Florence: Renaissance Wonders & Michelangelo's David - Private Walking Tour

Highlights

• Accademia Gallery
• Duomo Complex
• Piazza della Signoria

What's included

Itinerary

1. 1

   Galleria dell'Accademia

   45min

   The museum of Michelangelo's David, wonder of the world. The Galleria dell'Accademia is one of the most visited museums in the world.It is the place where you can admire Michelangelo's David, the masterpiece that is the symbol of the Florentine Renaissance, as well as some of the most important collections of paintings and sculptures in the world.

2. 2

   Duomo

   30min

   Santa Maria del Fiore is one of the largest churches in the world: its plan is composed of a basilica body with three naves, which is inserted into a presbytery area dominated by the large octagon of the immense dome, in which three apses open, each composed of five radial chapels. The Cathedral is 153 meters long, 90 meters wide at the crossing and 92 meters high from the floor to the lantern of the dome. The dedication to Santa Maria del Fiore is a clear allusion to the name of the city, "Florentia", and to its emblem, the "lily". The external visit also includes the Baptistery and Giotto's Bell Tower Note: Access to the Cathedral is free, without a ticket. For religious reasons, the Cathedral is closed to the public on Sundays and religious holidays.

3. 3

   Mercato del Porcellino

   15min

   Loggia del Porcellino is the popular name of the loggia of the Mercato Nuovo in Florence, so called to distinguish it from that of the Mercato Vecchio, located in the area where Piazza della Repubblica now stands. It is located at the intersection of Via Calimala and Via Porta Rossa. The loggia was built between 1547 and 1551 to a design by Giovan Battista del Tasso, in a location in the heart of the city, a few steps from the Ponte Vecchio. Originally it was intended for the sale of silks and precious objects and, since the 19th century, the famous Florentine straw hats, while today it sells mostly leather goods and souvenirs. The focal point of the loggia has been, since 1640, the Fontana del Porcellino, in reality a bronze “wild boar”, a copy of the 17th-century work by Pietro Tacca today in the Stefano Bardini Museum and based on a marble work from the Roman era, now preserved in the Uffizi. The loggia and its statues were restored in 2001-2003.

4. 4

   Piazza della Signoria

   15min

   The Piazza della Signoria has been the center of political life in Florence since the 14th century with the prominent Palazzo Vecchio overlooking the square. It was the scene of great triumphs, such as the return of the Medici in 1530 as well as the Bonfire of the Vanities instigated by Savonarola, who was then himself burned at the stake here in 1498 after he was denounced by the Inquisition as a heretic. A marble circle inscription on the piazza shows the location where he was burned. The sculptures in Piazza della Signoria bristle with political connotations, many of which are fiercely contradictory. The David (the original is in the Galleria dell'Accademia) by Michelangelo was placed outside the Palazzo Vecchio as a symbol of the Republic's defiance of the tyrannical Medici.

5. 5

   Ponte Vecchio

   30min

   The Ponte Vecchio is the first bridge in Florence. It was built in Roman times where the Arno riverbed was narrower and was originally erected further upstream than today, in continuity with the current Vicolo Marzio. From a wooden walkway over time it became a wooden bridge, then it was called sublicio. A document from 972 mentions it and the flood of November 4, 1177 (an inauspicious number and month for the City) destroyed it. The Ponte Vecchio was rebuilt in wood and moved further downstream, in the direction of Via Por Santa Maria. In 1594 Ferdinando I de’ Medici ordered that the shops be assigned exclusively to goldsmiths, blocking rents for three years to avoid the risk of speculation by the owners. During the 18th century, goldsmiths designed the madielle, the displays protruding onto the roadway of the bridge. They had their workshops in the “little houses” above the river.

Before you go

Location