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Florence
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Florence (
Italian:
Firenze [fiˈrɛntse] (
listen), alternative obsolete form:
Fiorenza;
Latin:
Florentia) is the capital city of the Italian
region of
Tuscany and of the
province of
Florence.
It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000
inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area.
[2]
Florence is famous for its history. A centre of
medieval European trade and finance and one of the wealthiest cities of the time,
[3] Florence is considered the birthplace of the
Renaissance, and has been called the
Athens of the
Middle Ages.
[4] A turbulent political history includes periods of rule by the powerful
Medici family, and numerous religious and republican revolutions.
[5] From 1865 to 1871 the city was also the capital of the recently established
Kingdom of Italy.
The
historic centre of Florence attracts millions of tourists each year, and
Euromonitor International ranked the city as the world's 72nd most visited in 2009, with 1,685,000 visitors.
[6] It was declared a
World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1982. Due to Florence's artistic and architectural heritage, it has been ranked by
Forbes as one of the most beautiful cities in the world,
[7] and the city is noted for its history, culture,
Renaissance art and architecture and monuments.
[8] The city also contains numerous museums and art galleries, such as the
Uffizi Gallery and the
Pitti Palace, amongst others, and still exerts an influence in the fields of art, culture and politics.
[9]
Florence is also an important city in
Italian fashion,
[9] being ranked within the top fifty
fashion capitals of the world;
[10] furthermore, it is also a major national economic centre,
[9] being a tourist and industrial hub. In 2008, the city had the 17th highest average income in Italy.
[11]
History
The façade of the Cathedral
Florence originated as a Roman city, and later, after a period as a flourishing trading and banking
medieval commune, it was the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance (or the "Florentine Renaissance"). According to the
Encyclopædia Britannica,
it was politically, economically, and culturally one of the most
important cities in Europe and the world from the 14th century to the
16th century.
[12]
The language spoken in the city there during the 14th century was, and still is, accepted as the
Italian language. Almost all the writers and poets in Italian literature of the
golden age
are in some way connected with Florence, leading ultimately to the
adoption of the Florentine dialect, above all the local dialects, as a
literary language of choice.
[13]
Starting from the late Middle Ages, Florentine money—in the form of the gold
florin—financed
the development of industry all over Europe, from Britain to Bruges, to
Lyon and Hungary. Florentine bankers financed the English kings during
the
Hundred Years War, as well as the papacy, including the construction of their provisional capital of
Avignon and, after their return to Rome, the reconstruction and Renaissance embellishment of the latter.
Florence was home to the Medici, one of history's most important noble families.
Lorenzo de' Medici was considered a political and cultural mastermind of Italy in the late 15th century. Two members of the family, were popes as
Leo X and
Clement VII in the early 16th century.
Catherine de Medici, married king Henry II of France and, after his death in 1559, reigned as regent in France. The Medici reigned
Grand Dukes of Tuscany starting with
Cosimo I de' Medici in 1569, until the death of
Gian Gastone de' Medici in 1737.
Roman origins
A wooden model of Florence as it would have probably looked during Roman times, showing the ancient amphitheatre
Florence was established by
Lucius Cornelius Sulla in 80 BC as a settlement for his veteran soldiers and was named originally
Fluentia, owing to the fact that it was built between two rivers, which was later corrupted to
Florentia.
[14] It was built in the style of an
army camp with the main streets, the
cardo and the
decumanus, intersecting at the present
Piazza della Repubblica. Situated at the
Via Cassia, the main route between Rome and the north, and within the fertile valley of the
Arno, the settlement quickly became an important commercial centre.
In centuries to come, the city experienced turbulent periods of
Ostrogothic rule, during which the city was often troubled by warfare between the
Ostrogoths and the
Byzantines, which may have caused the population to fall to as few as 1,000 people. Peace returned under
Lombard rule in the 6th century. Florence was conquered by
Charlemagne in 774 and became part of the Duchy of Tuscany, with
Lucca as capital. The population began to grow again and commerce prospered. In 854, Florence and
Fiesole were united in one county.
[citation needed]
Second millennium
Margrave Hugo chose Florence as his residency instead of
Lucca at about 1000 AD. The
Golden Age
of Florentine art began around this time. In 1013, construction began
on the Basilica di San Miniato al Monte. The exterior of the
baptistery was reworked in
Romanesque style between 1059, and 1128. This period also saw the eclipse of Florence's formerly powerful rival
Pisa (defeated by
Genoa in 1284 and subjugated by Florence in 1406), and the exercise of power by the
mercantile elite following an anti-aristocratic movement, led by Giano della Bella, that resulted in a set of laws called the
Ordinances of Justice (1293).
[citation needed]
Middle Ages and Renaissance
Rise of the Medici
Of a population estimated at 94,000 before the
Black Death of 1348,
[15]
about 25,000 are said to have been supported by the city's wool
industry: in 1345 Florence was the scene of an attempted strike by wool
combers (
ciompi), who in 1378 rose up in a brief revolt against oligarchic rule in the
Revolt of the Ciompi. After their suppression, Florence came under the sway (1382–1434) of the
Albizzi family, bitter rivals of the Medici.
In the 15th century, Florence was among the largest cities in Europe,
considered rich and economically successful. Life was not idyllic for
all residents though, among whom there were great disparities in wealth.
[16] Cosimo de' Medici
was the first Medici family member to essentially control the city from
behind the scenes. Although the city was technically a democracy of
sorts, his power came from a vast
patronage network along with his alliance to the new immigrants, the
gente nuova
(new people). The fact that the Medici were bankers to the pope also
contributed to their ascendancy. Cosimo was succeeded by his son
Piero, who was, soon after, succeeded by Cosimo's grandson,
Lorenzo in 1469. Lorenzo was a great patron of the arts, commissioning works by
Michelangelo,
Leonardo da Vinci and
Botticelli. Lorenzo was an accomplished musician and brought composers and singers to Florence, including
Alexander Agricola,
Johannes Ghiselin, and
Heinrich Isaac. By contemporary Florentines (and since), he was known as "Lorenzo the Magnificent" (Lorenzo il Magnifico).
Following the death of Lorenzo de' Medici in 1492, he was succeeded by his son Piero II. When the French king
Charles VIII invaded
northern Italy, Piero II chose to resist his army. But when he realized the size of the
French army
at the gates of Pisa, he had to accept the humiliating conditions of
the French king. These made the Florentines rebel and they expelled
Piero II. With his exile in 1494, the first period of Medici rule ended
with the restoration of a republican government.
Savonarola and Machiavelli
Girolamo Savonarola being burnt at the stake in 1498
During this period, the
Dominican monk Girolamo Savonarola had become
prior
of the San Marco monastery in 1490. He was famed for his penitential
sermons, lambasting what he viewed as widespread immorality and
attachment to material riches. He blamed the exile of the Medicis as the
work of God, punishing them for their decadence. He seized the
opportunity to carry through political reforms leading to a more
democratic rule. But when Savonarola publicly accused
Pope Alexander VI of corruption, he was banned from
speaking in public.
