In the 1700's, Voltaire wrote that the Renaissance in Italy marked one of mankind's greatest cultural achievements. Today, Italy has the most, and best preserved, Renaissance art in the world. Venice, Milan and Rome boast many well-known masterpieces from this age of enlightenment. However, the largest concentration of high art and architecture of Renaissance Italy, hence of the world, is in Florence. To travel in Florence is to truly take a trip back in time, to the age of discovery, when mankind passed from the darkness of the Middle Ages to a time of luxury, increased artistic freedom and scientific advancement.
Museums in Florence
The museums seem endless, from the Uffizi with Botticelli's Birth of Venus and the Galleria dell' Accademia with Michelangelo's David, to smaller, lesser-known museums such as the Museo Archeologico and Museo di Storia della Scienza.
Leonardo Da Vinci is a classic example of a Renaissance artist in Italy, and his scientific theories and research are as interesting as are his masterpieces. Indeed, the bottom floor of the Uffizi is currently given over to an examination of Da Vinci's scientific research as it relates to his artistic genius. And, of course, the Uffizi has had Da Vinci's "Adoration of the Magi" on display since 1670.
The Museo di Firenze Com' era, or "Florence as it was," houses many ancient hand-drawn maps and prints, from Roman to Renaissance Florence. Five centuries later, some structures are still standing. Of special interest, and available for viewing, are prints of unfinished facades of The Duomo and Santa Croce.
Architecture in Florence
The architecture of
Florence is classically medieval, with its narrow pedestrian-friendly streets flanked by buildings dating from both the medieval and Renaissance eras. The grid-like layout harkens back to the Romans who first planned
Firenze.
The most prominent Florentine family in the 15th century was the Medici family, bankers who were known for their patronage of the arts. The Medici influence is evident everywhere in Florence, building upon building. The Medici tombs can be viewed in the Augustine Church of San Lorenzo, behind the Medici Palace in Florence. Michelangelo, Donatello, and renaissance sculptor and architect Brunelleschi all worked on this church, paid for by the Medici family. The Medici Palace itself, built in 1444, features a Renaissance courtyard with the Medici coat of arms and a chapel in the open first floor.
In the center of Florence is Il Duomo; you can't miss it. The Duomo was started in 1290 or so, and not completed until 1418, when Brunelleschi finished the world-famous dome. The museum at the Duomo, Museo dell'Opera del Duomo, houses many great works of renaissance art, the most famous of which is probably Michelangelo's Pieta.
The Santa Maria Novello church, near the train station, is often the first stop for those who travel by bus or train. With its frescoes and Renaissance facade, the Santa Maria Novello is a great place to start exploring the architecture of Florence.
The Boboli gardens, or Giardino di Boboli, is a massive green area on the west side of the Arno River. Cross the Arno at the Ponte Vecchio, a bridge which was built in 1345 and was home to butchers and their stock until the Medici family ordered them to removed (can you imagine the smell?). Today the Ponte Vecchio hosts many jewelry and leather shops. There are non-commercial bridges, for those who want to avoid temptation en route to the Boboli Gardens and the Palazzo Pitti.
The Palazzo Pitti is an architectural wonder, designed by Brunelleschi, and abutting the Boboli Gardens. The Palazzo Pitti is home to two world-class museums, the Galleria Palatina and the Appartamenti Monumentali.
Clearly, it is impossible to separate art and architecture in Florence, or Italy as a whole. Art and architecture were as tied together in Renaissance Italy as were their creators, and the philanthropy of the Medici family.
