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Florence - Its Art and history

Florence is called the capital of arts; according to statistics produced by UNESCO, 60% of the world's most important works of art are located in Italy and approximately half of these are in Florence.

Florence contains an exceptional artistic heritage, a great testimony to its secular civilization. Cimabue and Giotto, the fathers of Italian painting, lived here, along with Arnolfo and Andrea Pisano, reformists of architecture and sculpture; Brunelleschi, Donatello and Masaccio, founders of the Renaissance; Ghiberti and the Della Robbia; Filippo Lippi and l'Angelico; Botticelli and Paolo Uccello; and of course the universal geniuses Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. Their works, along with those of many generations of artists up to the masters of the present century, are displayed in the city's many museums.

In Florence, thanks to Dante, the Italian language was born.  It was in Florence that Petrarch and Boccaccio two early explorers of literary studies came; with Humanism the philosophy and values of classical civilization were revived; with Machiavelli modern political science was born; with Guicciardini came historical prose; and with Galileo, modern experimental science. Up to the time of Charlemagne, Florence was a university town. Today it includes many specialized institutes and is an international cultural center. Academies, art schools, scientific institutes and cultural centres all contribute to the city's intense intellectual activity.

Italian art has engendered great public interest and involvement, resulting in the consistent making of famous and spectacular works.  Italian art has nearly always been closely allied with the intellectual and/or religious events of its day while retaining its own remarkable past as a continual source of inspiration.

From the 13th to the 16th century it was a seemingly endless source of creative masterpieces and Italian genius. Both Dante and Michelangelo were born here. Boccaccio wrote his 'Decameron' in Florence. The Italian Renaissance, Europe's richest cultural period, began in Florence when the artist Brunelleschi finished the Duomo, with the huge dome.

During the Italian Renaissance Florence acquired its renaissance palaces and squares, turning it into a living museum. Many squares, such as Piazza della Signoria exhibit famous statues and fountains. Florence is also a city of incomparable indoor pleasures. Its chapels, galleries and museums are an inexhaustible treasure, capturing the complex, often elusive spirit of the Renaissance more fully than any other place in the country. The most famous museum in Florence is the Uffizi which houses works by Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Titian and Rubens. Other great art museums include the Pitti Palace, Galleria dell'Accademia and Palazzo Vecchio. Florence is also home to some of the biggest churches in Italy, including the famous Duomo of Florence, San Lorenzo, Santa Maria Novella and Santa Croce.

If you are interested in art and history then Florence awaits you. View the masterpieces, breathe the air that seems filled with history, come to the city that  is famous for its art - Florence !

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