When he broke this ban, he was excommunicated. The Florentines, tired
of his extreme teachings, turned against him and arrested him. He was
convicted as a heretic and
burned at the stake on the
Piazza della Signoria on 23 May 1498.
A second individual of unusually acute insight was
Niccolò Machiavelli,
whose prescriptions for Florence's regeneration under strong leadership
have often been seen as a legitimization of political expediency and
even malpractice. In other words, Machiavelli was a sort of political
thinker, perhaps most renowned for his political handbook, titled
The Prince, which is about ruling and the exercise of power. Commissioned by the Medici, Machiavelli also wrote the
Florentine Histories,
the history of the city. Florentines drove out the Medici for a second
time and re-established a republic on 16 May 1527. Restored twice with
the support of both Emperor and Pope, the Medici in 1537 became
hereditary dukes of Florence, and in 1569
Grand Dukes of Tuscany, ruling for two centuries. In all Tuscany, only the
Republic of Lucca (later a
Duchy) and the Principality of
Piombino were independent from Florence.
18th and 19th centuries
The extinction of the Medici dynasty and the accession in 1737 of
Francis Stephen,
duke of Lorraine and husband of
Maria Theresa of Austria, led to Tuscany's temporary inclusion in the territories of the Austrian crown. It became a
secundogeniture of the
Habsburg-Lorraine dynasty, who were deposed for the
Bourbon-Parma in 1801, themselves deposed in December 1807 when Tuscany was annexed by France. Florence was the
prefecture of the French département of
Arno from 1808 to the fall of
Napoleon in 1814. The Habsburg-Lorraine dynasty was restored on the throne of Tuscany at the
Congress of Vienna but finally deposed in 1859. Tuscany became a province of the United Kingdom of Italy in 1861.
Florence replaced
Turin
as Italy's capital in 1865 and, in an effort to modernise the city, the
old market in the Piazza del Mercato Vecchio and many medieval houses
were pulled down and replaced by a more formal street plan with newer
houses. The Piazza (first renamed Piazza
Vittorio Emmanuele II, then
Piazza della Repubblica,
the present name) was significantly widened and a large triumphal arch
was constructed at the west end. This development was unpopular and was
prevented from continuing by the efforts of several British and American
people living in the city.
[citation needed] A museum recording the destruction stands nearby today.
The country's second capital city was superseded by Rome six years
later, after the withdrawal of the French troops made its addition to
the kingdom possible.
20th century
Porte Sante cemetery, burial place of notable figures of Florentine history.
After doubling during the 19th century, Florence's population was to
triple in the 20th, resulting from growth in tourism, trade,
financial services and industry.
During World War II the city experienced a year-long German occupation (1943–1944) and was declared an
open city. The
Allied
soldiers who died driving the Germans from Tuscany are buried in
cemeteries outside the city (Americans about nine kilometres south of
the city, British and Commonwealth soldiers a few kilometres east of the
centre on the right bank of the Arno). In 1944, the retreating Germans
blew up the bridges along the
Arno linking the district of Oltrarno to the rest of the city, making it difficult for the
British troops
to cross. However, at the last moment Charle Steinhauslin, at the time
consulate of 26 countries in Florence, convinced the German general in
Italy that the
Ponte Vecchio was not to be blown up due to its historical value.
[citation needed]
Instead, an equally historic area of streets directly to the south of the bridge, including part of the
Corridoio Vasariano,
was destroyed using mines. Since then the bridges have been restored to
their original forms using as many of the remaining materials as
possible, but the buildings surrounding the Ponte Vecchio have been
rebuilt in a style combining the old with modern design. Shortly before
leaving Florence, as they knew that they would soon have to retreat, the
Germans murdered many
freedom fighters and political opponents publicly, in streets and squares including the Piazza Santo Spirito.
[citation needed]
At the end of World War II in Europe, in May 1945, the U.S. Army's
Information and Educational Branch was ordered to establish an overseas
university campus for demobilized American service men and women in
Florence, Italy. The first American University for service personnel was
established in June 1945 at the School of Aeronautics in Florence,
Italy. Some 7,500 soldier-students were to pass through the University
during its four one-month sessions (see
G. I. American Universities).
[17]
In November 1966, the
Arno flooded
parts of the centre, damaging many art treasures. Around the city there
are tiny placards on the walls noting where the flood waters reached at
their highest point.
Geography
City geography visible on aerial view
Florence lies in a basin among the Senese Clavey Hills, particularly the hills of
Careggi,
Fiesole,
Settignano,
Arcetri,
Poggio Imperiale and Bellosguardo (Florence). The
Arno river and three other minor rivers flow through it.
Climate
Florence has a borderline
humid subtropical (
Cfa) and
Mediterranean climate (
Csa).
[18]
It has hot, humid summers with moderate rainfall and cool, damp
winters. Surrounded by hills in a river valley, Florence can be hot and
humid from June to August. As Florence lacks a prevailing wind, summer
temperatures are higher than along the coast. Rainfall in summer is
convectional, while relief rainfall dominates in the winter, with some snow. The highest officially recorded temperature was
42.6 °C (108.7 °F) on 26 July 1983 and the lowest was
−23.2 °C (−9.8 °F) on 12 January 1985.
[19]
| [hide]Climate data for Florence |
| Month |
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
Year |
| Record high °C (°F) |
21.6
(70.9) |
23.4
(74.1) |
28.5
(83.3) |
28.7
(83.7) |
33.8
(92.8) |
40.0
(104) |
42.6
(108.7) |
39.5
(103.1) |
36.4
(97.5) |
30.8
(87.4) |
25.2
(77.4) |
20.4
(68.7) |
42.6
(108.7) |
| Average high °C (°F) |
10.9
(51.6) |
12.5
(54.5) |
15.7
(60.3) |
18.5
(65.3) |
23.7
(74.7) |
27.7
(81.9) |
31.4
(88.5) |
31.5
(88.7) |
26.7
(80.1) |
20.9
(69.6) |
14.7
(58.5) |
11.1
(52) |
20.44
(68.81) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) |
6.5
(43.7) |
7.5
(45.5) |
10.3
(50.5) |
13.0
(55.4) |
17.7
(63.9) |
21.4
(70.5) |
24.6
(76.3) |
24.6
(76.3) |
20.5
(68.9) |
15.5
(59.9) |
9.9
(49.8) |
6.8
(44.2) |
14.86
(58.74) |
| Average low °C (°F) |
2.0
(35.6) |
2.5
(36.5) |
4.9
(40.8) |
7.5
(45.5) |
11.6
(52.9) |
15.0
(59) |
17.7
(63.9) |
17.7
(63.9) |
14.4
(57.9) |
10.1
(50.2) |
5.1
(41.2) |
2.6
(36.7) |
9.26
(48.67) |
| Record low °C (°F) |
−23.0
(−9.4) |
−9.9
(14.2) |
−8.0
(17.6) |
−2.2
(28) |
3.6
(38.5) |
5.6
(42.1) |
10.2
(50.4) |
9.6
(49.3) |
3.6
(38.5) |
−1.4
(29.5) |
−6.0
(21.2) |
−8.6
(16.5) |
−23
(−9.4) |
| Precipitation mm (inches) |
60.5
(2.382) |
63.7
(2.508) |
63.5
(2.5) |
86.4
(3.402) |
70.0
(2.756) |
57.1
(2.248) |
36.7
(1.445) |
56.0
(2.205) |
79.6
(3.134) |
104.2
(4.102) |
113.6
(4.472) |
81.3
(3.201) |
872.6
(34.355) |
| Avg. precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) |
8.3 |
7.1 |
7.5 |
9.7 |
8.4 |
6.3 |
3.5 |
5.4 |
6.2 |
8.5 |
9.0 |
8.3 |
88.2 |
| Source #1: Servizio Meteorologico [20] |
| Source #2: World Meteorological Organisation (United Nations) [21] |
Subdivisions
The traditional subdivision of Florence into four quarters dates from the 14th century (that today compose the old town):
- Santa Maria Novella
- San Giovanni
- Santa Croce
- Santo Spirito
Subdivision of Florence: The traditional quarters and wards (Quartiere)
The modern administrative subdivision into five wards follows the boundaries of the traditional quarters in the outer areas.
