(DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Italy

Central Italy





Introducing Central Italy 250–257

Emilia-Romagna 258–273
Florence 274–310
Florence Street Finder 311–317
Tuscany 318–351
Umbria 352–367

Le Marche 368–377










































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Introducing Central Italy

The central regions of Italy offer a range of beautiful Piacenza
landscapes, towns rich in culture and history, and Po
outstanding churches, towers and palaces. Fiorenzuola
d'Arda
Emilia-Romagna is home to the impressive Po
Po Delta, which provides a haven for wildlife. Parma Ferrara
Tuscany is dominated by Florence, one of Italy’s
most celebrated cities. Umbria and Le Marche Reggio Emilia Modena EMILIA-ROMAGNA
offer gentle pastoral countryside and (See pp258–73)
picturesque hill-towns. The major sights Parma Reno
of this popular area are shown here. Bologna

Imola Ravenna
Faenza
Forlì
Massa Cesena
The Leaning Tower of Pisa Rimini
and the Duomo (see pp328–30),
splendid examples of 12th- and Lucca Prato SAN
13th-century architecture, are MARINO Pesaro
decorated with Arabic-inspired, Florence
complex geometric patterns. Pisa Arno (see inset below) Fano
Urbino
Bibbiena
Sansepolcro
Livorno Ancona
TUSCANY
Florence (See pp318–51) Cagli
(See pp274–317) Volterra Arezzo Città di LE MARCHE
Castello
(See pp368–77)
Siena Gubbio
Macerata
SAN Campiglia UMBRIA
LORENZO Marittima Lago (See pp352–67) San Severino
Trasimeno Marche
S. MARIA Perugia Assisi
NOVELLA Piombino
CENTRO Foligno
STORICO Tevere
Ascoli
SANTA Piceno
CROCE Grosseto
Arno
The Duomo and the OLTRARNO Orvieto Spoleto
Baptistry, set in the heart
of Florence, dominate
the city (see pp284–6).
The dome dwarfs many Giardino Orbetello
surrounding buildings. di Boboli
The Uffizi
contains a superb
collection of Florentine The Palazzo Pitti, 0 kilometres 50
art from Gothic to High begun in 1457 for
Renaissance and beyond the banker Luca 0 miles 25
(see pp290–93). Pitti, became the
main residence of
the Medici. It now
0 kilometres 1 houses their treas ures
0 miles 0.5 (see pp306–7).
Sun setting over a tranquil vineyard in Tuscany



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The church of San Vitale in
Ravenna is a gem of Byzantine
Piacenza art and architecture (see p272).
It contains brilliantly preserved
Po
mosaics from the 6th century.
Fiorenzuola
d'Arda
Po
Parma
Ferrara
Reggio Emilia EMILIA-ROMAGNA Locator Map
Modena
(See pp258–73)
Parma Reno The Palazzo Ducale in Urbino
Bologna was built by Duke Federico, the
town’s 15th-century ruler, to
Imola Ravenna plans by Laurana (see pp374–5).
This Renaissance palace now
Faenza houses the Galleria Nazionale
delle Marche.
Forlì
Massa Cesena
Rimini
Lucca
Prato SAN
MARINO Pesaro
Florence
Pisa Arno (see inset below) Fano
Urbino
Bibbiena
Sansepolcro
Livorno Ancona
TUSCANY Cagli
(See pp318–51)
Volterra Arezzo Città di LE MARCHE
Castello
(See pp368–77)
Siena Gubbio
Macerata
Campiglia UMBRIA
Marittima Lago (See pp352–67) San Severino
Trasimeno Marche
Perugia Assisi
Piombino
Tevere Foligno Ascoli
Grosseto Piceno
Orvieto Spoleto

Orbetello





Giotto’s fresco cycle
from the Basilica of
San Francesco in Assisi
was executed in the
Siena, a medieval town 13th century (see
steeped in tradition, centres pp358–61). The church
around the Campo, the large is visited by thousands
piazza shaped like a scallop of pilgrims each year.
shell (see pp342–7). The lively
horse race, the Corsa del Palio,
is held here in July and August.




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The Flavours of Central Italy

Emilia-Romagna is Italy’s gourmet capital, and home to
Parmesan, Parma ham and balsamic vinegar. Bologna has
earned the epithet La Grassa (“The Fat”) for rich dishes in which
butter, cheese and velvety sauces feature strongly. The lush
lands and rolling hills of Tuscany, Umbria and Le Marche tend
to offer simpler flavours and more rustic, peasant cuisine.
Top-quality pork from the Cinta Senese pig, beef from the
Chianina cattle of Tuscany, fabulous funghi and Umbrian truffles,
superb wild boar, and saffron-scented fish soups from the coast Italian tomatoes
of Le Marche are all gastronomic delights of Central Italy.

honour of Lucrezia Borgia’s two provinces, and there
golden hair, while tortellini is still a culinary distinction
pasta is said to be modelled between them. While Emilia’s
on the shape of Venus’s navel. gastronomy is liberally laced
The region’s pork butchers with butter, cheese and
are the most famous in Italy, mushrooms, Romagna’s
making excellent sausages, keynotes tend to be olive oil,
salumi and mortadella, and garlic and onions – and fish.
using every part of the animal The Adriatic in this region
including the trotters, which teems with life and is an
are stuffed to form the local especially good catching
speciality zamponi. Emilia and ground for turbot (rombo) –
Tray of perfect, freshly made coastal Romagna were once the “pheasant of the sea”.
tortellini pasta
Nostrano Milano Finocchiona Bococcini
Emilia-Romagna
Not only is this rich, fertile
land the home of many of
Italy’s most classic ingred ients,
but it has also given the
world bolognese sauce (ragù).
The authentic sauce contains
some 20 ingredients and is
usually served with tagliatelle – Porchetta
never spaghetti. Pasta is an art Spianatta romana
form here. Legend has it that Mortadella
tagliatelle was invented in Selection of the finest Italian salumi and other cooked meats


Regional Dishes and Specialities
Tuscan olive oil is outstanding in quality.
It has many uses and is an integral part
of crostini, slices of toasted bread
smeared with olive oil on which
different toppings are spread,
such as chicken livers in crostini alla
Toscana. Salumi producers are a great
feature of the region and prosciutto di
cinghiale (wild boar ham) is a rich, gamey
Crostini alla Toscana delicacy. As well as tagliatelle al ragù in Bologna,
other very popular pastas include tortellini and
tortelloni (the latter being larger than the former), often filled with
cheese, butter and herbs. Panforte is the Italian Christmas speciality –
a delicious confection of fruits, nuts, honey, sugar and spices Cacciucco A fish and seafood
originating in Siena. Try also ricciarelli, diamond-shaped almond soup from Livorno, flavoured
biscuits, and torta di riso – a rich, golden cake made with rice. with herbs and tomatoes and
ladled over garlicky toast.






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truffle paste and truffle oils.
Norcia is also famous for its
pigs, and a favourite dish is
porchetta – whole roast suckling
pig stuffed with herbs. Wild
mushrooms are plentiful in
season, in particular porcini
(ceps). Game features too,
usually in the form of pheasant,
guinea fowl or pigeon, with the
odd songbird thrown in,
although it is now illegal to
catch wild songbirds. The rural
interior of Le Marche also
Just part of a gigantic wheel of Parmigiano-Reggiano, or Parmesan features porchetta; lamb and
rabbit are popular, too. The long
coastline yields a bounty of fish,
Tuscany Umbria and Le Marche often made into fish broths and,
Tuscany is the orchard and Umbria, “the green heart of Italy”, a speciality of Ancona, zuppa di
vegetable garden of Italy. is the only area outside Piedmont pesce, fish soup with saffron.
It is also famous for red meat, where truffles are found in such
especially from the prized high concentration. Norcia is ON THE MENU
Valdichiana cattle, from south the capital of the black truffle
of Arezzo. Pork is also excellent, and shops everywhere sell Baci From Perugia, these are
and the Tuscan passion for chocolate-coated hazelnuts,
hunting ensures that hare, their name literally meaning
pheasant and wild boar, often “kisses” in Italian.
served with local chestnuts, Bistecca Fiorentina Steak,
feature prominently on menus. marinated in herbs, garlic and
If there is one staple Tuscan finest extra virgin olive oil, rapidly
ingredient it is fruity olive oil, grilled over wood coals. The meat
liberally used in cooking and for this has to be Chianina beef.
for seasoning everything from Cinghiale in umido Traditional
bread to salads, vege tables, Tuscan wild boar stew with red
stews and soups. wine, tomatoes, garlic and
Broths and soups are very vegetables. Usually served
popular, often made with with polenta.
beans, especially white Vincisgrassi A baked, layered
cannellini beans. Not for dish from Le Marche of ham,
nothing are Tuscans known pasta and béchamel sauce,
as toscani mangiafagioli Tuscan market stall piled high with sprinkled with truffle shavings.
(Tuscan bean-eaters). fresh, ripe vegetables
















Tagliatelle al ragù Flat strips Arista alla Fiorentina Pork Zuccotto A Tuscan speciality,
of pasta are tossed with the loin is roasted in the oven with light sponge cake filled with
quintessential Italian meat garlic and rosemary, a speciality hazelnuts, almonds, chocolate
sauce from Bologna. of Florence. and cream.






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The Wines of Central Italy
Chianti Classico is the
Vineyards are seen everywhere in Central Italy, from heart of the Chianti zone.
the rolling cypress-fringed hills of Tuscany to the Chianti may be light
and fruity or dense and
flatter, Lambrusco-producing plains of Emilia-Romagna. long-lived – price is the
The finest red wines are made in the hills of southeastern usual guide. Rocca
Tuscany: Chianti Classico, Brunello di Montalcino and delle Macie is very
Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. Today’s innovative mix reasonably priced.
of modern and traditional techniques is steadily
improving the quality of much of the region’s wine.
Vernaccia di San
Gimignano is a Tuscan white
wine with a long, distinguished
history. Traditionally a golden,
often oxidized wine, it is now Parma
also produced in a fresher
style, for early drinking. Modena
Teruzzi & Puthod
make consistently Bologna Ravenna
good Vernaccia.
EMILIA-ROMAGNA
Forli
San Marino

Pistoia
Lucca
Florence
Pisa Greve
Vino Nobile di
Montepulciano is made from
the same grapes as Chianti. San Gimignano Arezzo
It can be of superior quality, Siena
hence its claim to be a “noble
wine”. The vineyards are set TUSCANY
around the delightful hilltop Montepulciano
village of Montepulciano.
Montalcino

Orvieto
Brunello di Montalcino
is made from Sangiovese,
Brunello being its local
name. Its firm tannins Super-Tuscans
may need up to 10 During the 1970s innovative
years to soften before wine-makers set out to create
the rich, spicy flavours new, individual wines, even though
are revealed. Rosso di under the existing rules they would
Montalcino, on the other be labelled as simple table wine.
hand, can be enjoyed A trend that started with Antinori’s
much younger. Tignanello (a Sangiovese-Cabernet
Sauvignon blend), this approach
has reinvigor ated Tuscan wine, Sassicaia, a red wine
to produce some exciting, if made from the Cabernet
expensive, variations.
0 kilometres 50 Sauvignon grape
0 miles 25






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Grapes of Central Italy
The versatile Sangiovese grape
dominates wine-making in
Central Italy. It is the main
grape in Chianti, in Vino Nobile
di Montepulciano, in Brunello di
Montalcino, and in many of the
Super-Tuscan wines. Of the
established whites, Trebbiano Sangiovese
and Malvasia head the list. grapes
Chianti estate at Badia a Passignano in Tuscany Imported varieties such as
Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon play
Key a role, often being used to comp lement and
Chianti enhance native varieties, of which there has
been a resurgence.
Chianti Classico
Vernaccia di San Gimignano How to Read the Label
Brunello di Montalcino
The DOCG name Producer’s name
Vino Nobile di Montepulciano guarantees the origin
of the wine. Year of
Orvieto Classico
Ravenna production
Orvieto
Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi
Forli Lambrusco
Rimini
San Marino
Pèsaro
Urbino Ancona
LE MARCHE
Jesi

Arezzo
Gubbio
UMBRIA
Perugia The bottler’s name
Montepulciano Assisi and address are Alcoholic
given, so the region content
of production is clear.
Good Wine Producers
Verdicchio is a dry white Chianti: Antinori, Badia a Coltibuono,
Orvieto wine from Le Marche Brolio, Castello di Ama, Castello di Rampolla,
with a crisp, slightly salty Fattoria Selvapiana, Felsina Berardenga,
taste. The single-vineyard Il Palazzino, Isole e Olena, Monte Vertine,
Verdicchio, such as Riecine, Rocca delle Macie, Ruffino, Tenuta
Umani Ronchi’s Casal Fontodi. Brunello di Montalcino: Argiano,
di Serra, is winning Altesino, Caparzo, Castelgiocondo,
much acclaim. Costanti, Il Poggione, Villa Banfi.
Vino Nobile di Montepulciano:
Avignonesi, Le Casalte, Poliziano.
Orvieto Classico is a popular In Umbria: Adanti, Lungarotti.
Umbrian white wine. This
fresh, dry (Secco) version from
the Antinori estate is a good Good Chianti Vintages
example of a modern-style 2008, 2007, 2004, 2003,
Orvieto. The wine also comes 2001, 2000, 1999, 1997,
in a sweeter form, known 1995, 1993, 1990, 1988.
as Abboccato.






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Understanding Architecture in Central Italy

Central Italy has countless fine Renaissance buildings,
many of them concentrated in and around Florence.
Their clear lines, elegant simplicity and harmonious
proportions came out of a re-evaluation of the past.
Turning their backs on the Gothic style, the architects
of the Renaissance returned to Classical Rome for
inspiration. Most of the large buildings had been
started by the late 15th century, paid for by the
Catholic Church or by powerful noble families,
such as the Medici of Florence. The Palazzo Ducale in Urbino (begun 1465)

Religious Buildings
Symmetrical
Small circular floorplan is based
Arched bays One of 12 windows on a Greek cross.
trisect the façade. roundels by Luca Square plan
della Robbia topped by Harmonious
small dome proportions

Pope Pius II’s
coat of arms










Pienza’s Duomo was built by The Pazzi Chapel of Santa Croce Santa Maria della
Bernardo Rossellino in 1459 for in Florence (begun 1441) is one of Consolazione in Todi, begun
Pope Pius II as part of his vision Brunelleschi’s most famous works, in 1508, owes much to the
of the ideal Renaissance city decorated with terracotta roundels ideas of the architect
(see p337). by Luca della Robbia (see pp288–9). Bramante (see p363).
Town and Country Houses
Wedge-shaped Strong
masonry horizontal line
The cornice was designed to
cast a shadow over the face
of the palace around midday.

Square windows
are found only on
the ground floor.


The Palazzo Strozzi in Florence (1489–
1536) is typical of many Tuscan city
palaces (see p332). The three storeys
are given equal importance, and
the massive rusticated stonework
conveys the impression of strength
and power (see p297).





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Understanding Architecture in Central Italy
Where to See the seeks to reinterpret it in his own
Architecture unique fashion. Urbino’s Palazzo
Ducale (pp374–5) perfects the
The simple canons of the Renais - grace and polish of the era and
sance were interpreted differently is a truly noble period residence.
away from the hotbed of artistic On a smaller scale are the planned
thought and cultural endeavour of Renaissance centres of elegant
Florence, which has the greatest towns such as Ferrara (pp264–5),
number of churches and palaces. Pienza (p337) and Urbania (p373).
Alberti’s Tempio Malatestiano at All three centres are examples of
Rimini (see p270) evokes the sobriety Vista in the Boboli enlightened patronage, and pay
of ancient Roman architecture yet Gardens, Florence homage to the art of antiquity.



The weight of the lantern Classical triangular pediment
prevents the dome from Volute connects
springing apart.
the lower and
Outer shell The top edge of upper parts.
Timber ribs the frieze divides
provide the the façade in two.
main support.
Inner
shell









The Duomo in Florence is crowned by the The façade of Santa Maria Novella in Florence
revolutionary dome (1436) by Brunelleschi, (1458–70) was designed by Leon Battista Alberti.
which had to be built without scaffolding due He incorporated some of the existing Gothic
to its size. The timber structure is covered by features into an overall design typical of the
an inner and outer shell (see pp284–5). Renaissance (see pp300–1).

The villa at Poggio a Caiano Clock, a later Classical frieze
(1480) was redesigned in the
Renaissance by Giuliano da addition
Sangallo (see p332). The graceful, Colonnade derived from
curved staircase was added a Classical temple
around 1802.




Classical
portico













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EMILIA-ROMAGNA


Emilia-Romagna is the heartland of central Italy,
a broad corridor through the hills and plains of the
Po Valley that marks the watershed between the cold
north of the Alps and the hot Mediterranean south.
With its rich agricultural land, historic cities and thriving
industry, it is one of the most prosperous areas in Italy.

