerary. Having a wonderful selection of hotels, restaurants, history and well know attractions, Florence can be appealing for travelers of all ages. Some of the fantastic attractions in Florence include: Michelangelo's 'David', the Santa Marie del Fiore at the Piazza del Duomo, and Ponte Vecchio!

Florence is blessed with a wide choice of delightful pensione. Some have an intimate charm, adorned with lovely furniture and frescoes; others are chic, others grand.  You need to book well in advance, especially between April and October. Many of them are without a restaurant, but that is no hardship in a town stuffed with interesting places in which to eat. The province of Florence draws its southern border across the Chianti hills.  A line of defensive castles marks the ancient boundary with Siena, a reminder of the bitter emnity between the two in medieval times.

Santa Maria del Fiore The Duomo
Piazza del Duomo

A distinctive feature of Florence's skyline is the dome of the cathedral (Duomo), Santa Maria del Fiore. The building itself, located due north of the Piazza della Signoria, was begun by the sculptor Arnolfo di Cambio in 1296. Numerous local artists continued to work on it during the following century and a half. The painter Giotto designed its sturdy bell tower (campanile) in 1334. Yet, the massive octagonal cupola (1420-36) that truly dominates both the church and the city was the proud achievement of Filippo Brunelleschi, master architect and sculptor. Opposite the cathedral stands the Baptistery; the building dates from the 11th century but was believed by Florentines to be a surviving Roman monument when they commissioned for it a series of bronze doors with relief sculptures (1330; 1401-52). The third pair of these doors, by Lorenzo Ghiberti, were of such rare beauty that Michelangelo christened them the ' Gates of Paradise.'

The cathedral of Florence itself had been begun in the Gothic style by Arnolfo di Cambio in 1296. But in 1366 the City of Florence, following the advice of certain painters and sculptors, decided that the Gothic should no longer be used and that all new work should follow Roman forms, including an octagonal dome 42 metres in span to be built at the east end of the nave. The dome was not built until the early 15th century, when Filippo Brunelleschi, a goldsmith and sculptor, began to make statues for the cathedral. Gradually he became interested in the building itself and built some smaller parts of it. In about 1415 he prepared a design for the dome that he daringly proposed to build without the aid of formwork, which had been absolutely necessary in all previous Roman and Gothic construction. He built a 1:12 model of the dome in brick to demonstrate his method; the design was accepted and built under his supervision from 1420 to 1436.

Ponte Vecchio

The Ponte Vecchio leads you across the Arno River past the stores of jewelry, souvenirs, and other tempting trinkets. It is unique because it is the oldest surviving bridge in Florence. It once housed blacksmith, butchers, and tanners who saw the river below as a convenient sewer. By the end of the Renaissance, they were evicted and goldsmith's and other artisans moved in. Ponte Vecchio is the only bridge in Florence that survived W.W.II.

Galleria dell'Accademia

via Ricasoli 60
Open: 9- 6 p.m. Closed Mondays.

The Galleria dell'Accademia contains one of the most famous statues in the world, Michelangelo's David.  Michelangelo's David originally stood in front of the Palazzo Vecchio at the beginning of the sixteenth century, as the symbolic guardian of the liberty of the Florentine Republic. In 1873 it was moved to the Galleria and was replaced by the copy which now stands in its original location.

Uffizi Gallery

Via della Ninna 5
50122, Firenze, Italia
Tel: +39 (0)55 2388651-652
Fax: +39 (0)55 2388699.

Open:  Tuesday-Sunday 8.15am- 7.00pm
Close:  every Monday, January 1, May 1, December 25.
The ticket office is located on the ground floor; the Gallery is mainly located on the second floor.  Entrance L. 12.000

The Uffizi Gallery, founded in Florence in 1581, by the De Medici family, is one of the oldest museums in the world. Many important works of Italian and other schools, dating from between the fourteenth and eighteenth centuries, are kept here, including the largest existing collection of Tuscan Renaissance paintings.  Features works of da Vinci, Botticelli, Michaelangelo, Raffaello, Canaletto and others.