The five
administrative divisions with their neighbourhoods are:
Quartiere 1
Historic Centre |
11.396 |
67,170 |
5,894 |
San Jacopino · Il Prato · La Fortezza · Viali · Duomo–Oltrarno · Collina sud · San Gaggio |
Quartiere 2
Campo di Marte |
23.406 |
88,588 |
3,784 |
Campo di Marte–Le Cure · Viali · La Rondinella · Settignano · Collina nord · Bellariva–Gavinana |
Quartiere 3
Gavinana/Galluzzo |
22.312 |
40,907 |
1,833 |
Collina sud · Galluzzo · San Gaggio · Bellariva–Gavinana · Sorgane · Ponte a Ema |
Quartiere 4
Isolotto/Legnaia |
16.991 |
66,636 |
3,921 |
Argingrosso · Cintoia · I Bassi · Il Casone · Isolotto · La Casella · Legnaia · Le Torri · Mantignano · Monticelli · Pignone · San Lorenzo a Greve · Soffiano · San Quirico · Torcicoda · Ugnano |
Quartiere 5
Rifredi |
28.171 |
103,761 |
3,683 |
Castello–Le Panche · Piana di Castello · Pistoiese · Brozzi · Peretola · Il Lippi–Barsanti (Florence) · Firenze Nova · Novoli · Parco delle Cascine–Argingrosso · San Jacopino · La Fortezza · Careggi · Leopoldo–Rifredi · Collina nord · Viali |
| Florence |
102.276 |
367,062 |
3,589 |
|
Main sights
Florence is known as the "cradle of the
Renaissance" (
la culla del Rinascimento) for its monuments, churches and buildings. The best-known site of Florence is the domed cathedral of the city,
Santa Maria del Fiore, known as
The Duomo, whose dome was built by
Filippo Brunelleschi. The nearby
Campanile (partly designed by
Giotto) and the
Baptistery
buildings are also highlights. The dome, 600 years after its
completion, is still the largest dome built in brick and mortar in the
world.
[22] In 1982, the historic centre of Florence (Italian:
centro storico di Firenze) was declared a
World Heritage Site by the
UNESCO.
The centre of the city is contained in medieval walls that were built
in the 14th century to defend the city. At the heart of the city, in
Piazza della Signoria, is
Bartolomeo Ammanati's
Fountain of Neptune (1563–1565), which is a masterpiece of
marble sculpture at the terminus of a still-functioning Roman
aqueduct.
The layout and structure of Florence in many ways harkens back to the Roman era, where it was designed as a
garrison settlement.
[23] Nevertheless, the majority of the city was built during the
Renaissance.
[23] Despite the strong presence of Renaissance architecture within the city, traces of
medieval,
Baroque,
Neoclassical and
modern architecture can be found. The
Palazzo Vecchio as well as the Duomo, or the city's Cathedral, are the two buildings which dominate Florence's skyline.
[23]
The
River Arno,
which cuts through the old part of the city, is as much a character in
Florentine history as many of the people who lived there. Historically,
the locals have had a love-hate relationship with the Arno – which
alternated between nourishing the city with commerce, and destroying it
by flood.
One of the bridges in particular stands out – the
Ponte Vecchio (
Old Bridge), whose most striking feature is the multitude of shops built upon its edges, held up by stilts. The bridge also carries
Vasari's elevated corridor linking the Uffizi to the Medici residence (
Palazzo Pitti). Although the original bridge was constructed by the
Etruscans,
the current bridge was rebuilt in the 14th century. It is the only
bridge in the city to have survived World War II intact. It is the first
example in the western world of a bridge built using segmental
arches,
that is, arches less than a semicircle, to reduce both span-to-rise
ratio and the numbers of pillars to allow lesser encumbrance in the
riverbed (being in this much more successful than the Roman
Alconétar Bridge).
The church of
San Lorenzo contains the
Medici Chapel, the
mausoleum of the
Medici family—the most powerful family in Florence from the 15th to the 18th century. Nearby is the
Uffizi Gallery, one of the finest art museums in the world – founded on a large bequest from the last member of the Medici family.
The Uffizi is located at the corner of
Piazza della Signoria, a site important for being the centre of Florence's civil life and government for centuries. The
Palazzo della Signoria facing it is still home of the municipal government. The
Loggia dei Lanzi provided the setting for all the public ceremonies of the republican government. Many significant episodes in the
history of art and political changes were staged here, such as:
- In 1301, Dante was sent into exile from here (commemorated by a plaque on one of the walls of the Uffizi).
- On 26 April 1478, Jacopo de' Pazzi and his retainers tried to raise the city against the Medici after the plot known as The congiura dei Pazzi (The Pazzi conspiracy), murdering Giuliano di Piero de' Medici and wounding his brother Lorenzo. All the members of the plot who could be apprehended were seized by the Florentines and hanged from the windows of the palace.
- In 1497, it was the location of the Bonfire of the Vanities instigated by the Dominican friar and preacher Girolamo Savonarola
- On 23 May 1498, the same Savonarola and two followers were hanged
and burnt at the stake. (A round plate in the ground marks the spot
where he was hanged)
- In 1504, Michelangelo's David (now replaced by a replica, since the original was moved in 1873 to the Galleria dell'Accademia) was installed in front of the Palazzo della Signoria (also known as Palazzo Vecchio).