Most of the major towns in Emilia- medieval centres of
Romagna lie near the Via Aemilia, a Roman these towns. Cobbled
road built in 187 BC, which linked Rimini together from separate Papal
on the Adriatic coast with the garrison States in 1860, modern Emilia-Romagna
town of Piacenza. Prior to the Romans, was given its present borders in 1947.
the Etruscans had ruled from their capital, Emilia, the western part of the region,
Felsina, located on the site of present- is traditionally associated with a more
day Bologna. After the fall of Rome, the northern outlook and a tendency towards
region’s focus moved to Ravenna, which the left in politics. Romagna, on the other
became a principal part of the Byzantine hand, has witnessed an increase in the
Empire administered from Constantinople. support for right-wing parties calling
During the Middle Ages pilgrims for political independence from Rome.
heading for Rome continued to use the The entire region has a reputation as
Via Aemilia. Political power, however, a great gastronomic centre. Agriculture
passed to influential noble families – the has long thrived on the Po’s alluvial
Malatesta in Rimini, the Bentivoglio in fringes, earning the Pianura Padana (Po
Bologna, the d’Este in Ferrara and Modena, Plain) epithets such as the “breadbasket”
and the Farnese in Parma and Piacenza. and “fruit bowl” of Italy. Pigs still outnumber
Great courts grew up around the families, humans in many areas, and some of
attracting poets such as Dante and the country’s most famous staples –
Ariosto, as well as painters, sculptors and Parma ham and Parmesan cheese –
architects whose works still grace the originate here.























The Palazzo del Comune, or “il Gotico”, in Piacenza
The statue of Garibaldi that stands in front of the Palazzo del Governatore, Parma



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Exploring Emilia-Romagna

Emilia-Romagna is a chequerboard of fields and plains between
the Po River to the north and the forest-covered Apennine
mountain slopes to the south. The best place to begin a tour
of the region is centrally situated Bologna. Modena, its long-
time rival, boasts one of the country’s loveliest Romanesque
cathedrals. Parma has a more provincial feel and Ferrara, too,
has an easy-going air. Castell’Arquato offers a taste of the
smaller villages that dot the hills south of the Po.



Milano Cremona Piazza Cavalli, Piacenza’s central square
Pavia Po
Brescia
Castel Caorso
San Giovanni PIACENZA Zibello
Busseto
Agazzano Mantova Mantova Padova Padova
Fiorenzuola Soragna Colorno Po
Nibbiano Rivergaro d'Arda Guastalla Reggiolo Mirandola Po Copparo Mesola Bosco della Mesola
CASTELL'ARQUATO FIDENZA Sorbolo Bondeno Pontelagoscuro Codigoro PO DELTA
Trebbia Salsomaggiore Terme Noceto Novellara FERRARA Volano
Panaro
Bobbio Béttola Pellegrino PARMA Correggio Carpi Camposanto Poggio Renatico Migliarino Lagosanto
Parmense Medesano CoIlecchio Cento Ostellato Lido di Pomposa
Reggio Comacchio
Fornovo nell’Emilia Lido degli Scacchi
Monte Lesima MODENA San Giovanni Altedo Valli di Comacchio
1724m Ferriere Bardi Traversétolo San Polo Rubiera in Persiceto Molinella Argenta
Ottone Taro Langhirano d'Enza Scandiano Menata Lido di Spina
Monte Maggiorasca EMILIA- ROMAGNA
1799m Parma Sassuolo Budrio Sillaro Reno
Bedonia Berceto Enz a Maranello Bazzano Alfonsine Marina Romea
Monte Caio Casina BOLOGNA Medicina
Borgo Val Corniglio 1580m Casalecchio Mezzano
di Taro Secchia San Lazzaro di
Taro Guiglia di Reno Savena Bagnacavallo
Villa Cerredolo Lugo RAVENNA MAR AD RIATICO
La Spezia A p p e Minozzo Montefiorino Marzabotto Pianoro Russi
Collagna n n Pavullo nel Imola Felisio
Frignano Idice Lido di Classe
0 kilometres 25 Monte Cusna i n o Vergato FAENZA
2121m Casemurate
0 miles 20 Lagaro Monghidoro Brisighella Cervia
Piandelagotti Sestola Forlì Cesenatico
Monte Cimone Castel del Rio Forlimpopoli Gatteo a Mare
2165m
Lizzano in Bertinoro Igea Marina
Belvedere Dovadola Cesena Viserba
Firenze Tredozio Predappio
Pistoia T o s c o - E m i l i a n o Savignano RIMINI
Prato
Borello sul Rubicone
Galeata Verucchio Riccione
Mercato
Saraceno
Corniolo Sarsina Morciano di Pesaro
Sights at a Glance Romagna
1 Piacenza Campigna
2 Castell’Arquato
3 Fidenza Verghereto Monte Fumaiolo
1407m
4 Parma
5 Modena
6 Ferrara
7 Bologna pp266–9
8 Faenza
9 Rimini
0 Po Delta
q Ravenna pp271–3
Reed-lined shores along the Po Delta
For additional map symbols see back flap
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EMILIA-ROM A GNA  261

Getting Around
Excellent road and rail links,
aided by mostly flat terrain,
make this region quick and
easy to get around. Bologna
is connected by the A1–E35
to Florence and by the A13 to
Ferrara and Venice. The busy
A1–E35 links Bologna to Milan
via Piacenza, Fidenza and
Parma. The A15–E31 connects
Parma with La Spezia, and the
A21–E70 joins Piacenza and
Cremona. Fast, frequent train
services run along almost
Milano Cremona parallel routes. The beach at Cesenatico, north of Rimini on the Adriatic coast
Pavia Po
Brescia
Castel Caorso
San Giovanni PIACENZA Zibello
Busseto
Agazzano Mantova Mantova Padova Padova
Fiorenzuola Soragna Colorno Po
Nibbiano Rivergaro d'Arda Guastalla Reggiolo Mirandola Po Copparo Mesola Bosco della Mesola
CASTELL'ARQUATO FIDENZA Sorbolo Bondeno Pontelagoscuro Codigoro PO DELTA
Trebbia Salsomaggiore Terme Noceto Novellara FERRARA Volano
Panaro
Bobbio Béttola Pellegrino PARMA Correggio Carpi Camposanto Poggio Renatico Migliarino Lagosanto
Parmense Medesano CoIlecchio Cento Ostellato Lido di Pomposa
Reggio Comacchio
Fornovo nell’Emilia Lido degli Scacchi
Monte Lesima MODENA San Giovanni Altedo Valli di Comacchio
1724m Ferriere Bardi Traversétolo San Polo Rubiera in Persiceto Molinella Argenta
Ottone Taro Langhirano d'Enza Scandiano Menata Lido di Spina
Monte Maggiorasca EMILIA- ROMAGNA
1799m Parma Sassuolo Budrio Sillaro Reno
Bedonia Berceto Enz a Maranello Bazzano Alfonsine Marina Romea
Monte Caio Casina BOLOGNA Medicina
Borgo Val Corniglio 1580m Casalecchio Mezzano
di Taro Secchia San Lazzaro di
Taro Guiglia di Reno Savena Bagnacavallo
Villa Cerredolo Lugo RAVENNA MAR AD RIATICO
La Spezia A p p e Minozzo Montefiorino Marzabotto Pianoro Russi
Collagna n n Pavullo nel Imola Felisio
Frignano Idice Lido di Classe
Monte Cusna i n o Vergato FAENZA
2121m Casemurate Cervia
Piandelagotti Sestola Lagaro Monghidoro Brisighella Forlì Cesenatico
Monte Cimone Castel del Rio Forlimpopoli Gatteo a Mare
2165m
Lizzano in Bertinoro Igea Marina
Belvedere Dovadola Cesena Viserba
Firenze Tredozio Predappio
Pistoia T o s c o - E m i l i a n o Savignano RIMINI
Prato
Borello sul Rubicone
Galeata Verucchio Riccione
Mercato
Saraceno Morciano di
Key Corniolo Sarsina Romagna Pesaro
Motorway Campigna
Major road
Verghereto Monte Fumaiolo
Secondary road 1407m
Minor road
Scenic route
Main railway
Minor railway
International border
Regional border
Summit
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262 І CENTR AL IT AL Y


2 Castell’Arquato
Piacenza. * 4,500. @ n Piazza
Municipio 1 (0523 80 32 15). ( Mon.
Tucked into the folded hills
between Fidenza and Piacenza,
Castell’Arquato is one of the
prettiest villages in the
countryside south of the Po.
Day visitors come at the
weekends to escape Emilia’s
larger cities, thronging the
restaurants and bars around
the beautiful Piazza Matteotti.
The best medieval building on
the piazza is the 13th-century
Palazzo Pretorio, a Romanesque
basilica. The impressive Rocca
Viscontea (14th century),
a former fortress, is on Piazza
del Municipio. The village’s
hilltop site offers good views,
particularly over the verdant
Arda valley to the east.

3 Fidenza
Parma. * 25,000. V @ n Piazza
The 13th-century Palazzo Pretorio in Castell’Arquato Duomo 16 (0524 833 77).
( Wed & Sat.
1 Piacenza has a rather leaden Lombard-
Romanesque exterior (begun Like many towns hugging the
* 105,000. V @ n Piazza Cavalli 2 in 1122), and a 14th-century line of the Po, Fidenza owed its
(0523 49 22 23). ( Wed & Sat. campanile. The interior features early prominence to the Via
Guercino’s painted cupola and Aemilia (the old Roman road).
Piacenza traces its history back medieval frescoes. There are The town assumed greater
to Roman times. Located near also frescoed saints near the importance as a medieval
the Po, it served as a fortified main door, painted to resemble way station for pilgrims en
camp protecting the Emilian members of the congregation. route to Rome. Today Fidenza is
plain from invasion. The centre The Museo Civico offers an visited for its superb Duomo
is still based on the Roman plan. eclectic mixture of sculpture and on Piazza Duomo (13th
Piacenza has a pleasantly paintings – the star among these century), a composite piece
understated old centre full of is the Madonna and Child with of architecture that embraces
fine medieval and Renaissance John the Baptist by Lombard, Gothic
buildings. Pride of place goes to Botticelli (1444– and transitional
two bronze equestrian statues 1510). There is also Romanesque
in the central Piazza Cavalli, the an armoury and elements. The most
work of the 17th-century sculptor archaeology section. immediately eye-
Francesco Mochi, a pupil of The highlight here catching feature is
Giambologna. Lauded as master- is the so-called the opulent façade,
pieces of Baroque sculpture, Fegato di Piacenza, most probably
the statues represent Alessandro an Etruscan bronze created by the
Farnese, a soldier of fortune, and representation of craftsmen who
his son, Ranuccio: both were the sheep livers worked with
rulers of 16th-century Piacenza. once used by Benedetto Antelami
Behind the statues is the priests for divination, on Parma’s Duomo.
red brick Palazzo del Comune, inscribed with Inside, the walls are
also known as “Il Gotico”, an deities’ names. dotted with
evocatively battlemented fragments of
Lombard-Gothic palace begun E Museo Civico medieval frescoes,
at the end of the 13th century. Palazzo Farnese, Piazza while the crypt
It is one of Italy’s most beautiful Cittadella. Tel 0523 49 26 contains the relics of
medieval buildings. The Duomo, 61. Open Tue–Sun. Detail from façade of San Donnino, the
at the end of Via XX Settembre, Closed public hols. & Duomo in Fidenza Duomo’s patron.
For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp569–73 and pp590–96


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Date 13th June 2012
Size 125mm x 217mm

EMILIA-ROM A GNA І 263


The south transept features a Both Correggio and Parmigianino
carved frieze of The Deposition are represented in the palace’s
(1178) by Benedetto Antelami, Galleria Nazionale, which also
who was also responsible for houses works by Fra Angelico,
much of the exquisite Baptistry El Greco and Bronzino, and
(1196) just south of the two by Ludovico Carracci: the
cathedral. The reliefs inside and Apostles at the Sepulchre and the
outside the latter – particularly Funeral of the Virgin (late 1500s).
those describing the months of The Museo Archeologico
the year – are among the most Nazionale, on the lower floor, has
important of their age in Italy. exhibits from Velleia, an Etruscan
East of the Duomo is the necropolis, and from prehistoric
church of San Giovanni sites in the hills around Parma.
Evangelista (rebuilt 1498–1510),
whose dome features a fresco E Camera di Correggio
Interior of Parma Baptistry (c.1520) of the Vision of St John at Via Melloni. Tel 0521 23 33 09.
Patmos by Correggio. Frescoes Open Tue–Sun (am only; to 6pm Sat).
4 Parma by Parmigianino can be seen & 7
here and in the 16th-century Originally the refectory of the
* 190,000. V @ n Piazza
Garibaldi 1 (0521 21 88 89). church of Madonna della Benedictine convent of San
( Wed & Sat; Thu (flea market). Steccata on Via Dante. Paolo, this room was frescoed
∑ turismo.comune.parma.it by Correggio in 1518 with
P Palazzo della Pilotta mythological scenes.
Few Italian towns are as Piazzale della Pilotta 15.
prosperous as Parma, not Galleria: Tel 0521 23 36
only a byword for fine food 17. Open Tue–Sun am.
and good living but also a & 7 Museo: Tel 0521
treasure trove of excellent 23 37 18. Open Tue–Sat,
paintings, superlative sculpture Sun am. & 7
and fine medieval buildings. This vast palace was
It boasts one of Italy’s top built for the Farnese
opera houses and a panoply family during the
of elegant shops and first-rate 1500s and rebuilt
bars and restaurants. after bomb damage
The Lombard-Romanesque from World War II.
Duomo on Piazza Duomo, It comprises several
among the greatest in northern parts, including the
Italy, is renowned for the Teatro Farnese
painting that fills its main (1628), a copy of
cupola, the Assumption (1526– Palladio’s ravishing
30) by Antonio da Correggio. theatre in Vicenza,
The nave is adorned with the built entirely
work of Correggio’s pupils. of wood. Campanile and Baptistry in Parma

The Making of Parmesan Cheese and Parma Ham
No cheese is as famous or excel lence to techniques
as vital to Italy’s cuisine as perfected over many years
Parmesan (Parmigiano). and to the special conditions
There are two types: the in which it is cured. It is made
superior Parmigiano-Reggiano from pigs fattened on whey
and the lower-quality Grana. left over from the making of
The cheese is made using Parmesan cheese. The meat
techniques that have barely has a character that requires
altered in centuries. Partially little more than salt and pepper
skimmed milk is added to to produce the famous
whey, to promote fermentation, prosciutto crudo. The breezy
and rennet is used to curdle hills of Langhirino, south of
the milk. The cheese is then Parma, are ideal for curing
salted and shaped. Parmesan the hams, which are aged for
is not only used in cooking up to 10 months. Each ham
but is delicious eaten on its is branded with the five-
own, or with pears – an Italian Shop selling Parmesan cheese pointed crown of the old
speciality. Parma ham owes its and Parma ham Duchy of Parma.





