Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
A 90-Minute Walk Around Renaissance Florence
This walk takes in the Renaissance heart of the city and
passes some of its greatest landmarks. Ideally, it should
be done early on in your visit to get a real feel for the
place, and if you incorporate a climb up Giotto's
Campanile, you will get a bird's eye view of the narrow
streets, the characteristic red-tiled rooftops and the many
towers that are not so easy to see from ground level.
rooftops, is the Badia
Fiorentina 6 , one of the city's
oldest churches. Across the
street is the forbidding ex-
prison building that now
houses the Bargello museum
7
(see pp68-9) and its superb
collection of sculpture.
Continue north up Via
Proconsolo. At no. 10 stands
Palazzo Pazzi-Quaratesi, once
the home of the Pazzi family of
bankers, protagonists in the
famous Pazzi conspiracy
against the Medici of 1478.
At no. 12 is
PIAZZA DELLA
STAZIONE
PIAZZA
DELL'UNITA
ITALIANA
u
View of Ponte Vecchio and Vasari corridor
1
Ponte Vecchio to Piazza di
San Firenze
The walk begins in the centre
of the Ponte Vecchio 1 (see
pp106-7) , where butcher's
and grocery shops were first
built in the 13th century, then
replaced by goldsmiths at the
end of the 16th century. The
bust here is of Benvenuto
Cellini, the most famous gold-
smith of them all. Note the
Vasari Corridor with its round
windows running over the
shops on the eastern side of
the bridge. Walk north up Via
Por Santa Maria. A short way
along on the right is Vicolo
Santo Stefano and the ancient,
deconsecrated church of Santo
Stefano al Ponte 2 , which was
badly damaged in 1993 when
a car bomb exploded in nearby
Via Lambertesca. Further up
Por Santa Maria is the Mercato
Nuovo 3 (see p112) , a site on
which there has been a market
for centuries. The famous
bronze “ porcellino ” (wild boar)
is on the southern side; he is a
copy of a copy of a sculpture
by Tacca. It is said that if you
rub his snout you will return
to Florence one day. Turn
right into Piazza della
Signoria, past the open air
sculpture gallery of the Loggia
dei Lanzi 4 and turn right to
walk the length of the Uffizi
gallery portico (see pp80-81)
and back along the
opposite side. Turn right
and take Via della Ninna
out of the square; turn left
at the end into Piazza di San
Firenze 5 . On the corner of
Via dei Gondi stands
Sangallo's late 15th-century
Palazzo Gondi, which has a
very graceful courtyard. The
huge Baroque building
opposite (1772-5) houses
the law courts; to its left is
the 17th-century church of
San Filippo Neri, which has
a painted ceiling.
PIAZZA DI
SANTA MARIA
NOVELLA
VIA DEGLI AGLI
VIA
Buontalenti's
Palazzo Nonfinito
(see p70) begun in
1593 and “unfinished”,
which today houses the
Anthropological Museum
and its wonderfully old-
fashioned collection of
curios. Via Proconsolo
emerges at the east end
of the Duomo 8 (see
pp64-5) . Skirt around
the south side of
this massive
building, past the
stone plaque
known as “ Il Sasso
di Dante 9 , where
the poet would sit
and contemplate the
construction of the
cathedral; it's on the
left just before Via
dello Studio.
Enter Piazza di San
Giovanni with its extraordinary
religious buildings, crowds of
visitors, and postcard sellers.
Just south of the Baptistery at
the top of Via de' Calzaiuoli is
V. D. STROZZI
Via del Proconsolo to Via
dei Servi
At the north end of the square
on the left, its tall, slim tower
rising above the surrounding
Ponte
Vecchio
1
Neptune Fountain in Piazza della
Signoria
4
 
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