The Piazza della Signoria is the location of a number of statues by other sculptors such as
Donatello,
Giambologna, Ammannati and
Cellini, although some have been replaced with copies to preserve the originals.
Monuments, museums and religious buildings
Florence contains several palaces and buildings from various eras. The
Palazzo Vecchio is the
town hall of Florence and also an art museum. This large
Romanesque crenellated fortress-palace overlooks the
Piazza della Signoria with its copy of Michelangelo's David statue as well the gallery of statues in the adjacent
Loggia dei Lanzi. Originally called the
Palazzo della Signoria, after the
Signoria of Florence, the ruling body of the
Republic of Florence, it was also given several other names:
Palazzo del Popolo,
Palazzo dei Priori, and
Palazzo Ducale,
in accordance with the varying use of the palace during its long
history. The building acquired its current name when the Medici duke's
residence was moved across the Arno to the
Palazzo Pitti. It is linked to the Uffizi and the Palazzo Pitti through the
Corridoio Vasariano.
Palazzo Medici Riccardi, designed by
Michelozzo di Bartolomeo for
Cosimo il Vecchio,
of the Medici family, is another major edifice, and was built between
1445 and 1460. It was well known for its stone masonry that includes
rustication and ashlar. Today it is the head office of the Florence
province and hosts museums and the
Riccardiana Library. The
Palazzo Strozzi, an example of civil architecture with its rusticated stone, inspired by the
Palazzo Medici,
but with more harmonious proportions. Today the palace is used for
international expositions like the annual antique show (founded as the
Biennale del'Antiquariato in 1959), fashion shows and other cultural and
artistic events. Here also is the seat of the Istituto Nazionale del
Rinascimento and the noted
Gabinetto Vieusseux, with the library and reading room. Aside from these palaces and buildings, there are several others, including the
Palazzo Rucellai, designed by Leon Battista Alberti between 1446 and 1451 and executed, at least in part, by
Bernardo Rossellino; the
Palazzo Davanzati, which houses the museum of the Old Florentine House; the
Palazzo delle Assicurazioni Generali, designed in the
Neo-Renaissance style in 1871; the
Palazzo Spini Feroni, in
Piazza Santa Trinita, a historic 13th-century private palace, owned since the 1920s by shoe-designer
Salvatore Ferragamo; as well as various others, including the Palazzo Borghese, the Palazzo di Bianca Cappello, the
Palazzo Antinori, and the Royal building of Santa Maria Novella.
Florence contains numerous museums and art galleries where some of
the world's most important works of art are held. The city is one of the
best preserved Renaissance centres of art and architecture in the world
and has a high concentration of art, architecture and culture.
[24] In the ranking list of the 15 most visited Italian art museums, 2/3 are represented by Florentine museums.
[25] The
Uffizi
is one of these; one of the most famous and important art galleries in
the world, it has a very large collection of international and
Florentine art. The gallery is articulated in many halls, cataloged by
schools and chronological order. Engendered by the Medici family's
artistic collections through the centuries, it houses works of art by
various painters and artists. The
Vasari Corridor is another gallery, built connecting the
Palazzo Vecchio with the
Pitti Palace passing by the
Uffizi and over the
Ponte Vecchio. The Galleria dell' Accademia houses a
Michelangelo collection, including the
David.
It has a collection of Russian icons and works by various artists and
painters. Furthermore, other museums and galleries include the
Bargello, which concentrates on sculpture works by artists including
Donatello,
Giambologna and
Michelangelo;
the Palazzo Pitti, containing part of the Medici family's former
private collection. In addition to the Medici collection, the palace's
galleries contain many Renaissance works, including several by
Raphael and
Titian, large collections of costumes, ceremonial carriages, silver, porcelain and a
gallery of modern art dating from the 18th century. Adjoining the palace are the
Boboli Gardens, elaborately landscaped and with numerous sculptures.
There are several different churches and religious buildings in Florence. The Cathedral is the
Santa Maria del Fiore. It is the fourth largest church in Europe, its length being 153 metres (502 ft) and its height 116 metres (381 ft). The
San Giovanni Baptistery is located in front of the Florence Cathedral, and it is decorated by numerous artists, notably by
Lorenzo Ghiberti with the
Gates of Paradise. Other churches in Florence include the
Basilica of Santa Maria Novella, located in Santa Maria Novella square (near the
Firenze Santa Maria Novella railway station) which contains works by
Masaccio,
Paolo Uccello,
Filippino Lippi and
Domenico Ghirlandaio; the
Basilica of Santa Croce,
the principal Franciscan church in the city, which is situated on the
Piazza di Santa Croce, about 800 metres south east of the Duomo, and is
the burial place of some of the most illustrious Italians, such as
Michelangelo, Galileo, Machiavelli, Foscolo, Gentile, Rossini, and
Marconi, thus it is known also as the Temple of the Italian Glories
(Tempio dell'Itale Glorie); the
Basilica of San Lorenzo,
which is one of the largest churches in the city, situated at the
centre of Florence's main market district, and the burial place of all
the principal members of the Medici family from Cosimo il Vecchio to
Cosimo III;
Santo Spirito, in the Oltrarno quarter, facing the square with the same name;
Orsanmichele, whose building was constructed on the site of the kitchen garden of the monastery of San Michele, now demolished;
Santissima Annunziata, a Roman Catholic basilica and the mother church of the
Servite order;
Ognissanti, which was founded by the lay order of the Umiliati, and is among the first examples of
Baroque architecture built in the city; the
Santa Maria del Carmine, in the Oltrarno district of Florence, which is the location of the
Brancacci Chapel, housing outstanding Renaissance frescoes by
Masaccio and
Masolino da Panicale, later finished by
Filippino Lippi; the
Medici Chapel, in the
San Lorenzo; as well as several others, including
Santa Trinita,
San Marco,
Santa Felicita,
Badia Fiorentina,
San Gaetano,
San Miniato al Monte,
Florence Charterhouse, and
Santa Maria del Carmine. The city additionally contains the Orthodox Russian church of Nativity, and the
Great Synagogue of Florence, built in the 19th century.
Additionally, Florence contains various theatres and cinemas. The
Odeon Cinema of the Palazzo dello Strozzino is one of the oldest movie theatres in the city. Established from 1920 to 1922
[26] in a wing of the Palazzo dello Strozzino, it used to be called the
Cinema Teatro Savoia (Savoy Cinema-Theatre), yet was later called
Odeon. The
Teatro della Pergola, located in the centre of the city on the eponymous street, is an
opera house built in the 17th century. Another theatreis the
Teatro Comunale (or
Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino), originally built as the open-air amphitheatre, the
Politeama Fiorentino Vittorio Emanuele, which was inaugurated on 17 May 1862 with a production of
Donizetti's
Lucia di Lammermoor
and which seated 6,000 people. There are several other theatres, such
as the Saloncino Castinelli, the Teatro Puccini, the Teatro Verdi, the
Teatro Goldoni and the Teatro Niccolini.