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264  CENTR AL IT AL Y


the city’s patron saint, whose Among the permanent displays
stone coffin lies under the in the Biblioteca Estense,
choir. Its most notice able the d’Este Library, are a 1481
feature is the Torre Ghirlandina, edition of Dante’s Divine
a perilously leaning tower Comedy, and dozens of
begun at the same time as fascinating maps and diplo-
the Duomo and completed matic letters, many dating back
two centuries later. It once centuries. A map dated 1501
housed the Secchia, a wooden was among the first to show
bucket whose 1325 theft from the 1492 voyage by Columbus
Bologna allegedly sparked a war to the New World. The jewel of
between the two cities. It also the collection is the magnificent
inspired Tassoni’s 17th-century illuminated Borso d’Este Bible,
mock epic poem La Secchia with gloriously decorated
Flora by Carlo Cignani (1628–1719) in the Rapita (The Stolen Bucket), and pages containing over 1,200
Galleria Estense in Modena became the symbol of a rivalry miniatures by 15th-century
between the cities. artists of the Ferrara school,
5 Modena The large reliefs on the most notably Taddeo Crivelli
Duomo’s main (west) façade and Franco Russi.
* 185,000. V @ n Piazza Grande
14 (059 203 26 60). ( Mon. are the work of the 12th-century
∑ turismo.comune.modena.it sculptor Wiligelmus. The highlight Environs
of the rather severe interior is a The Ferrari factory, 20 km
To most Italians Modena large carved tribuna (rood screen) (12 miles) to the south, was
means fast cars, for both Ferrari decorated with 12th-century founded by Enzo Ferrari in 1945.
and Maserati have factories scenes from the Passion. The Fiat-owned manufacturer
in its industrial outskirts, now produces around 2,500 cars
and opera, since this is the P Palazzo dei Musei annually. The Galleria Ferrari
birthplace of Luciano Pavarotti. Largo di Porta Sant’Agostino 337. has an excellent exhibition
Monuments to an earlier age, Galleria Estense: Tel 059 203 31 00. featuring memorabilia, classic
however, make this one of Open daily. & 7 Biblioteca engines and many vintage cars.
Emilia’s most enticing historic Estense: Tel 059 22 22 48.
destinations. A thriving colony Open Mon–Thu (Fri & Sat am). E Museo Ferrari
since Roman times, the city Closed pub hols. 8 Via Dino Ferrari 43, Maranello. Tel 0536
rose to medieval prominence Northwest of the Duomo, and 94 97 13. Open 9:30am–6pm daily (to
on the back of its broad reached through an attractive 7pm summer). Closed 1 Jan, 25 Dec.
agricultural hinterland and warren of old streets, is the & 7
the arrival in 1598 of the Palazzo dei Musei. Formerly
d’Este nobles from Ferrara. This an arsenal and workhouse, it
family continued to rule the is now home to the city’s best 6 Ferrara
city until the 18th century. museums and galleries. Its finest * 135,000. V @ n Castello
section is the Galleria Estense,
R Duomo given over to the d’Este private Estense, Largo Castello (0532 20 93 70).
( Mon & Fri.
Corso Duomo. Tel 059 21 60 78. art collection, which was
Open daily. Torre Ghirlandina: transferred here when the city The d’Este dynasty has left an
Open Tue–Sun & hols (closed at of Ferrara, the family’s former indelible mark on Ferrara, one
lunchtime Tue–Fri). & dominion, became part of of the region’s greatest walled
Modena’s superlative Duomo the Papal States. Most of the towns. The noble family took
rises alongside the old Roman paintings are by Emilian and control of the town under
Via Emilia. One of the region’s Ferrarese artists (notably Reni Nicolò II in the late 13th century,
greatest Romanesque buildings, and the Carracci), but there holding power until 1598, when
it was founded by Countess are also works by Velázquez, the family was forced by the
Matilda of Tuscany, ruler of Tin toretto, Bernini and Veronese. papacy to move to Modena.
Modena in the 11th century. It
was designed by Lanfranco and
dedicated to San Geminiano,








Ferrari 250 SWB, produced between 1959 and 1962
For hotels and restaurants in this region see p569–73 and pp590–96


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Date 20th August 2012
Size 125mm x 217mm

EMILIA-ROM A GNA  265


+ Castello Estense
Largo Castello. Tel 0532 29 92 33.
Open Tue–Sun (Sep–Mar: daily).
Closed public hols. &
With its towers and battle-
ments, the Este family’s dynastic
seat (begun 1385) looms over
the town centre. Ferrante and
Giulio d’Este were incarcerated
in its dungeons for plotting to
overthrow Alfonso I d’Este.
Parisina d’Este, wife of Nicolò III,
was executed here for having
an affair with Ugo, her
illegitimate stepson.
P Palazzo del Comune
Piazza Municipale.
Bronze statues of Nicolò III
and Borso d’Este, one of Façade of the Duomo in Ferrara
Nicolò’s reputed 27 children,
adorn this medieval palace E Museo della Cattedrale P Museo Schifanoia
(begun 1243). Both are copies Via San Romano. Tel 0532 76 12 99. Via Scandiana 23. Tel 0532 641 78.
of the 15th-century originals Open Tue–Sun. Closed 1 & 6 Jan, Open Tue–Sun. Closed public
by Leon Battista Alberti. Easter, 25 & 26 Dec. & hols. &
Ferrara’s 12th-century Duomo Building work in the d’Este
is a Romanesque-Gothic hybrid summer retreat began in 1385.
designed by Wiligelmus, who The estate is famous for its
is widely regarded as the first Salone dei Mesi (Room of the
great Italian sculptor. Fine Months), decorated with
reliefs on the façade depict beautiful 15th-century murals
scenes from the Last Judgment. by Tura and other Ferrarese
The excellent museum (in a painters with detailed scenes
deconsecrated church opposite depicting the different months
the cathedral) contains a fine of the year.
set of marble reliefs of the
Labours of the Months (late E Museo Archeologico
1100s), two painted organ Nazionale
shutters (1469) of St George and Palazzo di Ludovico il Moro, Via XX
the Annunciation by Cosmè Settembre 122. Tel 0532 662 99.
Tura, and the Madonna of the Open 9:30am–5pm Tue–Sun (last
The impressive medieval Castello Pomegranate (1408) by Jacopo adm 4:30pm). Closed 1 May, 25 Dec.
Estense in Ferrara della Quercia. & 7
The most interesting exhibits
in the Museo Archeologico
The d’Este Family Dynasty Nazionale are artifacts that were
During their medieval heyday, the d’Este family presided over excavated from Spina, a Greco-
one of Europe’s leading courts, combining the roles of blood- Etruscan trading post near
crazed despots with enlightened Comacchio on the Po Delta.
Renaissance patrons. Nicolò III, for
example, had his wife and her lover E Palazzo dei Diamanti
brutally murdered. Alfonso I Corso Ercole d’Este 21.
(1476–1534) married Lucrezia Borgia, Tel 0532 24 49 49. Open 9am–7pm
descendant of one of Italy’s most daily. & 8
notorious families, while Ercole I Named after the diamond
(1471–1505) attempted to poison motifs on its façade, the
a nephew who tried to usurp him Palazzo dei Diamanti houses
(and eventually had him executed). a modern art gallery, an
At the same time the d’Este court interesting museum devoted
attracted writers like Petrarch, Tasso
and Ariosto, and painters such as to the Risor gimento, and the
Mantegna, Titian and Bellini. Ercole I Pinacoteca Nazionale, which
also rebuilt Ferrara, creating one of Portrait of Alfonso I d’Este (c.1523) contains works from leading
Europe’s finest Renaissance cities. by Titian exponents of the local
Renaissance school.




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266  CENTR AL IT AL Y

7 Street-by-Street: Bologna

The historic city centre of Bologna is a
handsome ensemble of brick buildings and
charming porticoed streets. Medi eval palaces
are clustered around the two central squares,
Piazza Maggiore and Piazza del Nettuno,
flanked to the south by the churches of San
Petronio and San Domenico. The university
of Bologna is the oldest in Europe and the
venerable Archiginnasio was its first official
building. Further afield, the skyline is dominated Fontana di Nettuno
by the Asinelli and Garisenda towers, and by The famous Neptune Fountain (1566) was designed
by Tommaso Laureti and decorated with magnificent
the campanile of Santo Stefano. bronze figures by Giambologna.
The Palazzo
del Podestà
(13th century) was
Railway remodelled in 1484.
station
Modena V I A U G O B A S S I V I A R I Z Z O L I








V I A O R E F I C I
P I A Z Z A
O
M A G G I O R E
I
S P I A Z Z A D I
V I A I V N O V E M B R E
A P O R T A
N R A V E G N A N A
N
I
. San Petronio G I
The Martyrdom of St Sebastian H
(15th century) in the Cappella C
di San Sebastiano is by Lorenzo Archiginnasio R A
Costa of the Ferrarese School.
L
L
E
D

A
I
V V I A F A R I N I
P I A Z Z A
Piazza Cavour C A V O U R
The flagged medieval
streets and shady porticoed
buildings found in this I
pleasant piazza are typical of D
Bologna’s elegant city centre. A L
B
I
R
A
Key
San Domenico G
Suggested route (1251) is dedicated to A
St Dominic, who is V I
0 metres 150 buried here in a
0 yards 150 magnificent tomb.
For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp569–73 and pp590–96
266-267_EW_Italy.indd 266 26/04/16 4:31 pm

BOL OGNA  267


VISITORS’ CHECKLIST R San Giacomo Maggiore
Piazza Rossini. Open daily.
Practical Information This Romanesque-Gothic
* 380,000. n Airport; Piazza church, begun in 1267 but
Maggiore 1/e; Stazione Centrale altered substantially since,
(051 23 96 60). ( Fri & Sat. _ is visited mainly for the
Mar–Jun: Bologna Music Festival. Cappella Bentivoglio, a superb
∑ bolognawelcome.com
family chapel founded by
Transport Annibale Bentivoglio in 1445
k Marconi 9 km (5 miles) NW. and consecrated in 1486.
V Piazza Medaglia d’Oro. Pride of place naturally goes
@ Piazza XX Settembre. to a portrait with subtle
San Giacomo Maggiore
The Triumph of Death fresco characterization of the patrons
by Costa (1483–6) adorns by Lorenzo Costa (1460–1535),
the Cappella Bentivoglio. who was also responsible for
Pinacoteca Nazionale the frescoes of the Apocalypse,
Museo delle Cere the Madonna Enthroned and the
Anatomiche Triumph of Death. The chapel’s
altarpiece, depicting
V I A Z A M B O N I with Two Angel
the Virgin and Saints
Musicians (1488),
is the work of
Francesco Francia.
The Bentivoglio family
V I A S A N V I T A L E is further glorified in
the tomb of Anton
Ravenna
Galeazzo Bentivoglio
V I A R I Z Z O L I
(1435) opposite the
chapel. It was among
the last works of
the noted Sienese
V I A O R E F I C I
sculptor Jacopo della
Quercia. The Oratory
P I A Z Z A D I
of Santa Cecilia
S T R A D A M A G G I O R E
P O R T A
features frescoes
R A V E G N A N A
on the lives of
E V Torri degli Asinelli e Santa Cecilia and
N I
O A Garisenda San Valeriano by Costa and
I S The colossal towers Francesco Francia (1504–6).
L A
G N are two of the few
I remaining towers
T T O
S begun by Bologna’s
A S T important families in
C E
the 12th century.
A F A
I N
V I A F A R I N I V O
Firenze
P I A Z Z A
C A V O U R
Abbazia di Santo Stefano
The Fontana di Pilato, or
Pilate’s Fountain, in the
courtyard features a basin
with Lombard inscriptions The Bentivoglio tomb (1435) by Jacopo
from the 8th century. della Quercia


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268 І CENTR AL IT AL Y

Exploring Bologna R Abbazia di Santo Stefano
Via Santo Stefano 24. Tel 051 648
Monuments to Bologna’s rich cultural heritage are scattered 06 11. Open 8am–7pm daily.
across the city, from the leaning towers and the church of Santo Stefano is a curious
San Petronio in the old centre to the Pinacoteca Nazionale collection of four medieval
in the university district. churches (originally seven)
jumbled together under one
roof. The 11th-century church
P Torri degli Asinelli and still leans some 3 m (10 ft) of the Crocifisso provides
e Garisenda from the ver tical. At 97 m (318 ft) little more than a corridor to
Piazza di Porta Ravegnana. Torre degli tall, Torre degli Asinelli is the
Asinelli: Open daily. & fourth-highest tower in Italy after
The famous leaning towers – those in Cremona, Siena and
Torre degli Asinelli and Torre Venice. Its 500-step ascent offers
Garisenda – are among the few fine views over the city’s rooftops
survivors of the original 200 that to the hills beyond.
once formed the skyline of
Bologna. Both were begun in
the 12th century, though there
were probably earlier towers on
the site – Dante mentioned a
pair of towers here in his Inferno.
Torre Garisenda was shortened
as a safety measure within only
a few years of its construction, Exterior of the Abbazia di Santo Stefano

R San Petronio The altarpiece of the Martyrdom
Piazza Maggiore. Tel 051 23 14 15. Open daily. 7 of St Sebastian is from the late
Dedicated to the city’s 5th-century bishop, this church ranks among Ferrarese School.
the greatest of Italy’s brick-built medieval buildings. Founded in
1390, it was originally intended to be larger than St Peter’s in Rome, The pink and white
interior adds to the overall
but its size was scaled down when the church authorities diverted light and airy effect.
funds to the nearby Palazzo Archiginnasio. The resulting financial
shortfall left the church decidedly lopsided, with a row of columns
on its eastern flank that were intended to support an additional
internal aisle. The project’s financial profligacy,
nonetheless, was said to have been instrumental
in turning Martin Luther against Catholicism.
The canopied main portal features
beautiful biblical reliefs (1425–38)
by Jacopo della Quercia.












Gothic Interior
The interior is airy, with Entrance
graceful pillars supporting
the roof. Twenty-two chapels, Unfinished upper façade
shielded by screens, open
off the nave. In 1547 the
Council of Trent was The stained-glass
temporarily moved here The meridian line was traced in 1655 windows (1464–6)
due to the plague. by the astronomer Gian Domenico in this chapel are
Cassini. It is 67 m (219 ft) long. by Jacob of Ulm.
For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp569–73 and pp590–96


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Date 13th June 2012
Size 125mm x 217mm

BOL OGNA І 269


poly gonal San Sepolcro, E Pinacoteca
the most appealing of the Nazionale
quartet. Also dating from the Via delle Belle Arti 56.
11th century, its centrepiece Tel 051 420 94 11. Open
is the tomb of St Petronius, 9am–1:30pm Tue & Wed;
a marvellously overstated 2–7pm Thu–Sun & hols.
affair modelled on the Holy Closed 1 Jan, 1 May, 15 Aug,
Sepulchre of Jerusalem. 25 Dec. & 7
The courtyard contains the Bologna’s principal art
so-called Fontana di Pilato, gallery, and one of
an 8th-century basin. northern Italy’s most
The 5th-century Santi important collections,
Vitale e Agricola is the oldest stands on the edge of
church in the city. It was rebuilt the city’s university
in the 8th and 11th centuries. district, a bustling area
Inside are the sarcophagi of of bars, bookshops and
saints Vitalis and Agricola, cheap restaurants. The
martyred in the 4th century. gallery is mainly dedi ca-
Santa Trinità features a small ted to work by Bolognese
museum of minor paintings painters, notably Vitale
and religious artifacts, da Bologna, Guido Reni,
including wooden statues Guercino and the
of the Adoration of the Magi Carracci family. Members
painted by Simone dei of the Ferrarese School The Ecstasy of St Cecilia (c.1515) by Raphael in Bologna’s
Crocifissi (c.1370). are also represented, in Pinacoteca Nazionale
particular Francesco del
Cossa and Ercole de’ Roberti. The churches. Begun in 1221, after
Bell tower
two highlights are Perugino’s St Dominic’s death, it was built
Madonna in Glory (c.1491) and to house the body of the saint,
Raphael’s famous Ecstasy of St who died here and lies buried
Cecilia, painted around 1515, in a tomb known as the Arca di
both artists having worked San Domenico. A magnificent
in Bologna. composite work, the tomb’s
statues were executed by Nicola
E Museo delle Cere Pisano; the reliefs of scenes from
Anatomiche the Life of St Dominic were the
Via Irnerio 48. Tel 051 209 15 33 or 051 work of Nicola Pisano and his
209 15 56. Open 10am–1pm, 2–6pm assistants; the canopy (1473)
Mon–Thu, 10am–1pm Fri. Closed 1 Jan, is attributed to Nicola di Bari;
Easter, 1 May, 25 Dec, pub hols. 8 while the figures of the angels
The Museum of Anatomical and saints Proculus and
Waxworks is one of the more Petronius are early works by
memorable of Bologna’s Michelangelo. The reliquary
smaller museums, featuring (1383) behind the sarcophagus
occasionally gruesome visceral contains St Dominic’s head.
waxworks and numerous
models of organs, limbs and
flayed bodies. Sculpted rather
than made from casts, they
have an artistic as well as
scientific appeal. The models
Choir Stalls The exquisite
inlaid choir stalls of the Chapel were used as medical teaching
of the Holy Sacrament were made aids until the 19th century.
by Raffaello da Brescia in 1521. Exhibits from the 18th century
are in Palazzo Poggi, which
also contains the Geografia
e Nautica collection.
R San Domenico
Piazza di San Domenico 13. Tel 051
640 04 11. Open daily. 7
Bologna’s San Domenico can lay
claim to being the most impor- Arca di San Domenico in the Basilica di
tant of Italy’s many Dominican San Domenico




