The Museo Nazionale del Bargello features a severe, fortress-like façade of heavy stone, finished with distinct crenellated battlements. Construction began in twelve fifty-five to house the residence for the first public magistrate of…
Florence History
We walk through the heart of Florence to trace its evolution from a Roman colony and medieval guild stronghold to the artistic heights of the Renaissance.
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1. Museo Nazionale del Bargello
2. Church & Museum of Orsanmichele
Orsanmichele is a massive, rectangular stone building that stands out for its lack of a traditional church facade. Instead of a grand entrance, the exterior is defined by fourteen deep, arched niches, each containing a sculpture of a…
3. Piazza della Repubblica
Piazza della Repubblica stands as a spacious, rectangular plaza defined by its prominent triumphal arch, known as the Arcone, which bears an inscription marking the nineteenth-century transformation of the city center. This site occupies…
4. Baptistery of St. John
The Baptistery of Saint John is an octagonal building clad in patterned white and green marble. Standing in the heart of Florence, it is one of the oldest structures in the city and served as its cathedral for decades beginning in ten…
5. Medici Riccardi Palace
The Medici Riccardi Palace is distinguished by its three-story façade, which transitions from rough, rusticated stone at the ground level to increasingly smooth stonework as the building rises, all topped by a massive, projecting cornice.…
6. Hospital of Innocents
The Ospedale degli Innocenti is recognizable by its long, open-air portico facing the Piazza Santissima Annunziata, where nine semicircular arches rise above slender columns. Between each arch, circular terracotta medallions by Andrea…