Squares, streets and parks
Aside from such monuments, Florence contains numerous major squares (
piazze) and streets. The
Piazza della Repubblica
is a square in the city centre, location of the cultural cafes and
bourgeois palaces. Among the square's cafes (like Caffè Gilli,
Paszkowski or the Hard Rock Cafè), the
Giubbe Rosse cafe has long been a meeting place for artists and writers, notably those of
Futurism. The
Piazza Santa Croce is another; dominated by the
Basilica of Santa Croce, it is a rectangular square in the centre of the city where the
Calcio Fiorentino is played every year. Furthermore, there is the
Piazza Santa Trinita, a square near the Arno that mark the end of the
Via de' Tornabuoni street. Other squares include the Piazza San Marco, the Piazza Santa Maria Novella, the
Piazza Beccaria and the
Piazza della Libertà. The centre additionally contains several streets. Such include the
Via Camillo Cavour,
one of the main roads of the northern area of the historic centre; the
Via Ghibellina, one of central Florence's longest streets; the Via dei
Calzaiuoli, one of most central streets of the historic centre of the
which links
Piazza del Duomo to
Piazza della Signoria, winding parallel to via Roma and
Piazza della Repubblica; the
Via de' Tornabuoni, a luxurious street in the city centre that goes from Antinori square to
ponte Santa Trinita, across
Piazza Santa Trinita, characterised by the presence of fashion boutiques; the
Viali di Circonvallazione, 6-lane
boulevards
surrounding the northern part of the historic centre; as well as
others, such as Via Roma, Via degli Speziali, Via de' Cerretani, and the
Viale dei Colli.
Florence also contains various parks and gardens. Such include the
Boboli Gardens, the Parco delle Cascine, the
Giardino Bardini and the
Giardino dei Semplici, amongst others.
Demographics
| Historical population |
| Year |
Pop. |
±% |
| 1861 |
150,864 |
— |
| 1871 |
201,138 |
+33.3% |
| 1881 |
196,072 |
−2.5% |
| 1901 |
236,635 |
+20.7% |
| 1911 |
258,056 |
+9.1% |
| 1921 |
280,133 |
+8.6% |
| 1931 |
304,160 |
+8.6% |
| 1936 |
321,176 |
+5.6% |
| 1951 |
374,625 |
+16.6% |
| 1961 |
436,516 |
+16.5% |
| 1971 |
457,803 |
+4.9% |
| 1981 |
448,331 |
−2.1% |
| 1991 |
403,294 |
−10.0% |
| 2001 |
356,118 |
−11.7% |
| 2008 |
367,569 |
+3.2% |
| Source: ISTAT 2001 |
As of 31 October 2010, the population of the city proper is 370,702, while
Eurostat estimates that 696,767 people live in the
urban area
of Florence. The Metropolitan Area of Florence, Prato and Pistoia,
constituted in 2000 over an area of roughly 4,800 square kilometres, is
home to 1.5 million people. Within Florence proper, 46.8% of the
population was male in 2007 and 53.2% were
female.
Minors (children aged 18 and less) totalled 14.10 percent of the
population compared to pensioners, who numbered 25.95 percent. This
compares with the Italian average of 18.06 percent (minors) and 19.94
percent (pensioners). The average age of Florence resident is 49
compared to the Italian average of 42. In the five years between 2002
and 2007, the population of Florence grew by 3.22 percent, while Italy
as a whole grew by 3.56 percent.
[27] The
birth rate of Florence is 7.66 births per 1,000 inhabitants compared to the Italian average of 9.45 births.
As of 2009, 87.46% of the population was Italian. An estimated 6,000
Chinese live in the city.
[28] The largest immigrant group came from other European countries (mostly
Romanians and
Albanians): 3.52%, East Asia (mostly
Chinese and
Filipino): 2.17%, the Americas (mostly
Peruvians): 1.41%, and North Africa (mostly
Moroccan): 0.9%.
[29]
Economy
Tourism is, by far, the most important of all industries and most of
the Florentine economy relies on the money generated by international
arrivals and students studying in the city.
[30]
Manufacturing and commerce, however, still remain highly important.
Florence is also Italy's 17th richest city in terms of average workers'
earnings, with the figure being €23,265 (the overall city's income is
that of €6,531,204,473), coming after
Mantua, yet surpassing
Bolzano.
[31]
Industry, commerce and services
Florence is a major production and commercial centre in Italy, where
the Florentine industrial complexes in the suburbs produce all sorts of
goods, from furniture, rubber goods, chemicals, and food.
[30]
However, traditional and local products, such as antiques, handicrafts,
glassware, leatherwork, art reproductions, jewelry, souvenirs,
elaborate metal and iron-work, shoes, accessories and high fashion
clothes also dominate a fair sector of Florence's economy.
[30]
The city's income relies partially on services and commercial and
cultural interests, such as annual fairs, theatrical and lyrical
productions, art exhibitions, festivals and fashion shows, such as the
Calcio Fiorentino.
Heavy industry and machinery also take their part in providing an
income. In Nuovo Pignone, numerous factories are still present, and
small-to medium industrial businesses are dominant. The
Florence-Prato-Pistoia industrial districts and areas were known as the
'Third Italy' in the 1990s, due to the exports of high-quality goods and
automobile (especially the
Vespa)
and the prosperity and productivity of the Florentine entrepreneurs.
Some of these industries even rivaled the traditional industrial
districts in
Emilia-Romagna and
Veneto due to high profits and productivity.
[30]
Tourism
Tourists flock to the Fontana del Porcellino.
Tourism is the most significant industry in central Florence. From
April to October, tourists outnumber local population. Tickets to the
Uffizi and Accademia museums are regularly sold out and large groups regularly fill the basilicas of
Santa Croce and
Santa Maria Novella, both of which charge for entry. In 2010, readers of
Travel + Leisure magazine ranked the city as their third favourite tourist destination.
[32]
Studies by Euromonitor International have concluded that cultural and
history-oriented tourism is generating significantly increased spending
throughout Europe.
[33]
Florence is believed to have the greatest concentration of art (in proportion to its size) in the world.
[34] Thus, cultural tourism is particularly strong, with world-renowned museums such as the
Uffizi selling over 1.6 million tickets
[35]
a year. The city's convention centre facilities were restructured
during the 1990s and host exhibitions, conferences, meetings, social
forums, concerts and other events all year.
Florence has approximately 35,000 hotel beds and 23,000 other
accommodation facilities (campsites, guesthouses, youth hostels and
farmhouses), giving potential for overall stays to exceed 10 million
visitor/nights a year. Visitors also include thousands of day-trippers
brought in by cruise ships (to
Livorno)
and by road and rail. In 2007, the city ranked as the world's 59th most
visited city, with over 1.729 million arrivals for the year.
