Love Renaissance Art, Markets, Food and Fashion? Florence Has It All

People often ask me what my favorite Italian city is. Although I love them all for their unique aspects, I have to say that Florence is the one that completely captures my heart and soul. 

Florence, Firenze!

Florence has its own vocabulary for the eye. It is a city that the Italians call an insieme, an all-of-it-together kind of place. It is the birthplace of the Renaissance and has the best Renaissance art in Europe. Florence is unbeatable for some of the very finest food, fashion, and street markets. Not to mention unrivaled gelato and superlative people watching.

The Mercato Centrale 

Shopping is a full-time occupation in Florence. Inside the Mercato Centrale (Central Market) you will find everything imaginable. The huge iron and glass covered building is full of enticing food, colorful produce, generous free samples, pasta-making, eateries, meat counters, and gigantic stacks of pulled pork sold in a bun for a pittance. Rub elbows with the locals and visit this elegant Florentine market. Hours are Mon-Sat 7:00-14:00, closed Sun year around.

San Lorenzo Market

Surrounding the Church of San Lorenzo is Florence’s spacious open-air market. Leather is a popular item, from clothing to purses to boots. Here the prices are soft, so you can use your bargaining skills. Located between the Duomo and train station, the hours are daily from 9:00 to 19:00.

Pantomime-Looking Human Statues

There are plenty of these pantomimists around. Actually, they are quite impressive with their ability to stand absolutely still for hours. Kids especially love these guys, and flock around them along with the birds. Occasionally the statue will acknowledge its admirers with a glance and a nod, but don’t count on it.

On the other side of the Arno River and up to the Michelangelo Park  viewpoint, the hilly landscape reveals a long portion of the old medieval wall that encompassed the city at one time. Invaders from all directions found it pretty difficult to scale those walls and penetrate into the city. Florence remained fairly well protected throughout its earlier history. The walk up to Michelangelo Park Viewpoint  is well worth it, and also provides vast views of Florence, giving opportunities for great photo taking. Nighttime is spellbinding.

San Miniato Church

Behind Michelangelo Park Viewpoint is this classic 12th century Florentine Romanesque church, stately in its green and white marble facade. One of the oldest churches in town, highlights within the church are the glazed terra-cotta panels on the ceiling by Luca delle Robbia, an exquisite Renaissance chapel, and radiantly preserved frescoes in the upstairs sacristy, showing scenes from the life of St. Benedict (painted 1350 by a follower of Giotto.) I loved these paintings, and spent a lot of time in this room. Behind the building outside is the oldest graveyard I have ever seen. It’s full of life-size statues dancing, crying, sporting wings, little children laughing, and so on. I found it very interesting to walk through, but I don’t recommend a night-time stroll.

Florence is very multi-layered, and although I have seen a lot I know that I’ve barely scratched the surface. There are magnificent churches, museums and other historical venues that are Florence’s landmarks and not to be missed. Florence beacons me to return time and again, with each visit an entirely new adventure.

“And it was this…..that beckons us back: not any particular building or painting or statue or piazza or bridge; not even the whole unrivaled array of works of art. It is the city itself–the city understood as a self; as a whole, a miraculously developed design.”

R.W.B. Lewis “The City of Florence.”

 

Florence By Night

Florence Duomo Santa Maria del Fiore

An evening in Florence is extremely magical. Everything comes alive, from the medieval architecture to the roving bands of locals and tourists alike. You are never far from eye-catching structures that soar skyward into the dark abyss. Charming cafes and trattorias full of chatting people line the winding cobbled streets. Merry-making is in the air.

Music on the Ponte Vecchio Bridge –  Toss in a coin or buy a CD

The Ponte Vecchio, or ‘old bridge,’ was once lined with butcher shops. This is no longer the case, thank goodness. Today it is bedecked with lovely jewelry shops. You need not wander far before you hear the beat and rhythm of a nearby local band, wholeheartedly doing their best to entertain you.

Ponte Vecchio with its many shops from the bank of the Arno River

Giorgio Vasari, early sixteenth century architect, was commissioned by the Medici to build a corridor that ran from the Uffizi Gallery to the Medici Palace on the opposite side of the Arno River. Here you can see the corridor continue over the top of the shops with its neat line of square windows.

The Palazzo Vecchio, or “old palace,” still operates as the city hall

Medieval and dauntless stands the Palazzo Vecchio, an important landmark of Florence since 1322. Constructed by Florentine architect Arnolfo di Cambio, the impressive Romanesque-style crenelated fortress is rock-solid. A huge bell at the top of the tower was used to call the citizens to meetings or warn them of fire, flood or enemy attack.

To the right you can see the looming arches of the outdoor “sculpture museum,” called the Loggia dei Lanzi.

Notice below the magnificent display of light and shadow on these figures in the Loggia. They appear very dramatic, especially at night.

Statue in the Loggia dei Lanzi– The Rape of Polyxena by Pio Fedi

Across from the Palazzo Vecchio on the Piazza della Signoria is the Loggia dei Lanzi, built in 1382 and designed by Orcangna. It was named after the Lancers, the bodyguards of Cosimo I who took up lodging on this spot. The Loggia is actually an outdoor museum, with twisting and grasping statues that appear especially spectacular at night-time.

Rape of the Sabine Women by Giambologna

Menelaus supporting the body of Patroclus was discovered in Rome and has gone through some restoration

Hercules and Cacus by Baccio Bandinelli stands in front of the Palazzo Vecchio

Perseus with the head of Medussa by Benvenuto Cellini

The famous Uffizi Gallery

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Cosimo I de’ Medici hired architect Giorgio Vasari to build offices for the Florentine magistrates in 1560. Later, after the fall of the ruling Medici’s, it became a museum officially open to the public in 1765. Today it houses many famous paintings by the masters. Giotto, Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Titian and Caravaggio lead the parade.

Florence by night is an entirely different world. It is a world of artistic appeal to the senses, of mystery and intrigue. A world revealing shades of a former time.