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270 І CENTR AL IT AL Y


and debauched men of his time.
Ostensibly designed as a chapel,
the Tempio became little more
than a monument to Malatesta.
Inside are sculptures by Agostino
di Duccio and a fresco (1451)
by Piero della Francesca of
Malatesta kneeling before
St Sigismund (1451).
The entwined initials of
Malatesta and his fourth wife,
Isotta degli Atti, provide a
recurring decorative motif, and
there are reliefs depicting scenes
of bacchanalian excess and
oddities such as strangely posed
elephants (a Malatesta family
Fresco of Malatesta and St Sigismund (1451) by Piero della Francesca in the Tempio emblem). All this led Pope Pius II
Malatestiano, Rimini to condemn the building as “a
temple of devil-worshippers”, and
8 Faenza director born and raised here. to burn Malatesta’s effigy for acts
Today it is the largest beach of “murder, violation, adultery,
Ravenna. * 54,000. V @
n Voltone Molinella 2 (0546 252 31). resort in Europe. The seafront, incest, sacrilege and perjury”.
( Tue, Thu & Sat. which stretches unbroken for
almost 15 km (9 miles), is lined Environs
Faenza is synonymous with the with clubs, bars and restaurants. Further along the coast, the
faïence ceramic-ware to which The crowded beaches are clean resorts become relatively quieter.
it gave its name. Renowned and well groomed, though Cesenatico, 18 km (11 miles)
across Europe for over 500 years, entrance fees are charged at north, offers all the usual facilities,
the pottery, with its distinctive private beaches. yet the beaches are less crowded.
blue and ochre colouring, is still The town’s old quarter, by
made in countless small contrast, is pleasantly quiet. P Tempio Malatestiano
factories around the town. Its charming cobbled streets Via IV Novembre. Tel 0541 511 30. Open
The highlight of Faenza is the gather around Piazza Cavour, 8:30am–12:30pm, 3:30–7pm daily
Museo Internazionale delle dominated by the 14th-century (9am–12:30pm, 3:30–6:30pm Sun). 7
Ceramiche, one of the largest Palazzo del Podestà. Rimini’s
ceramic collections in Italy. finest building is the Tempio
Its exhibits feature not only Malatestiano, built as a 0 Po Delta
examples of local ware, but Franciscan church but converted Ferrara. V Ferrara Ostellata. @ to
also pottery from other in 1450 by Leon Battista Alberti, Goro or Gorino. g from Porto
countries and other periods, the great Florentine architect, Garibaldi, Goro & Gorino. n Via
including Roman ceramics into one of Italy’s great Renais- Mazzini 4, Comacchio (0533 31 41 54).
and medieval majolica. There is sance monuments. The work Parco Delta del Po: Tel 0533 31 40 03.
also a section devoted to the was commissioned by ∑ parcodeltapo.it
modern ceramic art of Picasso, Sigismondo Malatesta (1417–
Matisse and Chagall. 68), a descendant of Rimini’s The Po is Italy’s longest river. Its
ruling medieval family, and vast basin covers some 15 per
E Museo Internazionale reputedly one of the most evil cent of the country and
delle Ceramiche
Viale Baccarini 19. Tel 0546 69 73 11.
Open Apr–Oct: Tue–Sun; Nov–Mar:
Tue–Sun (Tue–Thu am only). Closed
1 Jan, 1 May, 15 Aug, 25 Dec. 7 &

9 Rimini
* 140,000. V @ n Piazzale Fellini
3 (0541 70 45 87). ( Wed & Sat.
∑ riminiturismo.it
Rimini was once a quaint seaside
resort, whose charms were
celebrated in the early films of
Federico Fellini (1920–93), the Façade of the Renaissance Tempio Malatestiano in Rimini
For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp569–73 and pp590–96


270-271_EW_Italy.indd 270 4/4/17 5:35 PM
Eyewitness Travel LAYERS PRINTED:
Catalogue template “UK” LAYER
(Source v1.3)
Date 13th June 2012
Size 125mm x 217mm

EMILIA-ROM A GNA І 271


supports around a third of the Other nature
nation’s population. Although reserves include
ravaged in many places by the Bosco della
industrial pollution, at its finest Mesola, a tract
it offers beautifully subtle of ancient
landscapes – rows of poplar woodland
trees across misty fields and planted by the
vistas over the shifting sands Etruscans and
of its vast delta, an estuary of cared for by
marshes, dunes and islands. generations of
The immense Parco Delta monks. You can
del Po is a national park either walk or
stretching for 600 sq km cycle through it, Piazza del Popolo, Ravenna’s central square
(234 sq miles), all the way to the with excellent
Veneto. Wetland areas such as opportunities for seeing large q Ravenna
the Valli di Comacchio herds of deer. * 160,000. V @ n Via Salara 8/12
north of Ravenna have For a good look at the (0544 357 55/354 04). ( Wed & Sat;
long been nature entire region, follow antiques on 3rd weekend of each
reserves, a winter the S309 – part of month. ∑ turismo.ra.it
home to thousands the old Via Romea
of breeding and pilgrim age trail to Most people visit Ravenna for
migrating birds. Rome – that runs its superb mosaics from the
Ornithologists north to south Byzantine period (see pp54–5),
gather here to see through some 100 km but the town itself is a
gulls, coots, bean (62 miles) of the surprisingly pleasant medley
geese and black park. A number of of old streets, fine shops and
terns, and far rarer smaller lanes branch peaceful piazzas. The Museo
species such as the off into the wilderness. Nazionale has a wide range
white egret, hen harrier There are also boat trips of icons, paintings and
and pygmy cormorant. to some of the delta’s archaeological displays.
Comacchio, the Hen harrier, found more remote corners: The best place to take a break
nearest settlement, in the Po Delta key departure points from sightseeing is Piazza
comprises 13 tiny include the villages of del Popolo, a lovely ensemble
islands connected by bridges. Ca’ Tiepolo, Ca’ Vernier and Taglio of medieval buildings.
It is one of several fishing villages di Po. Most areas also offer the
in the area, and its most famous possibility of hiring bicycles. E Museo Nazionale
catch is eels, often caught using The 125 km (78 mile) ride along Via Fiandrini. Tel 0544 21 56 18.
methods, like water gates, that the right bank of the Po is very Open Tue–Sun. Closed 1 Jan, 1 May,
date back as far as Roman times. popular with cyclists. 25 Dec. & 7

























The peaceful landscape along the banks of the river in the Po Delta




270-271_EW_Italy.indd 271 4/4/17 5:35 PM

272  CENTR AL IT AL Y


A Tour of Ravenna

Ravenna rose to power in the 1st century BC
under the Emperor Augustus, who built a
port and naval base at nearby Classe,
currently the site of a major excavation
project. As Rome’s power declined, Ravenna
was made the capital of the Western Empire
(AD 402), a role it retained during the 2 The Good Shepherd
Ostrogoth and Byzantine rule in the 5th This mosaic adorns the tiny Mausoleo di Galla
Placidia. Begun in 430, this exquisite building
and 6th centuries. Ravenna is renowned for probably never received the remains of Placidia,
its early Christian mosaics – the town had wife of a barbarian emperor.
converted to Christianity in the 2nd century
AD. The mosaics span the years of Roman
and Byzantine rule, offering comparisons Mausoleo di
Mausoleo di
Galla Placidia
between Classically inspired designs and Galla Placidia
later Byzantine motifs.
V I A P I E R T R A V E R S A R I
V I A R O C C A A L F O S
Museo
Museo
Nazionale V I A P I E T R O A L I G H I E R I R I V I A P. G H I S E L L I L I V I A R O C C A A L F O S S I S I
Nazionale
V I A P I E T R O A L I G H I E
V I A P. G H I S E L
San San V I A P I E R T R A V E R S A R I
V I A S A L A R A
VIA G ALLA
VIA G ALLA V IA GA M B A V I A S A L A R A VIA ZANZANIGOLA
V I A U G O B A S
Vitale
Vitale V IA GA M B A VIA ZANZANIGOLA V I A U G O B A S S I S I
VIA GIROLAMO ROSSI
VIA G. ARGENTARIO VIA PONTE MARINO VIA GIROLAMO ROSSI
BOLGNA
BOLGNA V I A S A N V I TA L E V I A D I R O M A VI A L UI GI R AVA
FERRARA
FERRARA VIA G. ARGENTARIO
V I A S A N V I TA L E
V I A D I R O M A
VI A L UI GI R AVA
Stazione
Stazione
Covered
Covered
VIA PONTE MARINO
130m (150 yards)
VIA PAO LO COS
Market
Market VIA PAO LO COSTA TA Basilica dello 130m (150 yards)
Basilica dello
Spirito Santo
Spirito Santo MAMELI
PIAZZA
PIAZZA
PIAZZA
V IA C. C ATTA NEO VI A C . M OR GI A VI A F. M OR D A NI NI VIA G. MATTEOTTI A. COSTA V I A X I I I G I U G N O V I A A R M A N D O D I A Z Z VIA LUIGI CARLO FARINI INI
PIAZZA
V IA C. C ATTA NEO
V I A C A M I L LO C A V O U
MAMELI
V I A C A M I L LO C A V O U R R
A. COSTA
VIA LUIGI CARLO FAR
V I A G I U S E P P E PA S O L I N I
V I A G I U S E P P E PA S O L I N I
VIA G. MATTEOTTI
VIA IV NOVEMBRE
VIA IV NOVEMBRE
Battistero
Battistero
degli Ariani
degli Ariani
VI A C . M OR GI A
V I A A R M A N D O D I A
VI A F. M OR D A
V I A X I I I G I U G N O
V I A G . C A R D U C
V IA L U C A LON G H I I
PIAZZA
V IA L U C A LON G H
PIAZZA
DEL POPOLO
PIAZZA
PIAZZA
XX SETTEMBRE
V I A A . M A R I A
V I A IX FEB B RAI
V I A Z I R AR DI N
V I A Z I R AR DI N I I
PIAZZA
GARIBALDI
GARIBALDI
1 San Vitale V I A M AS S IM O D ' AZ EG LI O V I A IX FEB B RAI O O XX SETTEMBRE DEL POPOLO PIAZZA V I A A . M A R I A N I N I V I A D I R O M A V I A G . C A R D U C C I C I
V I A G I O A C C H I N O R A S P O N
San Vitale’s apse mosaics (526–547) show Christ, San VI A M ENTA NA VIA CAIROLI Museo
V I A D I R O M A
Museo
V I A G O R D I
Vitale (being handed a martyr’s crown), two angels and KENNEDY V I A G O R D I N I N I Dantesco Sant'Apollinare
V I A M AS S IM O D ' AZ EG LI O
PIAZZA
PIAZZA
Dantesco
KENNEDY
Sant'Apollinare
VIA GARATONI
VIA GARATONI VIA R. GESSI VI A C . R IC C I VIA ALIGHIERI Tomba di Dante PORZIOL I NO VICOLO Palazzo
VIA CAIROLI
Bishop Ecclesius, who began the church (see pp54–5). V I A G I O A C C H I N O R A S P O N I I VIA BOCACCIO VI A F. NE GR I R I Nuovo
Nuovo
VI A F. NE G
VI A M ENTA NA
VIA R. GESSI
VIA BOCACCIO
V I A FA N T U Z ZI
V I A FA N T U Z ZI
Palazzo
Tomba di Dante
V I A A L B E R O
VIA ALIGHIERI
di Teodorico
di Teodorico
RIMINI
PORZIOL
LARGO
FIRENZE
FIRENZE
PIAZZA
VICOLO I NO
VI A C . R IC C I
PIAZZA
SAN SAN
PIAZZA V I A G U I D O N E PIAZZA LARGO RIMINI V I A A L B E R O N I N I
Tower
San San
FRANCESCO
DEL DUOMO
DEL DUOMO Tower FRANCESCO Francesco
Battistero
Battistero VIA A. GUERRINI Francesco
V I A G U I D O N E
Neoniano
VI A G . GU AC CIM AN
Neoniano
Duomo
VIA A. GUERRINI
PIAZZA
Duomo PIAZZA VI A G . GU AC CIM ANNI NI
CADUTI
CADUTI
PIAZZA
PIAZZA
ARCIVESCOVADO
ARCIVESCOVADO
Museo
Museo
Arcivescovile
Arcivescovile
3 Baptism of Jesus
The 5th-century Battistero Neoniano (Neonian
Baptistry) is named after the bishop who may have
commissioned its decoration, including this beautiful
mosaic. It was built near the remains of a Roman
bathhouse and is Ravenna’s oldest monument.
For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp569–73 and pp590–96
272-273_EW_Italy.indd 272 4/4/17 5:35 PM

R A VENNA  273



VISITORS’ CHECKLIST
Practical Information
San Vitale & Mausoleo di Galla
Placidia: Via Fiandrini. Tel 0544 54
16 88. Open Apr–Sep: 9am–7pm
daily; Nov–Feb: 9:30am–5pm; Mar
& Oct: 9am–5:30pm (last adm:
15 mins before closing). Closed
1 Jan, 25 Dec. Battistero Neoniano:
Via Battistero. Tel 0544 54 16 88.
Open & Closed as above, except
5 Battistero Nov–Feb: 10am–5pm.
degli Ariani & 8 Sant’Apollinare Nuovo:
The cupola of this Via di Roma. Tel 0544 54 16 88.
late 5th-century Open & Closed as above. & 7
baptistry has a mosaic Tomba di Dante: Via Dante
showing the Apostles ringed Alighieri. Tel 0544 21 56 76.
Mausoleo di
Mausoleo di
Galla Placidia
Galla Placidia around a centrepiece depicting the Baptism of Christ. Open Apr–Sep: 10am–8pm daily;
Oct–Mar: 10am–4pm daily.
Closed 1 Jan, 25 Dec. 7
V I A P I E R T R A V E R S A R I
Museo
V I A R O C C A A L F O S
Museo Battistero degli Ariani: Via degli
Nazionale V I A P I E T R O A L I G H I E R I R I V I A P. G H I S E L L I L I V I A R O C C A A L F O S S I S I Ariani. Tel 0544 54 37 11. Open
Nazionale
V I A P I E T R O A L I G H I E
8:30am–7:30pm daily (winter: to
V I A P. G H I S E L
San San V I A P I E R T R A V E R S A R I 4:30pm) (last adm: 15 mins before
V I A S A L A R A
VIA G ALLA VIA G ALLA V IA GA M B A V I A S A L A R A VIA ZANZANIGOLA A combined ticket is available.
V I A U G O B A S
Vitale
Vitale V IA GA M B A VIA ZANZANIGOLA V I A U G O B A S S I S I closing). Closed 1 Jan, 1 May. 7
For reservations (mandatory for
VIA GIROLAMO ROSSI
VIA G. ARGENTARIO VIA PONTE MARINO VIA GIROLAMO ROSSI ∑ ravennamosaici.it
Tel 800 303 999 or 0544 54 16 88.
BOLGNA
BOLGNA V I A S A N V I TA L E V I A D I R O M A VI A L UI GI R AVA Mausoleo di Galla Placidia):
FERRARA
FERRARA VIA G. ARGENTARIO
V I A S A N V I TA L E
V I A D I R O M A
VI A L UI GI R AVA
Stazione
Stazione
Covered
Covered
VIA PONTE MARINO
130m (150 yards)
VIA PAO LO COS
Market VIA PAO LO COSTA TA Basilica dello 130m (150 yards)
Market
Basilica dello
Spirito Santo
Spirito Santo MAMELI
PIAZZA
PIAZZA
V IA C. C ATTA NEO VI A C . M OR GI A VI A F. M OR D A NI NI VIA G. MATTEOTTI A. COSTA V I A X I I I G I U G N O V I A A R M A N D O D I A Z Z VIA LUIGI CARLO FARINI INI
PIAZZA
PIAZZA
V I A C A M I L LO C A V O U
V IA C. C ATTA NEO
V I A C A M I L LO C A V O U R R
MAMELI
A. COSTA
V I A G I U S E P P E PA S O L I N I
VIA LUIGI CARLO FAR
VIA G. MATTEOTTI
V I A G I U S E P P E PA S O L I N I
VIA IV NOVEMBRE
VIA IV NOVEMBRE
Battistero
Battistero
degli Ariani
degli Ariani
VI A C . M OR GI A
V I A A R M A N D O D I A
VI A F. M OR D A
V I A X I I I G I U G N O
V I A G . C A R D U C
V IA L U C A LON G H I I V I A IX FEB B RAI V I A Z I R AR DI N XX SETTEMBRE DEL POPOLO PIAZZA V I A A . M A R I A N I N I V I A D I R O M A V I A G . C A R D U C C I C I
PIAZZA
V IA L U C A LON G H
PIAZZA
DEL POPOLO
PIAZZA
PIAZZA
V I A IX FEB B RAI O O
XX SETTEMBRE
V I A A . M A R I A
V I A Z I R AR DI N I I
PIAZZA
GARIBALDI
GARIBALDI
V I A G I O A C C H I N O R A S P O N
V I A D I R O M A
Museo
V I A G O R D I
V I A M AS S IM O D ' AZ EG LI O
PIAZZA
V I A M AS S IM O D ' AZ EG LI O
PIAZZA VI A M ENTA NA VIA CAIROLI V I A G O R D I N I N I VIA BOCACCIO Museo Sant'Apollinare
Dantesco
Dantesco
Sant'Apollinare
KENNEDY
KENNEDY
VIA GARATONI
VIA GARATONI V I A G I O A C C H I N O R A S P O N I I VIA R. GESSI VI A C . R IC C I VIA ALIGHIERI Tomba di Dante VI A F. NE GR I R I Nuovo 6 Sant’Apollinare Nuovo
VIA CAIROLI
Nuovo
VI A F. NE G
VI A M ENTA NA
VIA R. GESSI
VIA BOCACCIO
V I A FA N T U Z ZI
V I A FA N T U Z ZI
Palazzo
Palazzo
This glorious 6th-century church, named
Tomba di Dante
V I A A L B E R O
VIA ALIGHIERI
di Teodorico
di Teodorico
RIMINI
PO R ZIO L
LARGO
V I C O LO
LARGO
FIRENZE
V I C O LO I N O
PIAZZA
PO R ZIO L I N O
VI A C . R IC C I
by two rows of mosaics. Both show
SAN SAN
PIAZZA V I A G U I D O N E PIAZZA FIRENZE RIMINI V I A A L B E R O N I N I after Ravenna’s first bishop, is dominated
PIAZZA
Tower
San San
FRANCESCO
DEL DUOMO
DEL DUOMO Tower FRANCESCO Francesco
Battistero
Battistero VIA A. GUERRINI Francesco processions of martyrs and virgins
V I A G U I D O N E
Neoniano
Neoniano bearing gifts for Christ and the Virgin.
VI A G . GU AC CIM AN
Duomo
VIA A. GUERRINI
PIAZZA
Duomo PIAZZA VI A G . GU AC CIM ANNI NI
CADUTI
PIAZZA CADUTI
PIAZZA
ARCIVESCOVADO
ARCIVESCOVADO
Museo
Museo
Arcivescovile
Arcivescovile
4 Tomba di Dante Key
Dante’s wanderings Suggested route
around Italy after his exile
from Florence eventually
brought him to Ravenna,
where he died in 1321.
A lamp in his sepulchre 0 metres 200
(1780) is fed by oil given
by the city of Florence. 0 yards 200
For additional map symbols see back flap
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274-275_EW_Italy.indd 274 20/03/15 10:54 am

cent R al it al y  275
Florence



Florence is a vast and beautiful monument to the
Renaissance, the artistic and cultural reawakening
of the 15th century. Writers such as Dante, Petrarch
and Machiavelli contributed to its proud literary
heritage, though it was the paintings and sculptures
of artists such as Botticelli, Michelangelo and Donatello
that turned the city into one of the world’s greatest
artistic capitals.

