Florence & the best of Tuscany Guide
Introduction to Florence
Since the early nineteenth century, Florence has been celebrated as the epitome of everything that is beautiful in Italy: Stendhal staggered around the city's medieval streets in a stupor of delight, the Brownings sighed over its charms and E.M. Forster's A Room with a View portrayed it as the great antidote to the bloodless sterility of Anglo-Saxon life. For most visitors, first impressions tend to confirm the myth, the stupendous dome of Florence's cathedral visible over the rooftops from afar.
Of course, the wonders of Florence are nowadays accessible to millions, which means that in high season the sheer number of tourists at the major sights is overwhelming – the Uffizi, for instance, is all but impossible to get into unless you've pre-booked your tickets in advance. And yet such is the wealth of monuments and artistic treasures here, it's impossible not to find the experience an enriching one. Tuscany was the powerhouse of what has come to be known as the Renaissance, and Florence is the supreme monument to European civilization's major evolutionary shift into modernity.
The development of this new sensibility can be plotted stage by stage in the vast picture collection of the Uffizi, and charted in the sculpture of the Bargello, the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo and the guild church of Orsanmichele. During the fifteenth century, the likes of Brunelleschi and Alberti began to transform the cityscape of Florence, raising buildings that were to provide generations of architects with examples to follow. Every quarter of Florence can boast a church or collection worth an extended call, and the enormous Palazzo Pitti constitutes a museum district on its own with half a dozen museums gathered here.
Though there are sights enough to fill a month, to enjoy a visit fully it's best to ration yourself to a couple each day and spend the rest of your time strolling and involving yourself in the life of the city. The city has some excellent restaurants, clubs and café-bars amid the tourist joints, as well as the biggest and liveliest markets in Tuscany and plenty of high-quality shops.