Tourist attractions Settignano

The best way of discovering Tuscany, renowned for its beautiful light and landscape, is the road from Florence to Fiesole. It skirts hillsides covered in olive groves, cypresses and terraced gardens as each bend in the road reveals yet another incomp..

A fine example of medieval architecture, the 13C Palazzo del Podestà has a remarkable courtyard, one of Italy’s finest with a striking décor in the form of the coats of arms belonging to Florence’s senior magistrates (whose residence this was). It ..

The Romanesque church of St Reparata (the substructure, built on Paleo-Christian vestiges, can be seen in the Duomo crypt) was deemed too modest for such an important city as Florence. Consequently, work on a cathedral began in 1296 to plans by Arno..

Topped by a fine 94m-high bell tower, this huge building dominates its square. Built between 1299 and 1315 to designs by Arnolfo de Cambio, this uncompromising Gothic structure was initially seat of the Signoria. It became Cosimo I’s residence in the..

Standing 82m high, Giotto’s slender bell tower illustrates the originality of Florentine Gothic and the significance given to horizontal lines and geometric decoration. While the plans and decorative scheme were Giotto’s work, it fell to Andrea Pisan..

Begun by Brunelleschi in 1420 close to the Palazzo Medici (this was the illustrious family’s parish church and place of burial). Inside, the architect’s break from Gothic tradition and inauguration of the classic Florentine Renaissance style can be s..

“My handsome St John”: such were the words of Dante in describing the baptistry dedicated to St John the Baptist, patron saint of the city. During the Middle Ages St John the Baptist's image featured on the famous gold florin coin. Clad in sombre whi..

At the heart of the city, the duomo together with the campanile and the baptistry form an extraordinary white, green and pink marble ensemble, bearing witness to the evolution of Florentine art from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance. Built in ..

This is one of the world’s greatest museums. Its collections trace the evolution of Italian painting from the earliest days to the 17C. The museum is located in the old Uffizi palace, the seat of Medici Florence’s bureaucrats. Built by Vasari in 15..

Located in the heart of the Palazzo Pitti, the Galleria Palatina houses an extraordinary array of 16C-18C paintings including a fine collection of works by Raphael (the Veiled Lady , the Madonna of the Grand Duke , the Madonna della Seggiola )..

The main focus of interest in Florence’s Carmelite church (damaged by fire in the 18C) is an extraordinary series of frescoes decorating the walls of the Brancacci Chapel, situated at the end of the south transept (which luckily survived the fire)...

The museum contains objects and artworks primarily from Etruscan sites and necropolises, plus important Egyptian, Greek and Roman collections. Note in particular the Chimera (early 4C BC) by an Etruscan workshop from the Chiusi or Arezzo region and..

Two cloisters to the right of the church lead to the Pazzi Chapel and the Sante Croce museum . The first, running alongside the church aisle, has a closed gallery containing gravestones and tombs. It is separated by convent buildings from the gre..

The convent was built for the Dominicans in the 15C by Michelozzo, on the orders of Cosimo the Elder. It has works by Fra Angelico (note the Annunciation gracing the staircase), who decorated each cell with a fresco. While the artist certainly ..

This Franciscan church was begun in 1295 to the designs of Arnolfo di Cambio, but the neo-Gothic façade dates from the 19C. The inside is composed of the chancel and ten elegant frescoed chapels. Note the Bardi Chapel , decorated with scenes from t..

The Accademia is remarkable for its collection of sculpture by Michelangelo : four slaves intended to embellish the tomb of Pope Julius II in Rome, a Pietà known as La Palestrina (an early work) and, beneath a cupola, his great David , create..

The cathedral museum is as essential a visit as the campanile, baptistry or cathedral itself, since many sculptures and objects from these buildings are displayed here. Art lovers will be delighted by its multiple masterpieces by great figures such a..

Slightly away from the city, the Hill Promenade offers superb glimpses of the city from the Oltrarno. Above Michelangelo Esplanade , the 11 and 12C Romanesque church of San Miniato is reached by a twisting, winding road. It was built in memory o..

In 1444, Michelozzo was commissioned by Cosimo the Elder to build this palace, which was to form the backdrop for the brilliant humanist court of his grandson Lorenzo il Magnifico. The building’s exterior gives little indication as to the splendour w..

Founded by Cosimo the Elder, this library was extended by Lorenzo il Magnifico. The entrance is through an entrance on the left side in the church of San Lorenzo or through the delightful 15C cloisters (entrance to the left of the church). Its en..