Florence, the capital of Tuscany and city in central Italy, combines new and old in the region to perfection. With its museums, art galleries, churches and sumptuous palaces full of paintings, sculptures and other valuable artefacts, the fruits of the richest cultural flourishing in the last 1000 years, Florence is one of the cities to have the greatest artistic heritage in Europe.

The hallowed names of Florence’s mediaeval and Renaissance past (Dante, Michelangelo, Galileo, Machiavelli and many more) are still some of the most prominent in the modern day, accentuating the glory of a city which has had a profound influence on the development of Western culture.

Florence city is divided into five districts and the city centre, which is split up further because of the huge tourist interest in it, into four sections, which correspond to the mediaeval outline of the city: San Giovanni, Santa Croce, Santa Maria Novella and Santo Spirito Oltrarno.

The most touristic part of Florence is that in the north of the Arno, the river which divides the East and West of central Florence. South of the river, further on from the famous Ponte Vecchio, there is the Oltrarno district, a unique area with a traditional environment characteristic of Florence. It has a surprising number of artistic treasures, palaces, churches, basilicas, monuments, chapels, art galleries and museums, which make it one of the world’s most notable tourist destinations.

The greatest attraction to tourists lies in its marvellous works of art, but Florence is also famous for the Renaissance humanism studied by scholars and followers of classicism, a movement which has always been driven by the artists of Florence and which is always a big theme in their work.

To the north of the Arno, the city is enclosed within two main squares: the Piazza della Signoria and the Piazza del Duomo, where the Florentine sphere tends to begin. Vistitors to the city are drawn to three of its most important buildings: the Duomo, the Battistero (Florence’s oldest building) and the Campanile, one of the most beautiful mediaeval towers in the city. The exquisite Piazza della Signoria (the city meeting point) constitutes the entrance to the east of Florence, in which you will find the Galleria degli Uffizi, the world’s most complete collection of Renaissance painting. In the east of Florence, the main tourist attraction is the Santa Croce, Florence’s largest and most majestic church due to its works of art– amongst which are Fresco paintings by Giotto – and the tombs of the most eminent surnames to emerge from Florence. The church is surrounded by a district full of interesting mediaeval places, above all, in the Sant’ Ambrosio district and the streets between the church and the Piazza della Signoria.
To the north of the Piazza del Duomo, in the north of Florence, you have San Lorenzo and the Medici chapels, a church and the tombs of the Medicis, with works, amongst others, by Michelangelo. Further north there are various attractions of considerable interest: the Galleria dell’Academia (in which you can see Michelangelo’s David), the Palazzo Medici-Ricardi and the San Marco museum.

In the west of Florence you have the Santa Maria Novella, the main Florentine church after Santa Croce. On the other side on the river, in the Oltrarno, the guest to Florence can discover the Palazzo Pitti, the second main gallery after the Uffizi.

Cuisine in Florence is essentially based on the simplicity of the ingredients used. The roots lie in the culinary traditions of the people of the land, which is why it is extremely healthy, not to mention tasty. One of the region’s special dishes is bistecca alla fiorientina (a respectable-sized steak cooked over the coals and seasoned with oil and aromatic herbs) and gnocchi verdi a la gorgonzola (green gnocchi pasta with gorgonzola cheese). And you cannot leave Florence without trying wild boar sausage. Every couple of steps you take in Florence, you’ll come across pizza shops; each one of them has their own select type of pizza, although authentic Florentine pizzas have thin bases and are baked in an oven fire.