FLORENCE MUSEUMS & GALLERIES

Ponte Vecchio - Florence, Italy

Built in 1345, the Ponte Vecchio is the most ancient and certainly the most photographed bridge in Florence. In 1593 the Medici Grand Duke Ferdinand I (1549-1609) decided that the commerce on the bridge of butchers, grocers and blacksmiths were too unsightly so he decided to replace them all with 41 goldsmiths and eight jewellers. The bridge has been devoted solely to these two trades ever since.

Duomo - Florence, Italy
Piazza del Duomo
Phone: 055/2302885

Enjoy the majesty and elegance of this enormous dome in all it's pink, white and green splendour. The Duomo has come to symbolize Florence in the same way that the Eiffel Tower symbolizes Paris. Marvel at the towering cupola , the stunning mosaics and bronze doors of the Baptistery. Brunelleschi designed the enormous dome, and its interior features frescoes and stained-glass windows by some of the Renaissance's best: Castagno, Donatello, Uccello and Ghiberti. Commissioned in 1296 and finally completed in 1436, the Duomo is a sight to behold and an ingenious engineering feat. Most of Europe's later domes, including St. Peter's in Rome, were built employing Brunelleschi's methods.

Uffizi Gallery - Florence, Italy
Piazzale degli Uffizi, 6
Phone: 055/23885

One of the great museums of the world, the Uffizi houses the premier collection of Italian Renaissance art, featuring works by such masters as Botticelli, Titian, Michelangelo and da Vinci.

Galleria dell'Accademia - Florence, Italy
Via Ricasoli 60
Phone: 055/294883
Reservations: 055/2388609

Galleria dell'Accademia was Europe's first school of drawing. This museum of art is chiefly famous for its several sculptures by Michelangelo, notably his David, in addition to an extensive collection of 15th- and 16th-century paintings.

Casa Buonarroti - Florence, Italy
Via Ghibellina, 70
Phone: 055/241752

Set up by Michelangelo Buonarroti, the grand-nephew of THE
Michelangelo. He turned his home in a museum to honour his great-uncle. It's full of works by Michelangelo, for example the Madonna of the Steps, carved when Michelangelo was just a teenager.