Things to do in Florence

Florence Cathedral is a major church of Florence in Italy. This historic church has three huge bronze doors which are beautifully adorned with scenes from Medona’s life. The beautiful mosaics above the doors were created by the famous artist, Niccolo Barabino. The church was built with public funds and as the Gothic interior is extremely spacious, it therefore, looks almost empty. The most significant art works in this church pay tribute to the common man and military officers of Florence. One of the most notable art works of this church happens to be ‘Dante before the City of Florence’. This painting incorporates scenes from the epic Divine Comedy along with an imaginative view of Florence back in 1465. The church is also particularly famous for its magnificent 44 stained glass windows which happen to be the biggest undertaking of Italy back in the 14th century. The windows in the transept and in the aisles depict the historic saints from the New and Old Testament, whereas the circular windows of the dome reflect Mary and the Christ. The circular window depicting ‘Christ crowning Mary’ was designed by the famous artist Gaddo Gaddi in the 14th century. Therefore, the historic Florence Cathedral must be visited for a rich historical and religious experience.

The historic Uffizi Gallery is one of the most significant museums of the world. This gallery is located in central Florence in the region of Tuscany in Italy. The museum conserves unique masterpieces and artworks within its premises and the majority of them happen to be from the ancient Renaissance Period. The Uffizi Gallery houses astounding art works from the great Italian artists such as Giotto, Leonardo Da Vinci, Botticelli, Cimabue, Raffaello and a lot more. The great collection of art work majorly belongs to the period between 12th and 17th centuries. This gallery is visited by almost a million visitors on a yearly basis. The Uffizi is one of the most visited museums of Italy and people usually have to wait in queue for hours at the museum’s entrance. Some of the most famous artworks of the gallery are the Annunciation, Adoration of the Magi, Santa Trinita Maesta, Rucellai Madonna, The Battle of San Romano, Lamentation of Christ, Madonna with the Long Neck, Judith and the Holofernes, Bacchus, Sacrifice of Issac, Medusa, The Birth of Venus and a lot more. This amazing art collection also contains some magnificent ancient sculptures, for instance, the Two Wrestlers and the Arrotino. The Uffizi Gallery is a must-visit destination for all the art lovers out there!

The Ponte Vecchio is an ancient medieval stone, segmental arch closed-spandrel bridge which is present over the river Arno, in Florence in Italy. The bridge is famous for the numerous shops built around it. Butchers occupied these shops initially, but the present tenants happen to be art dealers, jewelers and the souvenir sellers. These shops are a main tourist attraction at the bridge. The two neighboring bridges of Ponte Vecchio are the Ponte Alle Grazie and the Pontes Anta Trinita. The bridge contains three segmental arches. Each one of the two side arches span 27 meters, whereas, the main arch has a span of almost 30 meters. The rise of these arches is between 3.5 and 4.5 meters and the span-to-rise ratio happens to be 5.1. In order to pay tribute to the master goldsmith and the great Florentine sculptor Benvenuto Cellini, the renowned goldsmiths of this bridge commissioned a famous Florentine sculptor Raffaello Romanelli to design a bronze bust of Cellini which would stand at the top of the fountain, right in the center of the bridge’s eastern side. This development enhanced the bridge’s attraction by many folds.The Ponte Vecchio must be visited for its mesmerizing beauty and rich historic value.