Historic Highlights Walking Tour

This magnificent cathedral and architectural wonder has become a globally recognized symbol of Florence and the artistic, religious and political turmoil engrained into the city's culture. The trail starts here because all visitors will naturally gravitate to it.

It started life in 1294 when the city's ruling religious elite felt they needed to keep pace with newly commissioned cathedrals in Sienna and Pisa. The architect Arnolfo di Cambio was given a simple brief to create the largest church in the Roman Catholic world and "surpass anything of its kind produced by the Greeks and Romans in times of their greatest powers." No pressure then!

Little wonder it was 123 years, and a few generations of architects, later that construction reached a stage where work on the dome could begin. The one minor oversight was that building had plowed ahead for more than a century without anybody figuring out how the dome could be constructed. Nobody seemed deterred when di Cambio's original scale model collapsed under its own weight. Proposed solutions included filling the cathedral with earth mixed with coins, building the dome around the mound and then inviting the population to later carry away the dirt (with the incentive of finding a few coins).

Eventually it was a goldsmith and clockmaker, Filippo Brunelleschi, who solved the dilemma with some new architectural, construction and tiling techniques. It is still the world's largest masonry dome.

There is nothing inside the Duomo to match the exterior masterpiece but you can climb between the dome's "twin shells" to a viewing platform that overlooks the city.

At ground level, the smaller and older Baptistry opposite the cathedral's entrance is famous for its Byzantine mosaics and golden doors depicting scenes from the old testament. The door panels are replicas—the original goldsmith masterpieces, dubbed the "Gates of Paradise," are in the Museo dell'Opera at the other end of the piazza.

The bell tower was another Duomo project where construction outlived the original architect. In this case Giotto, who began building in 1334, and his string of successors finished things just over a century later.

Visitors can climb the 414 steps for the city vista (it's better than the one from the dome, because it includes the dome).

The sculptures and reliefs on the outside of the tower start with humankind in original sin at the lower levels and work toward our progress to a divine state at higher levels.

This series of chapels attached to the church of San Lorenzo is the final resting place for many generations of Florence's powerful Medici family.

Theirs was a political, religious and banking dynasty. They produced four popes, owned the wealthiest bank in Europe in the 1500s and became royalty over the Republic of Florence—ruling it for more than two centuries.

On the plus side, they commissioned works by Michelangelo and other great artists of the day, helping foster the birth of the Italian Renaissance. On the negative, much of the art was commissioned to glorify their own existence (see references in POI 7, Piazza della Signoria).

The chapels illustrate the Medici wealth, power and arrogance. After passing through the crypt where 50 or so lesser Medici are buried, you enter the Cappella dei Principi (Chapel of the Princes), built as a marble mausoleum for Cosimo I and his grand duke successors. The intended centerpiece for this domed octagonal chapel was the Holy Sepulchre (tomb) of Christ, but those plans had to be compromised when the family failed in its attempts to buy or steal it from Jerusalem.

A corridor leads to the Sagrestia Nuova, a smaller chapel designed by Michelangelo and housing three tombs created by him.

Michelangelo also sketched his ideas on the walls of a small room off the Cappella dei Principi that is generally not open to the public. Ask when you buy your tickets and for a small additional fee you might be granted entry.

The Accademia has operated as an art school for more than 200 years. It has an extensive collection of works by minor artists but the main attraction here is Michelangelo's "David,", one of the most famous pieces of art from the Renaissance.

Despite relying on them for much of his livelihood, Michelangelo was no fan of the Medici and he created "David" to symbolize Florence's freedom from outside domination (during a brief period when the powerful family had been expelled from the city). The statue had to be protected from Medici supporters when it was originally positioned in the Piazza della Signoria. It largely survived those attacks but was brought to the Accademia in 1873 after suffering nearly four centuries of the outside elements.

Also worth seeking here are Michelangelo's unfinished "Slaves" and a painting attributed to Botticelli.

Tuscan food is usually described as hearty local fare done simply with quality ingredients—lots of steak (bistecca), white beans (fagioli) and wild boar (cinghiale) pasta or stews. That's fantastic if you are here in the colder months, but for summer Florence's greatest contribution to world cuisine is undoubtedly gelato.

