The Basilica of Santa Maria Novella stands out for its facade of white, green, and rose-colored marble, which displays a rare harmony between medieval Gothic shapes and precise Renaissance geometry. Dominican friars founded the church in…
Renaissance Science and Sundials
This walk tracks the astronomical, mathematical, and geometric instruments hidden on Florence's famous landmarks and museum facades. You'll learn how Renaissance artists and scientists collaborated to map the stars, calculate time, and unlock the cosmos.
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1. Basilica of Santa Maria Novella
2. Sagrestia Vecchia
The Sagrestia Vecchia, or Old Sacristy, is a square room within the Basilica of San Lorenzo defined by the sharp contrast between its white plaster walls and the grey stone pilasters that map its geometric proportions. Built between…
3. 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…
4. Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore
The Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore is identified by the massive red-tiled octagonal dome that towers over the center of Florence. Its exterior is covered in a distinctive pattern of white, green, and pink marble panels. Construction…
5. Palazzo Vecchio
Palazzo Vecchio is a fortress-like palace of brown stone, distinguished by a massive, asymmetrical tower that rises ninety-four meters above the square. Completed in thirteen fourteen, this building was commissioned to serve as the seat of…
6. Monumental Sundial
The Monumental Sundial sits outside the Museo Galileo at Piazza dei Giudici, recognizable by a tall bronze gnomon composed of two closely aligned columns. Built in two thousand seven as a mathematical ornament, this structure features a…
7. Museo Galileo
The Museo Galileo is housed inside the Palazzo Castellani, an eleventh-century structure once known as the Castello d’Altafronte that sits along the Arno River near the Uffizi Gallery. You can identify the building by its historic stone…
8. Ponte Vecchio
The Ponte Vecchio is a stone bridge with three wide, flattened arches that supports two rows of buildings projecting over the Arno River. Completed in thirteen forty-five, the structure remains the oldest bridge in Florence and serves as…
9. Museum of Natural History, La Specola
The Museo di Storia Naturale di Firenze, known locally as La Specola, occupies the historic Palazzo Bini Torrigiani on Via Romana. You can identify the building by the octagonal observatory tower that rises above its roof, constructed in…