Center of Florence: 7 interesting places, descriptions, photos, map 2021

Traveling through the historical center of Florence, every tourist will discover a lot of interesting and informative things for himself. These are the famous cathedrals with their magnificent chapels and squares, decorated with numerous fountains and monuments, as well as ancient buildings that keep the memory of their eminent residents.

Tornabuoni Chapel in Santa Maria Novella

One of these famous sights is the Tornabuoni Chapel in the Church of Santa Maria Novella. The walls of the chapel are decorated with paintings by the famous artist Ghirlandaio, who was hired by a relative of Lorenzo the Magnificent to glorify the eminent family of Italian aristocrats. Ghirlandaio did an excellent job. On almost all frescoes, among the images of saints, you can also see members of the customer's family. Here you can see Messer Giovani himself and his wife, their only daughter, brothers, uncle and mother Lorenzo.

In addition to the eminent relatives of Tornabuoni, the artist depicted himself and his best friends on the frescoes, among them the founder of the Platonic Academy, Marsilio Fichiio. It is worth noting that the young Michelangelo helped the famous master Ghirlandaio in his work with frescoes.

The Basilica of Santa Maria Novella, located in the historical part of the city, is considered the main Dominican church in Florence. The church was built in the 15th century, on the site of a Dominican chapel that previously existed here. Later, through the efforts of the monks who belonged to the Dominican order, a new church and monastery began to be built here, which were constantly completed and rebuilt for many centuries.

As a result, the architecture of the basilica is characterized by a mixture of styles from different eras. For many years of its existence, the basilica was not plundered. Therefore, magnificent stained-glass windows, a huge crucifix and chapels are presented to church visitors in the same form in which they were created by the great Florentine masters of the late 16th century. Like any ancient building, the basilica is distinguished by the presence of mysterious rooms, one of which is the Cloister of the Dead. It was in the local funeral chapels that the bodies of the richest and noblest nobles of Florence found their last refuge.

Basilica of San Lorenzo

The Basilica of San Lorenzo takes pride of place among the largest and oldest churches in the city. The first church building on the site of the current basilica appeared at the end of the 4th century. Epochs changed, and the church was rebuilt according to the trends of the time: in the 9th century, the Romanesque style prevailed in architecture, and already in the 15th century, the Renaissance style. In the Renaissance, a sacristy was first attached to the church, and a little later, Laurentian's library was erected on the opposite side of the transept.

Subsequently, this library became the most popular and most visited in Italy. The Basilica of San Lorenzo played the role of a family church for the Medici family. Since 1464, after the magnificent burial of Cosimo de Medici in the underground crypt of the church in the basilica, they began to bury all members of this most influential family. All the great dukes belonging to the noble family of the Medici are buried here.

The church building is shaped like a Latin cross. All decorations of the basilica are works of art, among which two bronze pulpits by Donatello are worth noting. The memorial chapel – the Medici Chapel, which was created by the great Michelangelo, deserves special attention.

Medici Chapel

The Medici Chapel is one of Michelangelo's finest creations. This tomb was created in an atmosphere of sorrow and sadness. Here everything is subject to the spirit of death and the uncertainty of being. A small structure of the chapel stretches upwards to the dome crowning it. Light enters the chapel from above, symbolizing the immortality of the soul. In the lower part of the chapel, where the bodies of the deceased Lorenz the Great and his brother Giulio lie, darkness reigns, symbolizing the tragedy of death. On the sarcophagi of Lorenzo and his brother are statues of Morning and Evening, Day and Night.

Among the figures of the Day, the figure of the Day remained unfinished. At first glance, it may seem that the author did not have time to finish it. But in the incompleteness of the Day, Michelangelo put a deep sense of the uncertainty of being, which is difficult to predict. Among the sad tombs is Michelangelo's famous sculpture “Madonna and Child”, which is the personification of the inextricable closeness of mother and child even after death and reflects the triumph of life over death.

Laurenzian Library

The Laurenzian Library is one of the oldest such cultural institutions in the world. Its founder is Cosimo Medici, who decided to transform his richest collection of unique manuscripts into a home library. The library is named after Lorenzo Medici, the grandson of Cosimo Medici, who made a significant contribution to the enrichment of the library of the eminent grandfather. Since 1571, Laurenziana's collections of books have become public and available to the inhabitants of Florence. A real architectural masterpiece of the library building is the fruit of Michelangelo's work – a staircase falling like a lava flow, personifying an endless stream of thoughts.

For many contemporaries of Michelangelo, this sculptural staircase evoked ambivalent feelings. Some admired its splendor, others believed that it was simply impossible to move along it, for fear of breaking your neck. Nowadays, every tourist dreams of climbing the stairs, but only regular library visitors can afford it. Tourists are forced to contemplate what is outside the building, so as not to break the reverent silence and not interfere with readers within the walls of the famous library.

Palazzo Medici Riccardi

Palazzo Medici Riccardi was originally built as a secular building. The main requirement of Cosimo Medici was the absence of excessive luxury in the architecture of the building being erected. The appearance of the palazzo, sustained in a strict rectilinear style, really meets the requirements of an influential person of those times. On the first floor of this building there were quarters for servants, a kitchen and stables. The hosts were on the second floor.

Bedrooms and rooms for receiving guests and officials were equipped here. The attention of visitors is attracted by a square courtyard located in the inner part of the building. On its territory you can admire magnificent sculptures and growing lemon trees. Many aristocratic families after the construction of this building began to build their houses in a similar style with an obligatory patio. In 1659 the Medici sold their palace to Riccardi. The new owner partially completes the building and renovates the interior, using the Baroque style, which gave the palace a showmanship and splendor.

Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore

The Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore is the symbol of Florence. And this is no coincidence. After all, the dome of the cathedral, designed by Filippo Brunelleschi from brick, is so majestic and huge that even today it towers over the city. The largest of the cathedrals not only in Florence, but in all of Italy, is translated as the flower of St. Mary. This huge Gothic complex is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Initially, the cathedral was built so that all the inhabitants of Florence could fit in it at the same time. In this building, resembling a huge covered area, there can be 90 thousand people. It is not surprising that the construction of a cathedral of such grandiose dimensions dragged on for six centuries. One after another, the architects who led the construction were replaced, and only by 1887 did the cathedral acquire its current appearance. A distinctive feature of the cathedral is the clock created in the 15th century by Uccello.

In addition to the fact that this clock works properly, its hands move in the opposite direction, it is a beautifully executed reconstruction of the mansion in which the founder of Italian literature lived and created his “Divine Comedy” and other no less famous works. The house is located in the center of the historical part of Florence, not far from the church where the poet met his love.

Despite the fact that for many centuries the personal belongings of the writer have not been preserved, many exhibits testify to his life and work, including paintings, interesting documents and drawings. In the house museum you can also get acquainted with the exposition dedicated to the theme of Alighieri's love and the beautiful Beatrice.

florentine piglet

The Florentine pig is a kind of landmark of Florence. This sculpture is a copy of the terrible boar, which is kept in the Uffizi Gallery. The piglet is almost 400 years old, and today it does not scare the townspeople and guests with its menacing appearance, but simply “fulfills the wishes” of everyone who happens to be near the city market. One has only to send a coin inside the pig in a clever way. If this fails, the wish may not come true. As a last resort, you can simply rub the piglet's snout and hope that your plan will come true soon.