Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
(Piazza Santa Trìnita; 8am-noon & 4-5.45pm Mon-Sat, 8-10.45am & 4-5.45pm Sun-7pm Sun)
Built in Gothic style and later given a Mannerist facade, this 14th-century church shelters
some of the city's finest frescoes, including Lorenzo Monaco's
Annunciation
(1422) in the
Cappella Salimbenes/Bartholini
and eye-catching frescoes by Ghirlandaio depicting the life
of St Francis of Assisi in the
Cappella Sassetti
, to the right of the altar. They were painted
between 1483 and 1485 and feature portraits of illustrious Florentines of the time.
Look out for the crest of the Salimbenes/Bartholini family on the floor of the chapel - it
features poppies and the motto 'Per Non Dormire' (For Those Who Don't Sleep), a refer-
ence to the fact that the family fortune resulted from the acquisition of an important cargo
of wool from Northern Europe, a deal sealed unbeknown to their business rivals, who had
been doped with opium-laced wine at a lavish party the night before the cargo was due to
arrive in Florence.
Museo Salvatore Ferragamo
(
www.museoferragamo.it
;
Via de' Tornabuoni 2; adult/reduced €6/free; 10am-7pm daily)
The splen-
did 13th-century
Palazzo Spini-Feroni
has been the home of the Ferragamo fashion empire
since 1938. Anyone with even the faintest tendency towards shoe addiction or with an in-
terest in the socio-historical context of fashion should not miss the esoteric but oddly
compelling shoe museum.
MUSEUM
Museo di Palazzo Davanzati
MAP
MUSEUM
GOOGLE MAP
(Via Porta Rossa 13; adult/reduced €2/1; 8.15am-1.30pm, closed 1st, 3rd & 5th Mon, 2nd & 4th Sun of
month)
Tucked inside a 14th- century warehouse and residence aka Palazzo Davanzati,
home to the wealthy Davanzati merchant family from 1578, this palazzo museum with
wonderful central loggia, is a gem. Peep at the carved faces of the original owners on the
pillars in the inner courtyard and don't miss the 1st-floor
Sala Madornale
(reception room)
with its painted wooden ceiling or the exquisitely decorated
Sala dei Pappagalli
(Parrot
Room) and
Camera dei Pavoni
(Peacock Bedroom).
Museo Marino Marini
MAP
ART GALLERY
GOOGLE MAP
