Travel bucket list idea:
Florence, Tuscany, Italy
The Duomo
Florence is known as the cradle of the Renaissance and is home to a wealth of buildings belonging to that era. Lavish Romanesque and Gothic styles were fashionable in the 11th – 13th centuries, before an early Renaissance style emerged in the early 15th century.
The centre of Florence is filled with palaces, churches and monuments defining this movement which was characterised by a classical sensibility with pilasters, columns, arches and pediments and strictly mathematical proportions.
The three architects who dominated the period were Brunelleschi, Michelozzo and Alberti while Michelangelo became one of the most important architects of the High Renaissance.
Florence, Tuscany, Italy
Experience
Believed to be one of Florence’s oldest buildings, the Romanesque green and white marble Baptistery is famous for its glittering mosaics and three sets of bronze doors although the ones you see today are copies.
Good for age: 18+
Florence, Tuscany, Italy
Experience
This hilltop church, a glorious example of Florentine Romanesque style, has a magnificent marble façade crowned by a glittering mosaic, and an unusual interior layout with a raised choir built over the crypt. Look out for the intricate marble intarsia floor with zodiac motifs.
Good for age: 18+
Florence, Tuscany, Italy
Experience
Brunelleschi’s last (and arguably best) work with its iconic blank façade was mostly completed after his death in 1446. The vast, serene interior with its grey and white colour scheme, ranks of columns and semi-circular chapels is a magnificent example of Renaissance style.
Adult price: £2
Good for age: 18+
Florence, Tuscany, Italy
Experience
One of the city’s most popular sights, Florence’s cathedral (duomo) is topped by Brunelleschi’s iconic cupola, a marvel of Renaissance engineering that contains some four million bricks. Miraculously, it was built without the support of scaffolding.
Good for age: 18+
Florence, Tuscany, Italy
Experience
Giotto’s slender pink, green and white Gothic-style campanile soars 280 feet above the surrounding streets, its great bell regularly booming over the city. The original sculptural reliefs that decorated the building are now mostly in the Cathedral Museum.
Good for age: 18+
Florence, Tuscany, Italy
Experience
The best example of Michelangelo’s architectural-sculptural style lies in the splendid marble mausoleum of the Medici dukes and princes. His pared-down New Sacristy (1520) is a complete contrast where the white marble figures of Night and Day and Dawn and Dusk recline on the tombs.
Good for age: 18+
Florence, Tuscany, Italy
Experience
Michelozzo’s mighty 1444 palazzo was built for Cosimo Il Vecchio (dei Madici) was, in its day, the largest private address in the city and typified the strongly rusticated style also seen in the Pitti Palace.
Good for age: 18+
Florence, Tuscany, Italy
Experience
Brunelleschi’s Pazzi Chapel, within the Gothic church of Santa Croce, is a geometric tour de force, and a perfect example of pared-back Renaissance style, all grey pietra serena pilasters, arches and white walls.
Adult price: £5
Good for age: 18+
The tourist office has information on all the monuments and sights mentioned here.
The best way to soak up all this architecture is simply to wander the streets; the centro historico is very small and you will see a whole host of different architectural styles within a small radius.
During high season (June-August) when it can get very hot and very crowded in the city centre, the best time to explore is very early in the morning. But an evening stroll is also very romantic and the golden light is glorious.
