CENTRE
OF THE WORLD
Art and history a jump in the Renaissance Florence, in the region
of Tuscany, is the main city after which the province is named. It
rises on the banks of the Arno in a vast plain surrounded by the
Careggi, Fiesole, Settignano, Arcetri and Bellosguardo hills. The
river divides the city into two parts. The local economy is based
on tourism, industry (textiles and clothes, metalwork, optics, chemistry,
pharmaceuticals, glass and ceramics) and on Florentine handicrafts(embroidery,
jewellry, products made from straw).
The climate is temperate but rather variable, with humid and breezy
winters characterized by periods of intense cold, and hot and muggy
summers. is a beautiful cathedral. The church is lit up beautifull
in the night sky, and you can catch elusive glimpses of it as you
climb the tribillion stairs to get up there (of course you can take
the escalator, but that costs money! long, 40 to 76 yard wide ribbon
of water,
wending its way from San Marco to the Stazione Ferroviaria Santa Lucia like an inverted letter S, it was, and to some extent still is, the Fifth Avenue
of Venice. It was here from the 14th to 18th centuries, that the
city's richest families lived, building for themselves a series of
magnificient Venitian Gothic and Renaissance palaces. Here, the combination
of being surrounded by water and the most opulent, luxurious, and
fantastic efforts of a people obsessed with opulence, luxury, and
fantasy has created a seemingly endless unfolding panorama of unique
architectural richness. It makes sense to attempt little more at
first than to sample, to breathe in, the unparalleled magnificence
of the GRAND CANAL, letting it wash over you- only metaphorically, of course; it may not be deep (average depth is 9 ft)
but it's very dirty.
Duomo
Situated in Piazza San Giovanni in front of the ancient basilica
of Santa Reparata, the gothic cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore
was begun in 1296 by Arnolfo di Cambio and was consecrated in 1436.
The exterior was finished in the second half of the fourteenth century,
perhaps by Francesco Talenti. The contrast between the main body
of the nave and the octagonal end section is quite notable. The grandious
structure of the dome, 114 meters high, shows a magnificent architectural
plasticity that greatly surpasses the limits of the gothic. The dome
was finished in 1436 according to Brunelleschi's plans. On the sides
of the church, the "Almond
Door" (relief by Nanni di Banco) and the "Canonical Door" are especially worth noting. The present facade, a modest work by De Fabris,
was done in 1887. Arnolfo's original facade was demolished in the
sixteenth century, but fragments of his sculptures remain in the
Museum of the Works of the Duomo. The interior, in the shape of a
Latin cross with three naves, is of the purest and most majestic
lines. Among the numerous works of art, the frescoes done for G.
Acuto (by Paolo Uccello) and for Niccolo da Tolentino (by Andrea
del Castagno) are especially noteworthy. The windows by Paolo Uccello,
Andrea del Castagno, Ghiberti and Donatello are also very beautiful.
The polychrome marble flooring, completed between the sixteenth and
the seventeenth centuries, is attributed to Baccio d'Agnolo and Francesco da Sangallo.