While the Etruscans had long settled in almost unbroken sway for three centuries.
the hills around Fiesole, Florence first During this time the city was at the
sprang to life as a Roman colony in 59 BC. cultural and intellectual heart of Europe,
Captured by the Lombards in the 6th its cosmopolitan atmosphere and wealthy
century, the city later emerged from the patrons providing the impetus for a period
Dark Ages as an independent city state. of unparalleled artistic growth. Artists,
By the 13th century a burgeoning trade sculptors and architects flocked to the city,
in wool and textiles, backed by a powerful filling its streets, churches and palaces
banking sector, had turned the city into with some of the world’s greatest
one of Italy’s leading powers. Political Renaissance works. By 1737 the Medici
control was wielded first by the guilds, had died out, leaving the city under
and later by the Florentine Republic. Austrian (and briefly Napoleonic) control
In time, power passed to leading noble until Italian Unification in 1860. Between
families, of which the most influential 1865 and 1871 Florence was the capital
were the Medici, a hugely wealthy of the new Kingdom of Italy. The historic
banking dynasty. Florence, and later streets and artistic heritage were ravaged
Tuscany, remained under the family’s by the Arno floods of November 1966.



























Florentines strolling in front of Ponte Vecchio (1345), the old bridge lined with shops spanning the Arno
A replica of Michelangelo’s David in Piazza della Signoria



274-275_EW_Italy.indd 275 20/03/15 10:54 am

276  CENTR AL IT AL Y

Exploring Florence
V I A S A N G A L L O
Historic Florence is a surprisingly compact area, and the majority of the sights V I A S A N T A R E P A R A T A VIA PIER ANTONIO MICHELI
described on the following pages can be reached easily on foot. Most visitors U R VIA GIORGIO LA PIRA
head for the Duomo, the city’s geographical and historical focus, to explore V I A V O
the Campanile, Baptistry and Museo dell’Opera del Duomo. To the south is V. PANICALE C A PIAZZA V I A G I N O C A P P O N I
DI SAN
MARCO
Piazza della Signoria, long the city’s political heart, flanked by the Palazzo G U E L F A V. C. BATTISTI V I A G I U S E P P E G I U S T I
Vecchio, Florence’s town hall, and the Uffizi, one of Italy’s leading art galleries. V I A N A Z I O N A L E VIA TADDEA PIAZZA D. SS.
To the east lies the church of Santa Croce, home to frescoes by Giotto Stazione Centrale FAENZA VIA VIA DE'GINORI A V I A ANNUNZIATA
di Santa
and the tombs of some of Florence’s greatest men. To the west Maria Novella V SANT’ANTONINO V. DELLA STUFA V I VIA DELLA COLONNA
V I A L A U R A
stands Santa Maria Novella, the city’s other great church, also PIAZZA DELL’ PIAZZA S E R V I D E G L I
UNITA
ITALIANA
adorned with fresco-filled chapels. Across the Ponte Vecchio LORENZO V I A R I C A S O L I PIAZZA PERGOLA
DI SAN
V. D. GIGLIO
FILIPPO
and the Arno – the river that bisects the city – is the district VIA DELLA SCALA VIA D. AVELLI VIA PANZANI D E I BRUNELLESCHI A L F A N I
of Oltrarno, dominated by Santo Spirito and the vast Pitti V I A PAL AZ Z U OLO PIAZZA DI V. DE' MARTELLI VIA DE’ PUCCI V I A B O R G O P I N T I
Palace, containing galleries with works by great SANTA MARIA V. D. BANCHI DE' CERRETANI PIAZZA PZA. DEL PIAZZA DI VIA DELLA
VIA DEL PORCELLANA PIAZZA DEGLI V. DE' TORNABUONI VIA DE’ VECCHIETTI VIA DE' BRUNELLESCHI VIA ROMA GIOVANNI VIA SANT'EGIDIO
DUOMO
NOVELLA
SANTA
Renaissance artists including Raphael and Titian. DI SAN MARIA
OTTAVIANI
VIA DELL’ORIUOLO
Getting Around IL PRATO BORGO OGNISSANTI V. D. FOSSI V. DELLA SPADA VIA DE' PESCIONI PIAZZA DELLA VIA DELL’OCHE VIA DEL PROCONSOLO BORGO DEGLI ALBIZI PIAZZA G.
VIA DEL CORSO
Florence has an excellent bus Ponte A. Vespucci LUNG. AMERIGO VESPUCCI PIAZZA V. D. VIGNA NUOVA TORNABUONI V. D. STROZZI REPUBBLICA VIA DEI CALZAIUOLI SALVEMINI
CARLO
service. One tram line, with two GOLDONI VIA PARIONE V. DE' CIMATORI VIA DE’ PANDOLFINI VIA DELL'ULIVO
PIAZZA D.
Pescaia di S. Rosa
more under construction, also L U N G A R N O S O D E R I N I P.te alla Carraia LUNG. CORSINI V. P.TA ROSSA V I A G H I B E L L I N A VIA GIUSEPPE VERDI
operates in the city. The compact P. DI S. CALIMALA V. D. CONDOTTA V. D. VIGNA VECCHIA V I A D E ’ P E P I
TRÌNITA
PIAZZA DELLA
city centre, a restricted traffic area, BORGO SAN FREDIANO NAZARIO A r n o V. D. TERME SIGNORIA V. DELL'ANGUILLARA
is best negotiated on foot. PIAZZA SAURO P.te S. Trìnita LUNG. D. ACCIAIOLI P. D. V. D. NINNA BORGO DE' GRECI SANTA V. S. CRISTOFANO
VIA DI CAMALDOLI V I A D E L L E O N E CARMINE VIA SANTA V I A M A F F I A V. D. SANTO SPIRITO PESCE V. DE' CASTELLANI VIA DE' V I A D E ' B E N C I PIAZZA DI VIA DI S. GIUSEPPE
DEL
PIAZZA LUNG. GUICCIARDINI
CROCE
BORGO
PIAZZA MONACA BORGO SAN JACOPO Ponte Vecchio PIAZZA NERI S. CROCE V. A. MAGLIABECHI
TORQUATO VIA D. S PRONE MENTANA
TASSO M A G G I O PIAZZA DI LUN. GEN. DIAZ CORSO DEI TINTORI
PIAZZA DI SANTA MARIA
SOPRARNO
Key VIA SANT’AGOSTINO V. D. GUICCIARDINI LUNG. DELLE GRAZIE VIA TRIPOLI
SANTO
PIAZZA DEI
SPIRITO CAVALLEGGERI
Major sight V I A D E L L A C H I E S A T E G O L A I O COSTA L U N G . T O R R I G I A N I Ponte alle Grazie
Place of interest V I A D E L C A M P U C C I O V I A DE’ PITTI DI V. DE'BARDI
PIAZZA
Pedestrian street GIARDINO PIAZZA PIAZZA
TORRIGIANI B O R G O DI SAN SAN DEMIDOFF L U N G A R N O S E R R I S T O R I
City walls S E R R A G L I FELICE PIAZZA DE' V. D. GIARDINO V. LUPO
MOZZI
PIAZZA
V I A L E F R A N C E S C O P E T R A R C A GIORGIO V I A D I S AN N I C C O L Ò GIUSEPPE
V I A D E I B A S T I O N I
D E ’ R O M A N A D. S. GIORGIO VIALE GIUSEPPE POGGI
V. D. FORTE
V I A GIARDINO DI BOBOLI V I A D I B E L V E D E R E PIAZZALE
V I A MICHELANGELO
C A N I NA V. D. MONTE ALLE CROCI
PIAZZA
DELLA CALZA
PIAZZALE DELLA
PORTA ROMANA ER TA
O G A L I L E I
D
R
A
L E O N G A L I L E O
VIA DEL BOBOLINO
V I A L E N I C C O LÒ M A C H IAV ELLI SAN V I A L E
DI
VIA GA L ILEI
PIAZZALE
GALILEO
Ponte Vecchio with Ponte Santa Trinità in the foreground V I A L E L E O
G A L I
For additional map symbols see back flap
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Date 6th August 2012
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FL ORENCE  277
V I A S A N T A R E P A R A T A O U R VIA GIORGIO LA PIRA Sights at a Glance
V I A S A N G A L L O

Churches
2 Convento di San Marco
VIA PIER ANTONIO MICHELI
3 Santissima Annunziata
V
V I A
DI SAN
8 Orsanmichele
MARCO
V I A N A Z I O N A L E V. PANICALE VIA TADDEA G U E L F A C A PIAZZA V. C. BATTISTI V I A G I N O C A P P O N I 7 Duomo and Baptistry pp284–6
0 Santa Croce
i San Lorenzo
V I A G I U S E P P E G I U S T I
ANNUNZIATA
Stazione Centrale FAENZA VIA A PIAZZA D. SS. o Cappelle Medicee
di Santa VIA DE'GINORI V I A
Maria Novella V. DELLA STUFA V I VIA DELLA COLONNA a Santa Maria Novella
V I A L A U R A
PIAZZA DELL’ V SANT’ANTONINO g Ognissanti
UNITA S E R V I D E G L I
ITALIANA PIAZZA V I A R I C A S O L I PIAZZA PERGOLA h Cappella Brancacci pp202–3
DI SAN
V. D. GIGLIO LORENZO D E I BRUNELLESCHI A L F A N I j Santo Spirito
FILIPPO
l Santa Felìcità
PIAZZA DI V. D. BANCHI DE' CERRETANI V. DE' MARTELLI VIA DE’ PUCCI V I A PIAZZA DI VIA DELLA B O R G O P I N T I x San Miniato al Monte
VIA PANZANI
VIA DELLA SCALA
VIA D. AVELLI
PZA. DEL
SANTA MARIA
VIA DEL PORCELLANA PIAZZA DEGLI V. DE' TORNABUONI VIA DE’ VECCHIETTI VIA DE' BRUNELLESCHI VIA ROMA GIOVANNI MARIA Buildings, Monuments
DUOMO
NOVELLA
PIAZZA
SANTA
V I A PAL AZ Z U OLO
DI SAN
and Squares
OTTAVIANI
V. D. FOSSI V. DELLA SPADA VIA DE' PESCIONI PIAZZA DELLA VIA DELL’OCHE VIA DEL PROCONSOLO VIA DELL’ORIUOLO 5 Spedale degli Innocenti
VIA SANT'EGIDIO
w Ponte Vecchio
IL PRATO BORGO OGNISSANTI
SALVEMINI
PIAZZA V. D. VIGNA NUOVA REPUBBLICA VIA DEI CALZAIUOLI VIA DEL CORSO BORGO DEGLI ALBIZI PIAZZA G. r Piazza della Signoria
Ponte A. Vespucci LUNG. AMERIGO VESPUCCI
CARLO TORNABUONI V. D. STROZZI
GOLDONI V. DE' PIAZZA D. VIA DE’ PANDOLFINI VIA DELL'ULIVO t Palazzo Vecchio
P.te alla Carraia LUNG. CORSINI V. P.TA ROSSA CIMATORI V I A G H I B E L L I N A VIA GIUSEPPE VERDI y Palazzo Davanzati
Pescaia di S. Rosa
VIA PARIONE
P. DI S.
V. D. CONDOTTA
L U N G A R N O S O D E R I N I
TRÌNITA CALIMALA PIAZZA DELLA V. D. VIGNA VECCHIA V I A D E ’ P E P I u Palazzo Strozzi
NAZARIO A r n o LUNG. D. ACCIAIOLI V. D. TERME SIGNORIA BORGO DE' GRECI V. S. CRISTOFANO p Mercato Centrale
BORGO SAN FREDIANO
SAURO
s Palazzo Antinori
V. DELL'ANGUILLARA
VIA DI CAMALDOLI V I A D E L L E O N E CARMINE VIA SANTA V I A M A F F I A P.te S. Trìnita PESCE V. DE' CASTELLANI VIA DE' V I A D E ' B E N C I PIAZZA DI VIA DI S. GIUSEPPE d Palazzo Rucellai
PIAZZA
V. D. NINNA
P. D.
SANTA
DEL
PIAZZA LUNG. GUICCIARDINI
CROCE
V. D. SANTO SPIRITO
z Piazzale Michelangelo
S. CROCE
PIAZZA MONACA BORGO SAN JACOPO Ponte Vecchio PIAZZA NERI BORGO V. A. MAGLIABECHI
TORQUATO VIA D. S PRONE MENTANA Museums and Galleries
TASSO M A G G I O PIAZZA DI LUN. GEN. DIAZ CORSO DEI TINTORI
PIAZZA DI SANTA MARIA 1 Galleria dell’Accademia
SOPRARNO
SANTO V. D. GUICCIARDINI LUNG. DELLE GRAZIE VIA TRIPOLI
T E G O L A I O COSTA L U N G . T O R R I G I A N I Ponte alle Grazie 6 Museo dell’Opera del Duomo
PIAZZA DEI
SPIRITO CAVALLEGGERI 4 Museo Archeologico
V I A
VIA SANT’AGOSTINO
PIAZZA
DE’ PITTI DI V. DE'BARDI 9 Bargello
V I A D E L L A C H I E S A
S E R R A G L I GIORGIO MOZZI V I A D I S AN N I C C O L Ò V. LUPO GIUSEPPE f Museo Nazionale Alinari della
GIARDINO PIAZZA PIAZZA q Museo Galileo
TORRIGIANI B O R G O DI SAN SAN PIAZZA DE' DEMIDOFF L U N G A R N O S E R R I S T O R I e Uffizi pp290–93
FELICE
V I A D E L C A M P U C C I O
V. D. GIARDINO
PIAZZA
Fotografia
D E ’ R O M A N A D. S. GIORGIO V I A D E I B A S T I O N I k Palazzo Pitti pp306–7
VIALE GIUSEPPE POGGI
V. D. FORTE
V I A GIARDINO DI BOBOLI V I A D I B E L V E D E R E PIAZZALE
V I A MICHELANGELO
C A N I NA V. D. MONTE ALLE CROCI
V I A L E F R A N C E S C O P E T R A R C A
PIAZZA
DELLA CALZA
PIAZZALE DELLA
PORTA ROMANA ER TA
O G A L I L E I
D
R
A
L E O N G A L I L E O
VIA DEL BOBOLINO
V I A L E N I C C O LÒ M A C H IAV ELLI SAN V I A L E
DI
VIA GA L ILEI Bell tower, Palazzo Vecchio
PIAZZALE
GALILEO
0 metres 500
L E O 0 yards 500
V I A L E
G A L I
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278  CENTR AL IT AL Y

Street-by-Street: Around San Marco

The buildings in this part of Florence once
stood on the fringes of the city, serving as
stables and barracks. The Medici menagerie of
lions, elephants and giraffes was housed here.
Today it is a student quarter and the streets
are often busy with young people attending
the university or the Accademia di Belle Arti,
the world’s oldest art school, founded in 1563. 3 Santissima Annunziata
This fine Renaissance
church has an opulent
Palazzo Baroque interior.
Pandolfini was
designed by
Raphael in
1516.