There are dozens of great gelaterie throughout the city, but devotees of Italian ice cream regularly vote the homemade product coming from the unassuming Vivoli cafe in this unassuming street as the country's (and therefore the world's) best.

The shop must be doing something right—its been in business since the grandfather of the present owner began his own dairy, specifically for making gelato, in the 1930s.

If the Accademia has given you a taste for Renaissance sculpture, then you are going to love the collection in this former medieval prison.

With the exception of "David," the galleries here are likely to house the originals of all the famous copies that get more notice around Florence's piazzas.

Among the major pieces are works by Michelangelo, Donatello and the Mannerist Giambologna.

This expansive civic space in front of Florence's fortress-like town hall, the Palazzo Vecchio, has been a social and political meeting place since the early 1300s. If the Duomo is the center of Florentine religion, Piazza della Signoria is the heart of the city's secular life.

In 1497 this was the scene for the original famous "Bonfire of the Vanities" when the followers of the so-called Mad Monk, Girolamo Savonarola, looted the surrounding wealthy houses and burned any objects (such as art and books) that might tempt the citizens into sin. As a consequence, a year later Savonarola himself was burnt at the stake in the same spot (marked by a plaque near the fountain).

Today, the heat is mainly reserved for making coffee and meals in the piazza's many cafes but things can still get feisty on May Day, when political speakers address the crowds from the town hall terrace. However, visitors are more likely to encounter pageantry than punishment, with the square regularly the stage for street musicians and displays of local historical customs (particularly in summer).

The Palazzo Vecchio is open to the public and, given that it has been a seat of government since 1299, contains lots of art depicting Florentine propaganda and military might. The statues outside continue the same theme with the exception of the copy of Michelangelo's "David."

Most pay tribute in some way to Cosimo I, one of the Medici family and the authoritarian head of the Florentine state from 1537 to 1574. It starts with an equestrian statue of him designed to liken his power in medieval Florence with that of the Roman empire. Then comes Ammannati's Neptune fountain (mocked by Michelangelo as a waste of fine marble), which intended to highlight Cosimo's prowess as a naval commander. After the "David" we get Bandinelli's "Hercules and Cacus," designed as Cosimo's personal emblem and symbol of Florentine fortitude. More impressive, in the corner of the arched covered enclosure nearest the town hall, is a copy of Cellini's bronze of "Perseus" holding the decapitated head of Medusa. Unsurprisingly, this was also commissioned by Cosimo to symbolize the triumph of his grand ducal rule over all other forms of government.

The Uffizi holds the world's premier collection of Renaissance art. Renaissance, meaning "rebirth," was a cultural movement that began in Florence in the 14th century and spread throughout Europe for roughly the next 300 years. In essence, it revisited what was learned from the Classical period of ancient Greece and Rome but put a new emphasis on depicting the beauty of nature. Devotees such as Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci studied light, shadow and anatomy in an attempt to develop techniques and perspectives that introduced greater realism into art. This influenced other famous artists such as Botticelli, Titian, Raphael, Donatello and Caravaggio.

The Uffizi is essentially a long U-shaped corridor with a series of rooms running off it, and the gallery cleverly sets its 1,700 works out in an approximate date order so you can trace the movement's development and influence.

This unique 14th century bridge over the River Arno has been crammed with expensive jewelery shops for 500 years. It was originally filled with butchers but they were evicted by one of the Medici rulers who couldn't stand the smell. His private passageway from the Uffizi (when it was government offices) to the Pitti Palace (the family home) passed overhead.

Today, it's best admired from afar—it's not great shopping. Even the Nazis appreciated its beauty in World War II. They were blowing up bridges to slow the Allies advance but couldn't bring themselves to destroy the Ponte Vecchio—they took down either end instead.

The trail's final destination is at the end of a short climb up a hill on the edge of the city. The spectacular views are best at the beginning or end of the day (and it gets a lot of tour buses in between).

Settle down at one of the outdoor cafes for a sunset beer. Alternatively, come for a sunrise breakfast as you watch the early golden rays light up all those Tuscan tiled roofs and the bridges across the Arno.