itineraries per territory: Florence

Villa Caruso Bellosguardo, the House the Greatest Tenor of All Time Fell in Love with...

Villa Bellosguardo, located in Florence on the hills of Ponte a Signa, was built at the end of the sixteenth century and owes its name to its privileged position with breathtaking panoramic views; Abbot Alessandro Pucci – a man of wide learning and sophisticated tastes – commissioned architect Giovanni Antonio Dosio to design for him a paradisiac retreat, a place suitable for meditation and appropriate to satisfy the thirst for aston ...
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Roman Florence, Blessed by Mars

Tradition states that the history of Florence begins in 59 B.C. when the legions of Gaio Giulio Ceasar founded the village which they called Florentia. According to some historians, the city was founded for precise political and strategic reasons: Fiesole had been a haven for catilinarians and Giulio Ceasar wanted an outpost to check the access to and from the area. The city of Ceasar had the typical design of the Roman land surveys: square sub ...
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The City of Fiesole and the Montececeri Park

The city of Fiesole is located on a hillside on the north end of Florence, about 6 Km away from the city limits. The first settlement goes back to the year 2000 B.C., but this antique town developed mostly with the Etruscan Civilisation, present in the area from the VIII to the IV Centuries B.C. Thanks to the geographic location, Fiesole became a strategic point for communication routes between the Central/South Etruria Area and the Northern Et ...
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The Basilica of San Miniato al Monte and the Monumental Cemetery of the Porte Sante

At the top of one of the highest points in the City of Florence - Mons Fiorentinus - the Basilica of San Miniato al Monte erects. San Miniato was the first martyr of the city whom, according to legend, was an Armenian King on a pilgrimage to Rome. While passing through Florence, he refused to make a sacrifice to the Pagan Deity during the persecution of the Emperor Decio (250 A.C.) San Miniato was decapitated after a long martyrdom (he escaped f ...
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The Square and the Market Stalls of Ciompi

Piazza dei Ciompi (=Ciompi Square) is in the city center of Florence not far from the Basilica of Santa Croce. It was the home of the famous Architect Lorenzo Ghiberti (at number 11 the tablet remembers his dwelling) and was opened only in 1950 when the Loggia del Pesce was to be restored, another important piece of art belonging to another famous Painter and Architect: Giorgio Vasari. The loggia originated from Piazza della Repubblica and was ...
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Stefano Bardini: the Villa, the Garden, the Museum

The mountainside of Piazzale Michelangelo in Florence you will find the small neighbourhood called San Niccolò. It is characterized by its small suburb atmosphere, its streets studded with artisan shops, friendly locals and art ateliers. Between Via dei Bardi, Costa San Giorgio and Via dei Renai, you will also find the garden, the villa and the museum Stefano Bardini (important Florentine Antiquarian between the second half of the 1800's ...
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The Narrow Medieval Streets of The Oltrarno District

When people in Florence say “andare Oltrarno” they mean crossing the Ponte Vecchio in the opposite direction away from the Dome and walking through some narrow medieval streets, avoiding the classic tourist routes. The Oltrarno area is undoubtedly the most popular among locals and also the one that better reflects in some way, the original characteristics of the city... Here you can still visit the artisan workshops, large antique sh ...
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