2 . Convento di San Marco
The Annunciation (c.1445) is an example of
Fra Angelico’s exquisite fresco decoration.
A
Sant’Apollonia features a O U R VIA DELLA DOGANA I R
fresco of the Cenacolo A V P
(Last Supper) by Andrea C L A
del Castagno (1450). A O
I I
V R G
O
I
G

A
L O V I
L
VIA DEGLI ARAZZIERI
A
G
P I A Z Z A D I
N
A
S
S A N M A R CO
A
I
V
I
L V I A C E S A R E B A T T I S T I
O
S
A
C
I
R

A
I PIAZZA DELLA
V
SANTISSIMA
ANNUNZIATA
Luigi Cherubini
(1760–1842), the
1 . Galleria Florentine composer,
dell’Accademia trained at the
This detail is from a Conservatorio.
14th-century altarpiece, the Giambologna’s statue
Madonna and Saints, by an of Duke Ferdinando I was
unnamed master. cast by Tacca in 1608.
For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp569–73 and pp590–96
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FL ORENCE  279






A r n o




Locator Map
See Florence Street Finder map 2
Part of the 15th-century Cassone Adimari by Lo Scheggia in the Accademia
1 Galleria are among the most dramatic
0 metres 50 dell’Accademia of Michelangelo’s works.
0 yards 50 The statues were presented
Via Ricasoli 60. Map 2 D4. to the Medici family in 1564 by
Tel 055 238 86 12 (information). the artist’s nephew, Leonardo.
Open 8:15am–6:50pm Tue–Sun
Key They were then moved to the
(occasional extended hours in the Grotta Grande in the Boboli
Suggested route summer). Closed public hols.
& ^ 7 ∑ accademia.org Gardens, where casts of the
originals can now be seen.
The Academy of Fine Arts, The Accademia also contains
The Giardino dei founded in 1563, was the first an important collection of
Semplici was school established in Europe paintings by 15th- and 16th-
opened in 1543. specifically to teach the century Florentine artists,
techniques of drawing, among them Filippino Lippi,
painting and sculpture. Fra Bartolomeo, Bronzino
The art collection and Ridolfo del Ghirlandaio.
displayed here was The major works include
formed in 1784 to provide the Madonna del Mare
material for students (Madonna of the Sea),
to study and copy. attributed to
The most Botticelli (1445–
famous work is 1510), and Venus
Michelangelo’s and Cupid by
David (1504), a Jacopo Pontormo
(1494–1556), based on a
colossal (5.2-m-/
V I A G I N O C A P P O N I Many of the biblical hero who Michelangelo. Also here is
preparatory drawing by
17-ft-) nude of the
an elaborately painted
4 Museo killed the giant
Archeologico
Goliath. The sculpture
wooden chest, the
was commissioned by
Cassone Adimari
Etruscan objects in
the city for Piazza della
(1440–45) by Lo
the museum were
originally in the
brother of Masaccio.
to the Accademia for safe-
Medici collections. Signoria, but it was moved Scheggia, the step-
keeping in 1873. One copy Originally part of a
now stands in its original wealthy bride’s
position (see pp294–5) trousseau, it is
and a second is on decorated with
Piazzale Michelangelo. details of
The David established Florentine life,
Michelangelo, at the age Michelangelo’s David clothing and
of 29, as the foremost architecture.
sculptor of his time. A scene of the bridal party
Michelangelo’s other master- appears on the chest in front
pieces in the Accademia include of the Baptistry.
the Quattro Prigionieri (Four The Salone della Toscana
5 Spedale degli Innocenti Prisoners), sculpted between (Tuscany Room) features modest
Opened in 1444, the city 1521 and 1523 and intended to paintings and sculptures by
orphanage by Brunelleschi adorn the tomb of Pope Julius II. 19th-century members of the
was decorated with cameos The muscular figures struggling Accademia and plaster models
by Andrea della Robbia. to free themselves from the stone by sculptor Lorenzo Bartolini.
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280  CENTR AL IT AL Y


He paid a considerable sum to Deposition (c.1432–4), an altar­
have the convent rebuilt by his piece painted for the church
favourite architect, Michelozzo, of Santa Trinità; the Madonna
whose simple cloisters and dei Linaiuoli, commissioned by
cells provide the setting for a the Linaiuoli (flaxworkers’ guild)
remarkable series of devotional in 1433; and the moving
frescoes (c.1438–45) by Lamentation over Christ
Florentine painter and (c.1436–41), painted for Santa
Dominican friar Fra Angelico. Maria della Croce al Tempio.
The convent and art collections In the courtyard, right of the
form the Museo di San Marco. convent’s former bell, is the
Michelozzo’s magnificent vaulted Sala Capitolare
Chiostro di Sant’Antonino (Chapterhouse), decorated with
was named after the convent’s a noted but over­restored
first prior, Antonino Pierozzi Crucifixion and Saints (1440)
The light and airy former library, designed (1389–1459), who painted by Fra Angelico.
by Michelozzo later became the Covering one wall of the small
Archbishop of Refettorio (refectory) is a
2 Convento di Florence. Most of fresco of the Last
Supper (c.1480) by
the faded frescoes
San Marco in this cloister Domenico
describe scenes Ghirlandaio.
Piazza di San Marco. Map 2 D4. Tel 055
28 76 28 (information). Open 7am– from the Stairs from the
noon, 4–8pm. 5 Museo di San Marco: saint’s life by courtyard lead to
Tel 055 238 86 08 (reserva tions). Open Bernardino the first floor,
8:15am–1:50pm daily (to 4:50pm Sat Poccetti. The where you
& Sun). Closed 1 Jan, 1 May, 25 Dec; panels in the A detail from Fra Angelico’s poignant suddenly see
2nd & 4th Mon of month; 1st, 3rd & corner are by Fra Lamentation over Christ (c.1436–41) Fra Angelico’s
5th Sun of month. & 7 ^ Angelico. A door Annunciation
in the right side of the cloister (c.1440), thought by many to be
The Convent of San Marco was leads to the Ospizio dei among the city’s most beautiful
founded in the 13th century Pellegrini (Pilgrims’ Hospice). Renaissance paintings. Beyond,
and enlarged in 1437, when Today it houses the museum’s ranged around three sides of
Dominican monks from nearby freestanding paintings, the cloister, are the Dormitory
Fiesole moved there at including three famous Cells. These 44 tiny monastic
the invitation of masterpieces: Fra cells are frescoed with scenes
Cosimo il Angelico’s from The Life of Christ by Fra
Vecchio. Angelico and assistants (1439–
45). The cells numbered 1 to 11
are generally attributed to Fra
Angelico personally, as is the
lovely fresco of the Madonna
and Saints on the right of the
corridor (see p36).
Cells 12–14 were once
occupied by Savonarola, the
zealous Dominican monk who
became Prior of San Marco in
1491. Among other deeds,
Savonarola incited Florentines
to rebel against the Medici and
was responsible for the burning
of many works of art. Denounced
as a heretic, he was burned at
the stake in 1498.
Along the third corridor lies
an airy colonnaded hall, formerly
a public library designed by
Michelozzo in 1441 for Cosimo
il Vecchio. Beyond it lie two cells
(38 and 39) that were used by
Cosimo when he went on retreat
Fra Angelico’s allegorical fresco, the Mocking of Christ (c.1442), showing Jesus blindfolded here. They are both larger than
and being struck by a Roman guard any of the neighbouring rooms.
For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp569–73 and pp590–96


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FL ORENCE  281


second floor is dedicated to
Greek vases, notably the famed
François Vase, found in an
Etruscan tomb near Chiusi.

5 Spedale degli
Innocenti
Piazza della Santissima Annunziata 12.
Map 2 E4. Tel 055 203 71.
Open Museum: 10am–7pm daily.
Closed 1 Jan, Easter, 25 Dec. &
Named after Herod’s biblical
The Birth of the Virgin (1514) by del Sarto in Santissima Annunziata Massacre of the Innocents, the
“Hospital” opened in 1444 as
3 Santissima Santissima Annunziata, one of Europe’s first orphanage. Part of
Annunziata the finest Renaissance squares the building is still used for this
in Florence. Designed by purpose. Brunelleschi’s arcaded
Piazza della Santissima Annunziata. Brunelleschi, the delicate nine- loggia is decorated with glazed
Map 2 E4. Tel 055 239 80 34. Open bay arcade fronts the Spedale terracotta roundels, added by
7:30am–12:30pm, 4pm–6:30pm daily.
degli Innocenti to its right, Andrea della Robbia around
Founded by the Servite order in while at the centre of the square 1498, showing babies wrapped
1250, the church of the Holy stands a bronze equestrian in swaddling bands. At the left
Annunciation was later rebuilt statue of Duke Ferdinando I. end of the portico you can see
by Michelozzo between 1444 Started by Giambologna, it was the rota, a rotating stone
and 1481. Its atrium contains finished in 1608 by his assistant cylinder on which anonymous
frescoes by the Mannerist artists Pietro Tacca (who designed the mothers could place their
Rosso Fiorentino, Andrea del square’s bronze fountains). unwanted children and ring
Sarto and Jacopo Pontormo. the bell for them to be
Perhaps the finest of its panels 4 Museo admitted to the orphanage.
are The Journey of the Magi Within the building lie two
(1511) and The Birth of the Virgin Archeologico elegant cloisters: the Chiostro
(1514) by del Sarto. Via della Colonna 36. Map 2 E4. degli Uomini (Men’s Cloister),
The heavily decorated, dark Tel 055 235 75. Open 8:30am–7pm built between 1422 and 1445
interior has a frescoed ceiling Tue–Fri, 8:30am–2pm Sat–Mon. and decorated with sgraffito
completed by Pietro Giambelli Closed 1 Jan, 1 May, 25 Dec. 7 = roosters and cherubs, and the
in 1669. Here is one of the city’s smaller Women’s Cloister (1438).
most revered shrines, a painting The Archaeological Museum in The upstairs gallery contains a
of the Virgin Mary begun by a Florence is in a palazzo built by handful of fine works, including
monk in 1252 but miraculously Giulio Parigi for the Princess terracottas by della Robbia and
completed by an angel, Maria Maddalena de’ Medici pictures by Botticelli, Piero di
according to devout Florentines. in 1620. It now exhibits an Cosimo and Domenico
Newlywed couples traditionally outstanding collection of Ghirlandaio. There is a vast
visit the shrine (on the left Etruscan, Greek, Roman space for temporary exhibitions,
as you enter the church) and Egyptian artifacts. as well as a beautiful terrace,
to present a bouquet of The first floor contains complete with a cafeteria.
flowers to the Virgin a splendid series of
and to pray for a Etruscan bronzes as well
long, fruitful and as the famous Chimera
fecund marriage. (4th century BC),
A door from the a mythical
north transept leads to lion with a
the Chiostrino dei Morti goat’s head
(Cloister of the Dead), imposed on its body
so called because it was and a serpent for a tail.
originally used as a burial Equally impressive is the
ground. Today it is best 1st-century Arringatore
known for del Sarto’s bronze found near Lake
beautiful fresco The Trasimeno in Umbria.
Madonna del Sacco (1525). It is inscribed with
The church is situated on the name of Aulus
the northern flank of Etruscan warrior, Museo Metellus. A large Part of Brunelleschi’s arcaded loggia,
Piazza della Archeologico section on the Spedale degli Innocenti




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282  CENTR AL IT AL Y

Street-by-Street: Around the Duomo

While much of Florence was rebuilt during the Renaissance, the eastern part
of the city retains a distinctly medieval feel. With its maze of tiny alleys, it is
an area that would still be familiar to Dante (1265–1321), whose birthplace
allegedly lay somewhere among these lanes. The poet would recognize the
church of Santa Maria de’ Cerchi where he first glimpsed Beatrice,
as well as the gaunt outlines of the Bargello. He would also be
familiar with the Baptistry, one of the city’s oldest buildings,
though he would not know either the Campanile
or the Duomo, whose foundations were laid in
the poet’s old age.






PIAZZA
DI SAN P I A Z Z A
GIOVANNI D E L D U O M O





7 . Duomo and Baptistry
The exteriors of the Duomo and Baptistry V I A D E L L ’ O C H E
are richly decorated with marbles and reliefs,
such as this detail from the Duomo’s façade.

Key V V I A D . S T U D I O
I
Suggested route A R V I A D E ’ M E D I C I V I A D E L C O R S O

V
O
I A
M
VIA D. SPEZIALI D V A
A
I
E

I
ALIGHIERI
D
E
C
VIA DANTE
’
A
C
L
E
Z
V.D. TAVOLINI H
A
I R
C
U
I
O
The Loggia del Bigallo (1358) L V I A D . M A G A Z Z I N I
I
is where abandoned children
were once left. They were then V.D. CIMATORI
sent to foster homes if they
remained unclaimed. C V. DE’LAMBERTI V I A D E L L C O N D O T T A
0 metres 100 A L
I
0 yards 100 M PORTA ROSSA
VIA
A
L
A
Via dei
8 Orsanmichele Calzaiuoli,
The church’s niche carvings lined with Piazza della
depict patron saints of trade smart shops, Signoria
guilds, such as this copy of is the city’s
Donatello’s St George. liveliest street.
For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp569–73 and pp590–96
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Date 20th August 2012
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FL ORENCE  283


6 Museo dell’Opera
del Duomo
Works from the Duomo,
Campanile and Baptistry are A r n o
displayed in this museum.

Pegna sells a range of
fine wines, oil
and honey.
Locator Map
See Florence Street Finder map 6 Carving from Luca della Robbia’s choir loft
VIA FOLCO PORTINARI in the Museo dell’Opera


6 Museo dell’Opera
del Duomo

VIA DELL’ORIVOLO Piazza del Duomo. Map 2 D5 (6 E2).
Tel 055 230 28 85. Open 9am–7pm
daily (to 9pm Mon, Fri, Sat). Closed
1st Tue of month. & 7
∑ ilgrandemuseodelduomo.it
The Cathedral Works Museum
has so far undergone extensive
remodelling, and now a series
Badia Fiorentina, the of rooms is dedicated to the
V I A D E L L ’ O C H E abbey church founded history of the Duomo. The main
ground-floor room holds statues
in 978, is home to The
B O R G O D E G L I A L B I Z I Virgin Appearing to St from Arnolfo di Cambio’s
workshop which were once
Bernard (1485) by
Filippino Lippi.
placed in the cathedral’s niches.
V
Nearby is Donatello’s St John.
I
A
Another room contains 14th-
V I A D E L C O R S O D L and 15th-century religious

E
paintings and reliquaries.
V I A D E ’ PA N D O L F I N I Michelangelo’s Pietà has pride

V I A D E ’G I R A L D I
P
R
of place on the staircase. The
O
C
V
I hooded figure of Nico demus
is widely believed to be a
O
A
ALIGHIERI S D self-portrait.
N

V I A D E L P R E S TO
VIA DANTE L E The first room on the upper
O
L
floor contains two choir lofts,
O
dating to the 1430s, by Luca
L ’ A
della Robbia and Donatello.
C
Q
Carved in crisp white marble
U
and decorated with coloured
A
glass and mosaic, both depict
P I A Z Z A D I children playing musical
instruments and dancing.
V I A D . M A G A Z Z I N I
S. F I R E N Z E
V I A D E L L C O N D O T T A Donatello in this room
Other works by
are his statue of La Maddalena
(1455) and several Old
Testament figures.
9 . Bargello The room to the left contains
The city’s old prison is an exhibition of the tablets
Casa di Dante, a home to a rich that used to decorate the bell
tower. A lower level houses
restored medieval collection of applied examples of the tools used by
house, is reputedly arts and sculpture,
Dante’s birthplace. including this figure Brunelleschi’s workmen and a
of Mercury by copy of di Cambio’s original
Giambologna (1564). cathedral façade.
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284  CENTR AL IT AL Y

7 Duomo and Baptistry Campanile
At 85 m (276 ft),
Rising above the heart of the city, the richly decorated the Campanile
is 6 m (20 ft)
Duomo – Santa Maria del Fiore – and its orange-tiled shorter than
dome have become Florence’s most famous symbols. the dome. It is
Typical of the Florentine determination to lead in all clad in white,
things, the cathedral is Europe’s fourth-largest church, green and pink
Tuscan marble.
and to this day it still remains the city’s tallest building.
The Baptistry, with its celebrated bronze doors, may
date back to the 4th century, making it one of Florence’s
oldest buildings. The Campanile, designed by Giotto in
1334, was completed in 1359, 22 years after his death.











