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City guide · Italy
Florence holds 361,625 residents and the visitor numbers of a far larger place, and that compression is the whole experience. The Roman colony of 59 BC was laid out like an army camp, and its right angles still govern a historic centre that has been a UNESCO site since 1982 and can be walked across without hurrying. The Arno splits it, the Uffizi on the north bank and Palazzo Pitti on the south, a few minutes apart over the bridges. Standard Italian is the Florentine dialect, carried out of these same few streets by the writers who lived in them. Rome is 275 km to the southeast.
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The Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore is the cathedral of Florence and the church the whole of Piazza del Duomo is arranged around.
The Galleria dell'Accademia di Firenze is a state museum on Via Ricasoli, ten minutes' walk north of the Duomo, and it exists in its present form because of one statue.
Palazzo Vecchio is the fortified town hall on the north side of Piazza della Signoria, and it is still exactly that: the city's museum service calls it the monument that symbolises Florence and the seat of its government for more…
The Baptistery of San Giovanni stands free in Piazza San Giovanni, directly in front of the cathedral facade, and it is the older of the two buildings by several centuries.
Palazzo Pitti is a single enormous palace on the south bank of the Arno that now holds five museums and a chapel under one ticket.
Ponte Vecchio is the oldest surviving bridge over the Arno and the only one in Florence still built up with shops. A crossing has stood on this spot since Roman Florentia.
Santa Croce is the Franciscan mother church of Florence and the largest Franciscan church in the world.
The Boboli Gardens climb the hillside directly behind Pitti Palace and run south along the line of the old city walls as far as Porta Romana.
The Museo dell'Opera del Duomo is the storehouse and the explanation of the buildings standing outside its own door.
The Basilica di San Lorenzo stands on its own square a short walk north-west of the Duomo, and the Opera Medicea Laurenziana, the body that runs it, describes it as the oldest cathedral in Florence: the first building raised for…
Set your days, your pace and the hours you actually want to be out. The planner works around closing days and travel time, and leaves room to eat.