[36] It has been estimated that just under one-third of tourists are
Italians, the remainder comprising Americans (20%), Germans (13%), Japanese (8%), Britons (7.8%), French (5.7%) and Spaniards (5%).
Food and wine production
Food and wine have long been an important staple of the economy.
Florence is the most important city in Tuscany, one of the great
wine-growing regions in the world. The
Chianti region is just south of the city, and its
Sangiovese grapes figure prominently not only in its
Chianti Classico
wines but also in many of the more recently developed Supertuscan
blends. Within twenty miles (32 km) to the west is the Carmignano area,
also home to flavorful sangiovese-based reds. The celebrated Chianti
Rufina district, geographically and historically separated from the main
Chianti region, is also few miles east of Florence. More recently, the
Bolgheri region (about 150 km southwest of Florence) has become
celebrated for its "
Super Tuscan" reds such as
Sassicaia and
Ornellaia.
[37]
Culture
Art
Florence has a legendary artistic heritage.
Cimabue and
Giotto, the fathers of Italian painting, lived in Florence as well as Arnolfo and
Andrea Pisano, renewers of architecture and sculpture;
Brunelleschi,
Donatello and
Masaccio, forefathers of the Renaissance, Ghiberti and the Della Robbias,
Filippo Lippi and Angelico; Botticelli, Paolo Uccello and the universal genius of
Leonardo da Vinci and
Michelangelo.
[38][39]
Their works, together with those of many other generations of artists, are gathered in the several museums of the town: the
Uffizi Gallery, the Palatina gallery with the paintings of the "Golden Ages",
[40] the
Bargello with the sculptures of the Renaissance, the museum of San Marco with
Fra Angelico's works, the Academy, the chapels of the
Medicis[41]
Buonarroti's house with the sculptures of Michelangelo, the following
museums: Bardini, Horne, Stibbert, Romano, Corsini, The Gallery of
Modern Art, the
Museo dell'Opera del Duomo, the museum of Silverware and the museum of
Precious Stones.
[42] Great monuments are the landmarks of Florentine artistic culture: the
Florence Baptistery
with its mosaics; the Cathedral with its sculptures, the medieval
churches with bands of frescoes; public as well as private palaces:
Palazzo Vecchio,
Palazzo Pitti,
Palazzo Medici Riccardi,
Palazzo Davanzati; monasteries, cloisters, refectories; the "Certosa". In the archeological museum includes documents of Etruscan civilization.
[43] In fact the city is so rich in art that some first time visitors experience the
Stendhal syndrome as they encounter its art for the first time.
[44]
Florentine architects such as Filippo Brunelleschi (1377–1466) and
Leon Battista Alberti (1404–1472) were among the fathers of both
Renaissance and
Neoclassical architecture.
[45]
The cathedral, topped by Brunelleschi's dome, dominates the
Florentine skyline. The Florentines decided to start building it – late
in the 13th century, without a design for the dome. The project proposed
by Brunelleschi in the 14th century was the largest ever built at the
time, and the first major dome built in Europe since the two great domes
of Roman times – the
Pantheon in Rome, and
Hagia Sophia in
Constantinople. The dome of Santa Maria del Fiore remains the largest brick construction of its kind in the world.
[46][47]
In front of it is the medieval Baptistery. The two buildings
incorporate in their decoration the transition from the Middle Ages to
the Renaissance. In recent years, most of the important works of art
from the two buildings – and from the nearby
Giotto's Campanile,
have been removed and replaced by copies. The originals are now housed
in the Museum dell'Opera del Duomo, just to the east of the Cathedral.
Florence has large numbers of art-filled churches,
[12]
such as San Miniato al Monte, San Lorenzo, Santa Maria Novella, Santa
Trinita, Santa Maria del Carmine, Santa Croce, Santo Spirito, the
Annunziata, Ognissanti and numerous others.
The Palazzo della Signoria, better known as the Palazzo Vecchio (English:The Old Palace)
Artists associated with Florence range from
Arnolfo di Cambio
and Cimabue to Giotto, Nanni di Banco, and Paolo Uccello; through
Lorenzo Ghiberti, and Donatello and Massaccio and the della Robbia
family; through Fra Angelico and Botticelli and Piero della Francesca,
and on to Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci. Others include Benvenuto
Cellini, Andrea del Sarto, Benozzo Gozzoli, Domenico Ghirlandaio,
Filippo Lippi, Bernardo Buontalenti, Orcagna, Pollaiuolo, Filippino
Lippi, Verrocchio, Bronzino, Desiderio da Settignano, Michelozzo, the
Rossellis, the Sangallos, and Pontormo. Artists from other regions who
worked in Florence include Raphael, Andrea Pisano, Giambologna, Il
Sodoma and Peter Paul Rubens.
The Uffizi and the Pitti Palace are two of the most famous picture galleries in the world.
[48]
Two superb collections of sculpture are in the Bargello and the Museum
of the Works of the Duomo. They are filled with the creations of
Donatello, Verrochio, Desiderio da Settignano, Michelangelo and others.
The Galleria dell'Accademia has Michelangelo's David – perhaps the most
well-known work of art anywhere, plus the unfinished statues of the
slaves Michelangelo created for the tomb of
Pope Julius II.
[49][50] Other sights include the medieval city hall, the Palazzo della Signoria (also known as the Palazzo Vecchio), the
Archeological Museum, the
Museum of the History of Science,
the Palazzo Davanzatti, the Stibbert Museum, St. Marks, the Medici
Chapels, the Museum of the Works of Santa Croce, the Museum of the
Cloister of Santa Maria Novella, the Zoological Museum ("
La Specola"), the Bardini, and the Museo Horne. There is also a collection of works by the modern sculptor,
Marino Marini, in a museum named after him. The Strozzi Palace is the site of special exhibits.
[51]
Language
Florentine (
fiorentino), spoken by inhabitants of Florence and its environs, is a
Tuscan dialect and the immediate
parent language to modern Italian.
Its vocabulary and pronunciation are largely identical to standard Italian, though the hard
c [k] between two vowels (as in
ducato) is pronounced as a
fricative [h], similar to an English
h. This gives Florentines a highly recognizable accent (the so-called
gorgia toscana). Other traits include using a form of the
subjunctive mood last commonly used in
medieval times,
[citation needed] a frequent usage in everyday speech of the modern subjunctive, and a shortened pronunciation of the
definite article,
[i] instead of "il".
Dante, Petrarch, and Boccaccio pioneered the use of the vernacular
[52] instead of the Latin used for most literary works at the time.
Literature
Despite Latin being the main language of the courts and the Church, writers such as Dante Alighieri
[52]
and many others used their own language, the Florentine dialect, in
composing their works. The oldest literary pieces written in vernacular
language go as far back as the 13th century. Florence's literature fully
blossomed in the 14th century, when not only Dante with his
Divine Comedy (1306–1321) and Petrarch, but also poets such as
Guido Cavalcanti and
Lapo Gianni composed their most important works.