Campanile Reliefs
Copies of reliefs by
Andrea Pisano on the
. Baptistry Campanile’s first storey
Colourful 13th-century depict the Creation
mosaics illustrating the Last of Man, and the Arts
Judgment decorate the and the Industries. The
ceiling above the octagonal originals are kept in the
font, where many famous Museo dell’Opera
Florentines, including Dante, del Duomo
were baptized. The doors are (see p283).
by Andrea Pisano
(south) and Lorenzo
Ghiberti (north, east). Main entrance
North Doors









East Doors
(see p286)

South Doors
KEY
1 The Neo-Gothic marble facade 4 The Last Judgment frescoes Brunelleschi copied from the
echoes the style of Giotto’s Campanile, (1572–4) by Vasari were completed Pantheon in Rome.
but was only added in 1871–87. by Zuccari. 6 The marble sanctuary around
2 Gothic windows 5 Bricks were set between the High Altar was created by Baccio
3 The top of the dome offers marble ribs in a self-supporting Bandinelli in 1555.
spectacular views over the city. herringbone pattern – a technique

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FL ORENCE  285


. Dome by Brunelleschi VISITORS’ CHECKLIST
Brunelleschi’s dome, finished in
1463, was the largest of its time Practical Information
to be built without scaffolding. Piazza del Duomo. Map 2 D5 (6
The outer shell is supported by E2). Tel 055 230 28 85. Cathedral:
a thicker inner shell that acts as Open 10am–5pm Mon–Sat
a platform for it. (4:30pm Thu, 4:45pm Sat), 1:30–
4:45pm Sun. 5 7 Crypt: Open
10am–5pm Mon–Sat (4:30pm Thu,
4:45pm Sat). & Baptistry: Open
8:15–10:15am & 11:15am–6:30pm
Mon–Wed & Fri, 8:15am–6:30pm
Thu & Sat, 8:15am–1:30pm Sun.
& 5 Dome: Open 8:30am–
6:20pm Mon–Sat (to 5pm Sat),
1–4pm Sun. & Campanile: Open
8:15am–6:50pm daily. & All
buildings: Closed 1 Jan, Easter,
15 Aug, 8 Sep, 25 Dec.
∑ ilgrandemuseodelduomo.it
Transport
@ 1, 6, 14, 17, 23.
















Chapels at the East End
The three apses, crowned by
smaller copies of the dome,
have five chapels each.
The 15th-century stained
Entrance leading glass is by Ghiberti.
to the dome
















Marble Pavement Dante Explaining the Divine Comedy (1465)
The colourful, intricately inlaid pavement This painting by Michelino shows the poet
(16th century) was designed in part by Baccio outside Florence against a backdrop of
d’Agnolo and Francesco da Sangallo. Purgatory, Hell and Paradise.




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The East Doors of the Baptistry

Lorenzo Ghiberti’s famous Quercia and Brunelleschi. The trial
bronze Baptistry doors were panels by Ghiberti and Brunelleschi
commissioned in 1401 to mark the are so different from Florentine
city’s deliverance from the plague. Gothic art of the time – notably
Ghiberti was chosen to make a set in the use of perspective and
of new doors after a competition individuality of figures – that they
that involved seven leading artists, are often regarded as the first
including Donatello, Jacopo della Ghiberti’s winning panel works of the Renaissance.


“Gate of Paradise”
Having spent 21 years working on
the North Doors, Ghiberti was
commissioned to make the East
Doors (1424–52). Michelangelo
enthusiastically dubbed them the
“Gate of Paradise”. The original ten
relief panels showing scriptural
subjects are now exhibited in the
Museo dell’Opera del Duomo
(see p283); those on the
Baptistry are copies.












Abraham and the Sacrifice
of Isaac
The jagged modelled rocks
symbolizing Abraham’s pain are
carefully arranged to emphasize
the sacrificial act.







Key to the East Doors
1 Adam and Eve are Expelled from Eden
1 2 2 Cain Murders his Brother, Abel
3 The Drunkenness of Noah and his Sacrifice
3 4 4 Abraham and the Sacrifice of Isaac
Joseph Sold into Slavery 5 6 5 Esau and Jacob
Ghiberti, a master of perspective, 6 Joseph Sold into Slavery
formed the architectural 7 8 7 Moses Receives the Ten Commandments
elements in shallower relief 8 The Fall of Jericho
behind the figures to create the 9 10 9 The Battle with the Philistines
illusion of depth in the scene.
10 Solomon and the Queen of Sheba

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FL ORENCE  287


sculpture. Begun in 1255, eccentric bronze menagerie
the fortress-like building by Giambologna. To the
was initially the town right is the Salone del
hall (making it the Consiglio Generale,
oldest seat of a cavernous
government in former courtroom
the city), but it later that contains
became a prison the cream of the
Detail of carvings by Donatello on the wall and home to the museum’s Early
of Orsanmichele chief of police Renaissance sculpture.
(the Bargello). It Foremost among its
8 Orsanmichele also became known highlights is Donatello’s
for its executions, heroic St George (1416) –
Via dell’Arte della Lana. Map 3 C1 the epitome of “youth,
(6 D3). Tel 055 28 49 44. Open 10am– which took place in
5pm daily. Closed 1 Jan, 1 May, Mon the main courtyard courage and valour of
in Aug, 25 Dec. until 1786, when the arms” in the words of
death sentence was Vasari. Commissioned
Built in 1337 as a grain market, abolished by Grand Duke by the Armourers’ Guild,
Orsanmichele was later Pietro Leopoldo. Following the statue was
converted into a church which extensive renovation, brought here from
took its name from Orto di San the building opened Orsanmichele in
Michele, a monastic garden as one of Italy’s first 1892. At the centre
long since vanished. The arcades national museums of the room, in
of the market became windows, in 1865. direct contrast,
which are today bricked in, but The key exhibits Donatello’s David (c.1430) is Donatello’s
the original Gothic tracery can range over three in the Bargello androgynous David
still be seen. The decoration was floors, beginning (c.1430), famous as
entrusted to Florence’s major with the Michelangelo Room, the first freestanding nude by
Arti (guilds). Over 60 years they redesigned after extensive a Western artist since antiquity.
commissioned sculptures of damage during the 1966 flood Among the room’s more easily
their patron saints to adorn the of the Arno. Three contrasting missed works, tucked away on
14 exterior niches; however, works by Michelangelo lie dotted the right wall, are two reliefs
today many of the figures are around the room, the most depicting The Sacrifice of Isaac
copies. Among the famous a tipsy- (1402). Created by Brunelleschi
sculptors were looking Bacchus and Lorenzo Ghiberti respec-
Lorenzo Ghiberti, (1497), the tively, both were entries in
Donatello and sculptor’s first large the competition to design the
Verrocchio. freestanding work. Baptistry doors.
The beautifully Close by is a Beyond the Salone, the
tranquil interior powerful bust of Bargello’s emphasis shifts to the
contains an opulent Brutus (1539–40), applied arts, with room after
14th-century altar the only known room devoted to rugs,
by Andrea Orcagna, portrait bust by ceramics, silverware
a Virgin and Child by Brunelleschi’s Sacrifice of Michelangelo, and and a host of
Bernardo Daddi Isaac (1402) in the Bargello a delicate circular other beautiful
(1348) and a statue of relief depicting the objets d’art. The
the Madonna and Child Madonna and Child (1503–5). most celebrated
with St Anne by Francesco Countless works by other of these rooms is
da Sangallo (1522). sculptors occupy the same room. the Salone del
Among them is an exquisite Camino on the
Mercury (1564) by the Mannerist second floor, which
9 Bargello genius, Giam bologna, as well as features the finest
several virtuoso bronzes by the collection of
Via del Proconsolo 4. Map 4 D1 (6 E3).
Tel 055 238 86 06. @ 14, A. Open sculptor and goldsmith small bronzes in
8:15am–1:30pm daily (to 5pm mid- Benvenuto Cellini (1500–71). Italy. Some are
Jul–Sep). Closed 1st, 3rd & 5th Sun Across the courtyard, full reproductions of
and 2nd & 4th Mon of each month; of fragments and the coats of antique models,
1 Jan, 1 May, 25 Dec. & ^ 7 arms of the Bargello’s various others are copies
incumbents, two more rooms of Renaissance
Florence’s second-ranking contain exterior sculptures statues. Giam-
museum after the Uffizi, the removed from sites around the bologna, Cellini
Bargello contains a wonderful city. The courtyard’s external and Antonio del
medley of applied arts and Italy’s staircase leads to the first floor, Pollaiuolo are Bacchus (1497)
finest collection of Renaissance which opens with a wonderfully represented here. by Michelangelo




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0 Santa Croce

Work began around 1294 on the Gothic church of Santa
Croce, which contains tombs and monuments of famous
Florentines, such as Michelangelo, Galileo and Machiavelli,
as well as radiant early 14th-century frescoes by Giotto and
his pupil Taddeo Gaddi. In the cloister alongside the church
stands the Cappella de’ Pazzi (Pazzi Chapel), a Renaissance
masterpiece designed by Filippo Brunelleschi. . Cappella de’ Pazzi
Brunelleschi’s domed chapel with
Classical proportions was begun
Tomb of Leonardo Bruni (1447) in 1441. The roundels (c.1442–52)
Rossellino’s effigy of this great humanist are by Luca della Robbia.
was unusual in its sensitive realism
and lack of monumental pomp.

Ticket booth
and entrance











Cimabue’s Crucifixion
Badly damaged in the Florence
flood of 1966, this 13th-century
masterpiece is among the
highlights of the collection, as
is Taddeo Gaddi’s magnificent
Last Supper (c.1355–60).


KEY
1 Refectory
2 Tree of Life by Taddeo Gaddi
3 Vasari’s Tomb of Michelangio
is decorated with figures representing
sculpture and architecture.
4 The Neo-Gothic façade by
Niccolò Matas was added in 1863.
5 Tomb of Galileo
6 Tomb of Machiavelli
7 Annunciation by Donatello
(15th century)
8 The Cappella Baroncelli, Exit
frescoed by Taddeo Gaddi between
1332 and 1338, contains the first true
night scene in Western art.
9 Sacristy
0 The Neo-Gothic campanile, was
added in 1842, after the original was
destroyed in 1512 by lightning.

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FL ORENCE  289


VISITORS’ CHECKLIST q Museo Galileo graphic ana tomical models.
The museum has installed a
Piazza de’ Giudici 1. Map 4 D1 (6 E4).
Practical Information Tel 055 26 53 11. Open 9:30am–6pm large bronze sundial outside
Piazza di Santa Croce. Map 4 E1 daily (to 1pm Tue). Closed 1 & 6 Jan, the entrance that can be used
(6 F4). Tel 055 246 61 05. Basilica: 1 May, Easter, 24 Jun, 13 Aug, 1 Nov, to read the hour and the date.
Open 9:30am–5:30pm daily (from 8, 25 & 26 Dec. 8 &
2pm Sun). Last adm at 5pm.
Closed during Mass. 5 7 & This lively and superbly w Ponte Vecchio
(includes visit to the Museo.) ^ presented museum devotes
= Museo, Cloister & Cappella de’ Map 4 D1 (6 E4).
Pazzi: Open as above. Closed two floors to various scientific Ponte Vecchio, the oldest
themes, illustrating each with
1 Jan, Easter, 13 Jun, 4 Oct, 25 & 26
Dec. 7 & (includes visit to the countless fine displays and a surviving bridge in the city,
Basilica.) ∑ santacroceopera.it panoply of old and beautifully was built in 1345, the last in a
made scientific instruments. succession of bridges and fords
Transport It is also something of a shrine on the site that dated back to
@ C2, C3. to the Pisa-born scientist Galileo Roman times. Designed by
Galilei (1564–1642), and Giotto’s pupil Taddeo
houses the only Gaddi, it was originally
surviving the domain of
instruments he blacksmiths,
designed and butchers and
built, including tanners (who
two telescopes used the river
and the for disposing
objective lens of waste). They
from the were reviled for
telescope with their noise and
which he discovered stench and were
Jupiter’s moons. evicted in 1593 by
A number of Astrolabe, Museo Galileo Duke Ferdinando I –
rooms are devoted to replaced by jewellers
astronomical, mathematical and and goldsmiths. The elevated
navigational instruments, with Corridoio Vasariano runs along
galleries concentrating on the eastern side of the bridge,
Galileo, telescopes and optical above the shops. Giorgio Vasari
games. The museum also designed the corridor in 1565 to
houses the scientific collections allow the Medici family to move
of the two dynasties that once about their residences without
ruled Florence: the Medici and having to mix with the public.
the House of Lorraine. This was the city’s only bridge
Some of the best exhibits on to escape destruction during
display are early maps, globes World War II and visitors today
and astrolabes, antique micro- come as much to admire the
scopes, thermometers and views as to browse among the
barometers. There are also some antique shops and specialized
fine old clocks, mathematical jewellery shops. A bust of the
instruments, calculators, a horri- famous goldsmith Benvenuto
fying collection of 19th-century Cellini stands in the middle
surgical instru ments, and some of the bridge.







. Cappella Bardi Frescoes
Giotto frescoed the Bardi
and Peruzzi chapels to the
right of the high altar between
1315 and 1330. This touching
scene from the left-hand
wall of the chapel shows
The Death of St Francis (1317). Ponte Vecchio viewed from the Ponte Santa Trinità




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e Uffizi

The Uffizi, Italy’s greatest art gallery, was built in 1560–80 to house Corridor ceilings are
offices (uffici) for Duke Cosimo I. The architect Vasari used iron as frescoed in the “grotesque”
reinforcement, enabling his successor, Buontalenti, to create an style of the 1580s, inspired
by Roman grottoes.
almost continuous wall of glass on the upper storey. This was
used as a gallery for Francesco I to display the Medici art treasures.
In the 19th century, the collection’s ancient objects were moved to Second
the archaeological museum and the sculpture to the Bargello, floor 1
leaving a priceless collection of paintings. Continuing renovations Main
may mean some room closures; check the website for details. Entrance
3
The Loggia dei Lanzi
terrace merits a visit for its
unusual views of the Piazza
della Signoria (see pp294–5). 45
43
Bar 44
First floor 42

Annunciation (1333)
The Sienese painter Simone
Martini was strongly
influenced by French 58 41
Gothic art, and this is 57 59
one of his masterpieces. 56 60
61
62 38
63 64
44
46 65
47
48 66
51 50 49 67
54 53 52 101
55 68 94
71 93 100 99
Bacchus (c.1589) 74 92 98
Caravaggio’s early work depicting the
god of wine can be found in the first 75 91
floor exhibition rooms.
83


The Venus of Urbino (1538) 88 89
Titian’s sensuous nude, inspired
by Giorgione’s Sleeping Venus, may
in fact be a portrait of a courtesan
deemed sufficiently beautiful
to represent a goddess.

Gallery Guide
The paintings are hung in a series of rooms to show the development of Florentine
art from the Gothic to Renaissance and beyond. The earliest works are on the
second floor – start here to explore the collection in a broadly chronological
order. There are many well-known Early Renaissance paintings in rooms 7–18.
Some familiar High Renaissance masterpieces are hung on the first floor, and
masters from other European countries are in rooms 44–55.

For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp569–73 and pp590–96


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VISITORS’ CHECKLIST
Main Practical Information
staircase Piazzale degli Uffizi 6. Map 4 D1
(6 D4). Tel 055 238 86 51 (info);
055 29 48 83 (reservations; book
in advance to avoid the queues).
Open 8:15am–6:50pm Tue–Sun
(to 10pm Tue; occasional longer
1 hours in summer). Last adm: 45
mins before closing. Closed
1 Jan, 1 May, 25 Dec. & 7 -
4 The Duke and Duchess of Urbino (c.1465–70) ∑ uffizi.firenze.it
3 5–6 Piero della Francesca’s portraits of Federico da Transport
Montefeltro and his wife Battista Sforza were @ B, 23.
2 7 painted after Battista died aged 26. Her portrait
was probably based on her death mask.
9
8
10–14
16
42 15 The Tribune,
decorated in red and
17 gold, contains the
works most valued
18 by the Medici.
19 Ognissanti
41 20 Madonna (c.1310)
21 Giotto’s grasp of
Buontalenti 22 spatial depth and
38 staircase 23 24 substance in this
35 altarpiece was
a milestone in
34 the mastery of
perspective.
33 25
32 26
31 27
94 29 28 The Birth of Venus (c.1485)
93 100 99 30 Botticelli shows the goddess
92 98 of love flanked by Zephyrus,
god of the west wind, who
97 blows the risen Venus to
91 shore on a half-shell.
96 The myth may symbolize
90 95 the birth of beauty through
the divine fertilization
of matter.
88 89 Entrance to the Vasari
Corridor
Key to Floorplan
East Corridor
The Holy Family West Corridor
(1507)
Michelangelo’s Arno Corridor
painting, the first Gallery Rooms 1–45
to break with the 17th- to 18th-century painting
convention of in Europe
showing Christ 17th-century painting in Italy
Vasari’s Classical on the Virgin’s lap,
Arno façade inspired Mannerist 16th-century painting in Italy
artists through Sculpture gallery
its expressive handling Temporary exhibitions
of colour and posture.
Non-exhibition space



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Exploring the Uffizi

The Uffizi offers not only the chance to see the world’s
greatest collection of Italian Renaissance paintings, but also
the opportunity to enjoy other European masterpieces from
Holland, Spain and Germany. Accumulated over the centuries
by the Medici, the collection was first housed in the Uffizi
in 1581, and eventually bequeathed to the Florentine people
by Anna Maria Ludovica, the last of the Medici.


