Your Florence tour will begin at Piazza Santa Maria Novella, named after the beautiful church located here, which has inlaid marble designs that look like they’re intertwined within its very structure.
Walk a short way and you’ll be in the historical city centre, Piazza della Repubblica, which majestically opens onto the forum dating back to ancient Roman Florence. You’ll walk across the lively open-air market of the Porcellino: here you can stroke the nose of the little pig’s statue, the animal that gives the market its name. Doing so is apparently a gesture of good luck, and you’ll definitely feel lucky when you step into Piazza della Signoria, in front of Palazzo Vecchio. The political and administrative heart of Florence will welcome you in its embrace of history and beauty. Underneath the Loggia Lanzi, you’ll be face to face with Florentine Renaissance’s best known statues: Benvenuto Cellini’s Perseus, Giambologna’s The Rape of the Sabine Women, and a copy of Michelangelo’s David. Take in all of this incredible display, but leave some room for more wonder: your next stop will be the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, known as the Duomo di Firenze, along with Giotto’s Campanile and the Baptistery with its bronze sculpted doors. At this point, you’ll be primed and eager to continue your visit with the Galleria dell’Accademia, Europe’s oldest art school, hosting some of the world’s most famous and coveted paintings and sculptures. We need only mention Michelangelo’s David.
To end your Florence tour with a moment of relaxation, once at Ponte Vecchio, built in 1325, you can decide whether you want to gaze and contemplate the waters of the River Arno, or window-shop the bridge’s famed jewelry shops.