[52] Dante's masterpiece is the
Divine Comedy,
which mainly deals with the poet himself taking an allegoric and moral
tour of Hell, Purgatory and finally Heaven, during which he meets
numerous mythological or real characters of his age or before. He is
first guided by the Roman poet
Virgil, whose non-Christian beliefs damned him to Hell. Later on he is joined by
Beatrice, who guides him through Heaven.
[52]
In the 14th century,
Petrarch[53] and
Giovanni Boccaccio[53]
led the literary scene in Florence after Dante's death in 1321.
Petrarch was an all-rounder writer, author and poet, but was
particularly known for his
Canzoniere, or the Book of Songs, where he conveyed his unremitting love for Laura.
[53] His style of writing has since become known as
Petrarchism.
[53] Boccaccio was better known for his
Decameron, a slightly grim story of Florence during the 1350s bubonic plague, known as the
Black Death,
when some people fled the ravaged city to an isolated country mansion,
and spent their time there recounting stories and novellas taken from
the medieval and contemporary tradition. All of this is written in a
series of 100 distinct novellas.
[53]
In the 16th century, during the Renaissance, Florence was the hometown of political writer and philosopher
Niccolò Machiavelli, whose ideas on how rulers should govern the land, detailed in
The Prince, spread across European courts and enjoyed enduring popularity for centuries. These principles became known as
Machiavellianism.
Music
Florence became a musical centre during the
Middle Ages and music and the performing arts remain an important part of its culture. During the
Renaissance
there were four kinds of musical patronage in the city with respect to
both sacred and secular music: state, corporate, church, and private.
[54] and it was here that the
Florentine Camerata
convened in the mid-16th century and experimented with setting tales of
Greek mythology to music and staging the result—in other words, the
first operas, setting the wheels in motion not just for the further
development of the operatic form, but for later developments of separate
"classical" forms such as the symphony.
Opera was invented in Florence in the late 16th century.
[55]
Composers and musicians who have lived in Florence include
Piero Strozzi (1550 – after 1608),
Giulio Caccini (1551–1618) and
Mike Francis (1961–2009).
Cinema
Florence has been a setting for numerous works of fiction and movies, including the novels and associated films, such as
Light in the Piazza,
Calmi Cuori Appassionati,
Hannibal,
A Room with a View,
Tea with Mussolini and
Virgin Territory. The city is home to renowned Italian actors and actresses, such as
Roberto Benigni,
Leonardo Pieraccioni and
Vittoria Puccini.
Cuisine
Florentine food grows out of a tradition of peasant eating rather
than rarefied high cooking. The majority of dishes are based on meat.
The whole animal was traditionally eaten;
tripe, (
trippa) and (
lampredotto) were once regularly on the menu and still are sold at the food carts stationed throughout the city.
Antipasti include
crostini toscani, sliced bread rounds topped with a chicken liver-based
pâté, and sliced meats (mainly
prosciutto and
salame, often served with melon when in season). The typically saltless Tuscan bread, obtained with natural
levain frequently features in Florentine courses, especially in its soups,
ribollita and
pappa al pomodoro, or in the salad of bread and fresh vegetables called
panzanella that is served in summer. The
bistecca alla fiorentina is a large (the customary size should weigh around 1200 grams – "40 oz.") – the "date" steak –
T-bone steak of
Chianina beef cooked over hot charcoal and served very rare with its more recently derived version, the
tagliata, sliced rare beef served on a bed of
arugula, often with slices of
Parmesan cheese on top. Most of these courses are generally served with local
olive oil, also a prime product enjoying a worldwide reputation.
[56]
Research activity
Research institutes and university departments are located within the
Florence area and within two campuses at Polo di Novoli and Polo
Scientifico di Sesto Fiorentino
[57] as well as in the Research Area of
Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche.
[58]
Science and discovery
Florence has been an important scientific centre for centuries, notably during the Renaissance with scientists such as
Leonardo da Vinci.
Florentines were one of the driving forces behind the
Age of Discovery.
Florentine bankers financed Henry the Navigator and the Portuguese
explorers who pioneered the route around Africa to India and the Far
East. It was a map drawn by the Florentine Paulo del Pozzo Toscanelli, a
student of Brunelleschi, that Columbus used to sell his "enterprise" to
the Spanish monarchs, and which he used on his first voyage. Mercator's
"Projection" is a refined version of Toscanelli's – taking into account
the Americas, of which the Florentine was, obviously, ignorant.
Gallileo and other scientists pioneered the study of optics,
ballistics, astronomy, anatomy, and so on. Pico della Mirandola,
Leonardo Bruni, Machiavelli, and many others laid the groundwork for our
understanding of political science.
Fashion
Luxury boutiques along Florence's prestigious Via de' Tornabuoni.
By the year 1300 Florence had become a center of textile production
in Europe. Many of the wealthy families in Renaissance Florence were
major purchasers of locally produced fine clothing, and the importance
of fashion in the economy and culture of Florence during that period is
often underestimated.
[59]
Florence is regarded by some as the birthplace and earliest center of
the modern (post World War Two) fashion industry in Italy. The
Florentine "soirées" of the early 1950s organized by Giovanni Battista
Giorgini were events where several now-famous Italian designers
participated in group shows and first garnered international attention.
[60] Florence has served as the home of the Italian fashion company
Salvatore Ferragamo since 1928.
Gucci,
Roberto Cavalli, and
Emilio Pucci are also headquartered in Florence. Other major players in the fashion industry such as
Prada and
Chanel have large offices and stores in Florence or its outskirts. Florence's main upscale shopping street is
Via de' Tornabuoni, where major luxury fashion houses and jewelry labels, such as
Armani and
Bulgari,
have their elegant boutiques. Via del Parione and Via Roma are other
streets that are also well known for their high-end fashion stores.
[61]
Historical evocations
Scoppio del Carro
The
Scoppio del Carro ("Explosion of the Cart") is a celebration of the
First Crusade. During the day of Easter, a cart, which the Florentines call the
Brindellone and which is led by four white oxen, is taken to the
Piazza del Duomo between the Baptistery of
St. John the Baptist (
Battistero di San Giovanni) and the
Florence Cathedral (
Santa Maria del Fiore).
The cart is connected by a rope to the interior of the church. Near the
cart there is a model of a dove, which, according to legend, is a
symbol of good luck for the city: at the end of the Easter mass, the
dove emerges from the nave of the Duomo and ignites the fireworks on the
cart.
Calcio Storico
Calcio Storico Fiorentino ("Historic Florentine
Football"), sometimes called
Calcio in costume,
is a traditional sport, regarded as a forerunner of soccer, though the
actual gameplay most closely resembles rugby. The event originates from
the
Middle Ages,
when the most important Florentine nobles amused themselves playing
while wearing bright costumes. The most important match was played on 17
February 1530, during the
siege of Florence. That day
Papal troops
besiged the city while the Florentines, with contempt of the enemies,
decided to play the game notwithstanding the situation. The game is
played in the Piazza di
Santa Croce.