Lorenzetti’s Presentation in
Gothic Art
the Temple (1342), in room 3,
Room 1 largely features also shows a concern for
paintings in the International three­dimensional depth quite
Gothic style, a highly decorative at odds with the flatness of Madonna and Child with Angels (1455–66)
style that represented the height much Gothic art. by Fra Filippo Lippi
of Gothic expression and a move Giotto’s naturalistic influence
away from the stilted conven­ can also be seen among the whose picture of The Battle of
tions of Byzantium. The style paintings of room 4, which is San Romano (1456) in room 7
is exemplified by Gentile da devoted to the 14th­century is one of the gallery’s most
Fabriano’s exquisite, glittering Florentine School, an interesting fevered creations.
Adoration of the Magi, which counterpoint to the Sienese Room 7 also contains two
was painted in 1423. works of Duccio and his follow ers panels from 1460 by Piero della
Rooms 2 to 6 of the gallery in room 3. Among the paintings Francesca, another artist
are devoted to Tuscan Gothic here are works by Ambrogio and preoccupied with the art of
art from the 12th to the 14th Pietro Lorenzetti, and Simone perspective. The panels, which
century. Giotto (1266–1337) Martini’s Annunciation. are among the earliest
introduced a degree of Renaissance portraits, depict
naturalism that was new in the Duke and Duchess of
Tuscan art. The angels and Early Renaissance Urbino on one side and
saints in his Ognissanti Madonna A new understanding of representations of their virtues
(1310), in room 2, express a geometry and perspective on the other.
range of emotions, from awe during the 15th century While such works can seem
and reverence to puzzlement. increasingly allowed artists to coldly experimental, Fra Filippo
This new feeling for depth and explore the complexities of Lippi’s Madonna and Child with
naturalistic detail is also shown space and depth. None became Angels (1455–66), in room 8,
by the care fully evoked three­ more obsessed with these new is a masterpiece of warmth
dimensionality of the Virgin’s compositional possibilities than and humanity. Like many
throne. The temple in Paolo Uccello (1397–1475), Renaissance artists, Lippi uses























Sandro Botticelli’s allegorical painting, Primavera (1480)
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FL ORENCE  293


a religious subject to celebrate Rooms 19 to 23 depart from
earthly delights such as the gallery’s Florentine bias,
landscape and feminine beauty. demon strating how rapidly
A similar approach is apparent Renaissance ideas and
in the works of Botticelli, whose techniques spread beyond
famous paintings in rooms Tuscany. Painters from the
10–14 are for many the German and Flemish schools
highlight of the gallery. In The are well represented, together
Birth of Venus, for example, with painters from Umbria like
Venus takes the place of the Perugino, but perhaps the most
Virgin, expressing a fascination captivating works are the paint-
with Classical mythology ings by Venetian and northern
common to many Renaissance Italian artists such as Mantegna,
artists. The same is true of Carpaccio, Correggio and Bellini.
the Primavera (1480), which Room 35, which returns to
breaks with Christian religious the Tuscan mainstream, is
painting by illustrating a pagan dominated by Michelangelo’s
rite of spring. Holy Family, or Tondo Doni,
(1456), notable for its vibrant
colours and the Virgin’s Madonna of the Long Neck (c.1534)
unusually twisted pose. by Parmigianino
The gallery’s only work by
Michelangelo, it was to prove one of the most beautiful nudes
immensely influential with the ever painted. Other works of
next generation of painters, note include, in room 65,
especially Bronzino (1503–72), Agnolo Bronzino’s portraits of
Pontormo (1494–1556) and Cosimo I and Eleonora di Toledo,
Parmigianino (1503–40). The last both painted around 1545,
of these was responsible for the and Pontormo’s Charity (1530)
Madonna of the Long Neck and his portrait of Cosimo il
(c.1534) in room 74. With its Vecchio (1517) in room 61.
contorted anatomy, unnatural
Detail from The Annunciation (1472–5) colours and strange compo-
by Leonardo da Vinci sition, this painting is a European Art and Later
Italian Paintings
masterpiece of the style that
came to be called Mannerism. The works in room 45 show
High Renaissance and Earlier, but no less remarkable, how the naturalism pursued
Mannerism masterpieces in rooms 66 and by Northern European masters,
Room 15 features works 83 include Raphael’s sublime such as Dürer (1471–1528) and
attributed to the young Madonna of the Goldfinch (1506) Cranach (1472–1553), had a
Leonardo da Vinci, notably a and Titian’s notorious Venus of profound influence on
sublime Annunciation (1472–5), Urbino (1538), censured by Mark Renaissance painters such as
which reveals hints of his still Twain as the “foulest, the vilest, Pietro Perugino (1446–1523) and
emerging style, and the the obscenest picture the world Jacopo da Sallaio (1441–1493).
Adoration of the Magi (1481), possesses”. Others hold it to be A selection of works by Flemish
which remained unfinished painter Hans Memling (1430–94)
when he left Florence for Milan is displayed in room 43 and later
to paint The Last Supper (1495–8). Flemish paintings, including
Room 18, better known as those by Rubens (1577–1640)
the Tribune, was designed in and Van Dyck (1599–1641), are
1584 by Buontalenti in order to in room 55. Dutch paintings of
accommodate the best-loved the 17th and 18th century,
pieces of the Medici collection. including a number of Rembrandt
Its most famous work is the self-portraits, are in room 49.
so-called Medici Venus (1st Later Italian artists are
century BC), a Roman copy represented in rooms 90 to 93.
of a Greek statue deemed There are works by Caravaggio
to be the most erotic in the (1571–1610) and several of his
ancient world. The copy proved followers, such as Dutch artist
equally salacious and was Gerard van Honthorst (1592–
removed from Rome’s Villa 1656), and Artemisia Gentileschi
Medici by Cosimo III to keep (1593–1656), best known for
it from corrupting the city’s Madonna of the Goldfinch (1506) her brutal masterpiece Judith
art students. by Raphael Slaying Holofernes (1611–12).




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r Piazza della Signoria

Piazza della Signoria and Palazzo Vecchio have
been at the heart of Florence’s political and
social life for centuries. The great bell once
used to summon citizens to parlamento (public
meetings) here, and the square has long been
a popular promenade for both visitors and
Florentines. The piazza’s statues (some are
copies) commemorate the city’s major historical
events, though its most famous episode is
celebrated by a simple pavement plaque near
the loggia: the execution of the fanatical
religious leader Girolamo Savonarola.
David
This copy of the famous
Michelangelo statue
symbolizes triumph over
Heraldic Frieze tyranny. The original
The crossed keys (see p279) stood in the
on this shield piazza until 1873.
represent Medici
papal rule.



















KEY
1 The Fontana di Nettuno,
created by Ammannati (1575), repre­
sents the Roman sea god surrounded
by water nymphs and commemorates
Tuscan naval victories.
2 Sala dei Gigli
3 The Uffizi
4 The Loggia dei Lanzi, designed
by Orcagna (1382), is named after
the Lancers, the bodyguards of Salone dei
Cosimo I who were billeted here. Cinquecento (1495)
5 Roman statues, possibly of This vast chamber
emperors, line the Loggia. contains a statue
of Victory by
6 The Marzocco is a copy of the Michelangelo and
heraldic lion of Florence, carved by frescoes by Vasari
Donatello in 1420. The original is in describing Florentine
the Bargello (see p287). triumphs over Pisa
and Siena.
For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp569–73 and pp590–96


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Date 20th August 2012
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FL ORENCE  295


t Palazzo Vecchio
Piazza della Signoria (entrance on
via della Ninna). Map 4 D1 (6 E4).
Tel 055 276 83 25. @ A, B. Open
Apr–Sep: 9am–11pm (to 2pm Thu);
Oct–Mar: 9am–7pm (to 2pm Thu).
Closed 1 Jan, Easter, 1 May, 15 Aug,
25 Dec. & 7 Secret Itineraries &
Children’s Museum tours (by
reservation only). Tel 055 276 83 25.
The “Old Palace” still fulfils its
original role as town hall.
. Palazzo Vecchio (completed 1332) It was completed in 1322
This Republican frieze over the palace entrance is when a huge bell, used to call
inscribed with the words “Christ is King”, implying citizens to meetings or warn of
that no mortal ruler has absolute power. fire, flood or enemy attack, was
hauled to the top of the impos-
ing bell tower. While retaining
much of its medieval appearance,
. The Rape of the the interior was remodelled for
Sabine Women by
Giambologna (1583) Duke Cosimo I in 1540. The
The writhing figures in redecoration was undertaken
Giambologna’s famous by Vasari, who incorporated
statue were carved bombastic frescoes (1563–5)
from a single block of of Florentine achievements.
flawed marble. Michel angelo’s Victory statue
(1525) graces the Salone dei
Cinquecento, which also has
a tiny study decorated by
Florence’s leading Mannerist
painters in 1569–73. Other
highlights include the
Cappella di Eleonora, painted
by Bronzino (1540–45); the
loggia, with its views over
the city; the Sala dei Gigli
(Room of Lilies) with
Donatello’s Judith and
Holofernes (c.1455) and
frescoes of Roman
heroes by Ghirlandaio (1485);
as well as the excellent museum
for children and the secret
rooms and passageways.












. Perseus by Cellini
This bronze statue
(1554) of Perseus
beheading Medusa
was intended to warn
Cosimo I’s enemies of A copy of Verrocchio’s putto fountain in
their probable fate. Vasari’s courtyard




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296  CENTR AL IT AL Y

Street-by-Street: Around Piazza
della Repubblica

Underlying the street plan of modern
Florence is the far older pattern of V I A D E L C A M P I D O G L I O
the ancient Roman city. Nowhere is
this more evident than in the grid of VIA DÉ BRUNELLESCHI
narrow streets around Piazza della
Repubblica, site of the old Roman V I A D É V E C C H E T T I
forum. This pivotal square housed V I A D É P E S C I O N I
the city’s main food market and the PIAZZA DELLA
Jewish ghetto until the 1860s, when
redevelopment tidied up the area V I A D E G L I S T R O Z Z I REPUBBLICA
and added the triumphal arch in
today’s café-filled square. C A L I M A L A

ANSELMI
PIAZZA
V I A D É S A S
DEGLI
STROZZI VIA DEGLI S E T T I P E L L I C C E R I A
V I A D É T O R N A B U O N I

Santa Trìnita has frescoes V I A M O N A L D A D A V A N Z AT I P I A Z Z A D É
by Ghirlandaio on the Life of
St Francis (1486), depicting VIA PORTA ROSSA C H S O D E L L E M I S U R E
events that took place in this
area. Here, a child is revived VIA PARIONE
after falling from the Palazzo
Spini-Ferroni.
PIAZZA DI
V.D FIORDALISO CHSO CORNINO
Palazzo Spini-Ferroni S.TRINITA VIA DELLE TERME




BORGO SS. APOSTOLI



LUNGARNO DEGLI ACCIAIUOLI
u Palazzo Strozzi
This monumental palazzo
dominates the square.
Santi Apostoli
Ponte Santa Trìnita was built in was reputedly
wood in 1290 and then rebuilt by founded by
Ammannati in 1567 to celebrate Charlemagne.
the defeat of Siena.
Key
y Palazzo Davanzati
Suggested route Frescoes with exotic birds
decorate the Sala dei
Pappagalli, which was once
0 metres 200
the dining room of this
0 yards 200 14th-century palazzo.
For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp569–73 and pp590–96


296-297_EW_Italy.indd 296 4/4/17 5:35 PM
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FL ORENCE  297

Street-by-Street: Around Piazza
della Repubblica A r n o






Locator Map
See Florence Street Finder maps 5, 6
PIAZZA DELLA

REPUBBLICA



Detail of a frieze illustrating a medieval romance in Palazzo Davanzati
C A L I M A L A
y Palazzo storeys high, each floor exceeds
Davanzati the height of a normal palazzo.
It was commissioned by the
Via Porta Rossa 13. Map 3 C1 (5 C3). wealthy banker Filippo Strozzi,
Tel 055 238 86 10. Open 8:15am– who had 15 buildings
1:50pm daily. Closed 1st, 3rd & 5th demolished to make way for
Mon and 2nd and 4th Sun of the
Piazza della Repubblica, month, 1 Jan, 1 May, 25 Dec. 8 the palazzo. He hoped it would
which dates from the 10am, 11am, noon (2nd floor only). rival the Medici palaces
19th century, is lined by elsewhere in the city. Strozzi
some of Florence’s oldest This wonderful museum, also died in 1491, just two years
and best-known cafés. known as the Museo dell’Antica after the first stone was laid.
Casa Fiorentina, uses original Work on the building con-
fittings and furniture to recreate tinued until 1536, with three
C H S O D E L L E M I S U R E
a typical well-to-do 14th- major architects contributing to
Mercato Nuovo, the century town house. Among its design – Giuliano da Sangallo,
“New Market” (1547), the highlights are the Salone Benedetto da Maiano and
now deals mainly Madornale, where large Simone del Pollaiuolo (also
in souvenirs. gatherings would have been known as Cronaca). The exterior,
held, and the Sala dei Pappagalli built of huge rusticated masonry
(Parrots Room), with its frescoes blocks, remains unspoiled. Look
and rich tapestries. out for the original Renaissance
VIA POR SANTA MARIA ceiling of the entrance rings for tethering horses that still
Pelting holes in the vaulted
torch-holders, lamps and the
courtyard were for dropping
adorn the corners and façades.
The palace is now primarily
missiles on unwanted
used as an exhibition venue,
visitors. In one corner of the
when visitors can also access “La
inner courtyard is a well and
a pulley system to raise pails
in the basement, where small
of water to each floor – a real Strozzina”, a vaulted gallery space
luxury, since most medieval temporary exhibitions are held.
Palazzo di households had to fetch water
Parte Guelfa from a public fountain.
was the
headquarters of
the Guelphs, u Palazzo Strozzi
the dominant
political party Piazza degli Strozzi. Map 3 C1 (5 C3).
of medieval Tel 055 264 51 55. Open 10am–8pm
Florence. daily (to 11pm Thu). 7 & for
exhibitions. ∑ palazzostrozzi.org
Ponte Vecchio Sheer size accounts for the
(see p289) impact of the Palazzo Strozzi Exterior of Palazzo Strozzi, with masonry
and, although it is only three block rustication
296-297_EW_Italy.indd 297 4/4/17 5:35 PM

298  CENTR AL IT AL Y

i San Lorenzo

San Lorenzo was the parish church of the Cappella dei Principi
The Medici
Medici family, and in 1419 Brunelleschi was mausoleum, behind
commissioned to rebuild it in the Classical style the high altar, was
of the Renaissance. Almost a century later begun in 1604 by
Michelangelo submitted some plans for the Matteo Nigetti, and
forms part of the
façade, and began work on the Medici tombs in Cappelle Medicee.
the Sagrestia Nuova (the Old Sacristy). He also
designed a library, the Biblioteca Mediceo-
Laurenziana, to house the family’s collection
of manuscripts. The lavish family mausoleum,
the Cappella dei Principi, was started in 1604.

Biblioteca Staircase
Michelangelo’s
Mannerist staircase,
one of the artist’s
most innovative
designs, was built by
Ammannati in 1559.






KEY
1 St Joseph and Christ in the
Workshop, a striking work showing
the young Christ with his father, is by
Pietro Annigoni (1910–88), one of
the few modern artists whose work
is seen in Florence.
2 The cloister garden is planted
with box hedges, pomegranate and
orange trees.
3 Michelangelo designed the
desks and ceiling of the Biblioteca,
where exhibitions of Medici
manuscripts are often held.
4 The Old Sacristy was designed
by Brunelleschi and decorated
by Donatello.
5 The huge dome by Buontalenti
echoes that of the Duomo
(see pp284–6).
6 Campanile
7 The Cappelle Medicee complex
comprises the Cappella dei Principi,
its crypt and the New Sacristy (see
opposite).
8 A simple stone slab marks the
unostentatious grave of Cosimo il
Vecchio (1389–1464), founder of
the Medici dynasty.
9 Michelangelo submitted several The Martyrdom of
designs for the façade of San St Lawrence
Lorenzo, but it remains unfinished.
Entrance to church
For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp569–73 and pp590–96


298-299_EW_Italy.indd 298 4/4/17 5:35 PM
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Date 14th November 2012
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