Florence

I

Introduction

Florence (Italian, Firenze; Latin, Florentia), city in central Italy, Tuscany Region, capital of Florence Province, on the River Arno. Located at the foot of the Apennines, Florence was originally the site of an Etruscan settlement. The city is world famous for its Gothic and Renaissance buildings, art galleries, and museums. In addition, it is an important commercial, transport, and manufacturing centre. Population 365,966 (2007 estimate).

II

Economy

Florence is a market for wine, olive oil, vegetables, fruit, and flowers, and it lies on the railway and main road linking northern Italy and Rome. Manufactured goods include motorcycles, vehicle parts, agricultural machinery, chemicals, furniture, fertilizers, plastics, rubber goods, and precision instruments. Florentine craft industries are world famous, producing silverwork, jewellery (especially gold and cameos), leather goods, glass, pottery, woodcarvings, art reproductions, and embroidery.

III

Places of Interest

A

Architectural Treasures

The city of Florence is dominated by the towers of its many palaces and churches and by the huge dome of the cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore. A Gothic structure with an exterior ornately decorated with red, green, and white marble, the cathedral was begun in 1296 by the Florentine architect Arnolfo di Cambio, continued on a modified plan by his successors, and crowned with the great dome (1420-1461), designed by Filippo Brunelleschi. The façade, although not built until the late 19th century, is faithful in style to the rest of the edifice. The cathedral is the most imposing structure on the right bank of the Arno. Beside the cathedral stands the 14th-century campanile, or bell tower, which was begun by Giotto and continued by Andrea Pisano. Adorned with exquisite bas-reliefs, the campanile (82 m/269 ft high) is one of the most beautiful in Italy. The octagonal baptistery of San Giovanni, facing the cathedral, dates mainly from the 11th to the 15th century, although some parts were built as early as the 5th century; it is noted for doors of gilded bronze, especially the east door, called the Gate to Paradise, which was executed by the Florentine goldsmith Lorenzo Ghiberti and depicts sculpted scenes from the Old Testament.

B

Medieval and Renaissance Palaces and Sculpture

Near the cathedral is the Bargello, or Palazzo del Podestà, a fortress-like building of the 13th and 14th centuries, which houses a National Museum. The latter has collections of enamelled terracottas by the della Robbia family and sculpture by Donatello. The Piazza della Signoria, containing the Fountain of Neptune (completed 1576), is dominated by the majestic Palazzo Vecchio, or Palazzo della Signoria, a sturdy yet graceful building surmounted by a crenellated 94 m (308 ft) bell tower. Built between 1299 and 1314, this palace became the seat of the town council in 1550; later the Italian Chamber of Deputies met there from 1865 to 1871. The vast halls and state apartments are ornately decorated in the style of the late Renaissance. Opposite is the Loggia dell'Orcagna (late 14th century), also called Loggia dei Lanzi, a roofed structure open at the sides, which houses a number of statues, among them the bronze Perseus (completed 1554) by Benvenuto Cellini and the Rape of the Sabine Women (1579-1583) by Giambologna.