A temporary arena is constructed, with bleachers and a sand-covered
playing field. A series of matches are held between four teams
representing each
quartiere (quarter) of Florence during late June and early July.
[62]
There are four teams: Azzurri (light blue), Bianchi (white), Rossi
(red) and Verdi (green). The Azzurri are from the quarter of Santa
Croce, Bianchi from the quarter of Santo Spirito, Verdi are from San
Giovanni and Rossi from Santa Maria Novella.
Transport
|
|
This article is outdated. Please update this section to reflect recent events or newly available information. (April 2013) |
The principal public transport network within the city is run by the
ATAF and Li-nea
bus company, with tickets available at local tobacconists, bars and
newspaper stalls. Individual tickets, or a pass called the Carta Agile
with multiple rides (10 or 21), may be used on buses. Once on the bus,
tickets must be stamped (or swiped for the Carta Agile) using the
machines on board, unlike train tickets which must be validated before
boarding. The main bus station is next to Santa Maria Novella
railway station.
Trenitalia
runs trains between the railway stations within the city, and to other
destinations around Italy and Europe. The central railway station,
Santa Maria Novella railway station,
is located about 500 metres (1,600 ft) northwest of the Piazza del
Duomo. There are two other important stations: Campo Di Marte and
Rifredi. Most bundled routes are Firenze-Pisa, Firenze-Viareggio and
Firenze-Arezzo (along the main line to Rome). Other local railways
connect Florence with
Borgo San Lorenzo and
Siena.
Long distance 10 km (6.21 mi) buses are run by the SITA, Copit, CAP
and Lazzi companies. The transit companies also accommodate travellers
from the
Amerigo Vespucci Airport,
which is five kilometres (3.1 mi) west of the city centre, and which
has scheduled services run by major European carriers such as
Air France and
Lufthansa.
The centre of the city is closed to through-traffic, although buses,
taxis and residents with appropriate permits are allowed in. This area
is commonly referred to as the ZTL (
Zona Traffico Limitato), which is divided into five subsections.
[citation needed]
Residents of one section, therefore, will only be able to drive in
their district and perhaps some surrounding ones. Cars without permits
are allowed to enter after 7.30 pm, or before 7.30 am. The rules shift
during the tourist-filled summers, putting more restrictions on where
one can get in and out.
In an effort to reduce air pollution and car traffic in the city, a
multi-line tram network called Tramvia is under construction. The first
line began operation on 14 February 2010 and connects Florence's primary
intercity railway station (
Santa Maria Novella) with the southwestern suburb of
Scandicci.
This line is 7.4 kilometres long and has 14 stops. The construction of a
second line began on 5 November 2011 with an anticipated completion in
2014. This second line will connect Florence's airport with the city
centre. A third line has gained governmental approval, but has yet to
begin construction.
[63][64][65]
Railway station
Firenze Santa Maria Novella railway station is the main national and international railway station in Florence and is used by 59 million people every year.
[66] The building, designed by Giovanni Michelucci, was built in the
Italian Rationalism style and it is one of the major rationalist buildings in Italy. It is located in
Piazza della Stazione, near the Fortezza da Basso and the
Viali di Circonvallazione, and in front of the
Basilica of Santa Maria Novella's apse, from which it takes its name.
A new high-speed rail station is under construction and is contracted to be operational by 2015.
[67]
It is planned to be connected to Vespucci airport, Santa Maria Novella
railway station, and to the city centre by a line of Florence's tram
system, Tramvia, which is currently being constructed.
[68] The architectural firms
Foster + Partners and Lancietti Passaleva Giordo and Associates designed this new rail station.
[69]
Airport
Florence's
"Amerigo Vespucci" is one of two main airports in the Tuscany region, the other being
Galileo Galilei International Airport in Pisa.
Sport
Florence is represented by
ACF Fiorentina, who play in
Serie A, the top league of
Italian football. They play their games at the
Stadio Artemio Franchi. The city is home of
Coverciano, the main training ground of the
Italian national team, and the technical department of the
Italian Football Federation.
Florence has been selected to host the 2013 UCI World Road Cycling Championships.
Administration
The Mayor of Florence is Matteo Renzi (
Democratic Party, elected in June 2009).
[70]
International relations
Twin towns and sister cities
Florence is
twinned with:
 Asmara, Eritrea Arequipa, Peru[71][72] Bethlehem, West Bank[73] Budapest, Hungary Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA[74][75] Dresden, Germany[76] Edinburgh, Scotland, UK[77] Fes, Morocco Gaziantep, Turkey Isfahan, Iran- Istanbul, Turkey
|
- Kassel, Germany
 Kiev, Ukraine Kuwait City, Kuwait Kyoto, Japan[78] Malmö, Sweden[79]- Nablus, West Bank
 Nanjing, China Nazareth, Israel Pekanbaru, Indonesia- Philadelphia, United States[80]
- Providence, United States
|
|
Partnerships
Notable residents
- Sir Harold Acton, author and aesthete.
- Leone Battista Alberti, polymath.
- Dante Alighieri, poet.
- Giovanni Boccaccio, poet.
- Baldassarre Bonaiuti, 14th century chronicler
- Sandro Botticelli, painter.
- Aureliano Brandolini, agronomist and development cooperation scholar.
- Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett Browning, 19th century English poets.
- Filippo Brunelleschi, architect.
- Michelangelo Buonarroti, sculptor, painter, author of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and David.
- Francesco Casagrande, Cyclist.
- Roberto Cavalli, fashion designer.
- Enrico Coveri, fashion designer.
- Virginia Oldoini, Countess of Castiglione. Early photographic artist, Secret agent and Courtesan.
- Leonardo da Vinci, polymath
- Giotto di Bondone, early 14th century painter, sculptor and architect.
- Donatello, sculptor.
- Oriana Fallaci, journalist and author.
- Salvatore Ferragamo, fashion designer and shoemaker.
- Frescobaldi Family, notable bankers and wine producers.
- Galileo Galilei, Italian physicist, astronomer, and philosopher.
- Lorenzo Ghiberti, sculptor.
- Guccio Gucci, founder of the Gucci label.
- Pietro Pacciani, farmer, starring of the case of the Monster of Florence.
- Robert Lowell, poet.
- Niccolò Machiavelli, poet, philosopher and political thinker, author of The Prince and The Discourses.
- Masaccio, painter.
- Medici family.
- Antonio Meucci, inventor of the telephone.
- Florence Nightingale, pioneer of modern nursing, and a statistician.
- Mike Francis (musician) born Francesco Puccioni, singer and composer.
- Valerio Profondavalle, Flemish painter
- Raphael, painter.
- Girolamo Savonarola
- Giorgio Vasari, painter, architect, and historian.
- Amerigo Vespucci, explorer and cartographer, namesake of the Americas.
See also
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