A glimpse of Florence with Brunelleschi’s Dome and Giotto’s Bell Tower in the background.
F.irenze, as we know, is the Renaissance Lunapark: get on the rides and, from museum to museum, you will never want to go down. However, many do not like to cross the thresholds of the buildings that house the great collections, discouraged by long lines, ticket prices or little interested in the history of art. A free taste of the great Florentine beauty may, perhaps, make you want to embark on a glittering tour of the masterpieces of Botticelli, Michelangelo, Paolo Uccello, etc.. Here are the freely accessible places, walking through the historic center of the city of the Medici.
Walk around the most beautiful courtyard in the city
A corner of Florence.
In piazza della Signoria, enter through the main door of Palazzo Vecchio eftake a tour around Michelozzo’s courtyard (1453) very suggestive at nightfall, when the lighting enhances the cycle of stuccoes and frescoes depicting views of the cities of the then Austrian kingdom. The rich decorations were made, based on a project by Vasari, on the occasion of the wedding of Giovanna of Austria and Francesco I de ‘Medici.. In the center of the courtyard there is a porphyry fountain, built on a design by Vasari, on which it stands the Putto with Dolphin by Verrocchio. But it is a copy, the bronze original from 1470 is exhibited inside Palazzo Vecchio.
Invitation to a noble abode
The entrance to the Casa Martelli.
Strolling on the immense marble carpet
For those curious to enter a noble residence, the appointment is on Saturday morning, one step away from Piazza del Duomo, in via Zanetto 8: Martelli House visit in small groups (tour starts at 9, 10, 11 and 12) in the company of passionate and engaging guides. After the elegant staircase, the magnificent picture gallery in the rooms on the noble floor, the yellow and red halls, the private chapel and the ballroom, the surprise is guaranteed by the winter garden: the magnificent, large room with open-air effect painted walls.
The Winter Garden of the Martelli House-museum, in Florence.
In the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore you enter freely, and you walk on a spectacular polychrome marble floor, unique in the world for richness and variety of inlay design, as well as for size. But, even if captured by the perspective play of the precious polychrome geometries, it is worth looking up: the sunlight filters through the 44 stained glass-jeweled windows, originally 45, made by the glass masters of the time starting from the drawings of the most famous Renaissance artists such as Donatello, Paolo Uccello, Andrea del Castagno and Lorenzo Ghiberti, already engaged in the construction site of Santa Maria del Fiore.
In the jewel shop, following the trail of the perfume
The Green Room of the Pharmaceutical Perfume Workshop of Santa Maria Novella.
Admission costs nothing, but then it will be difficult to resist the temptation of the most fragrant shopping in the city. The Pharmaceutical Perfume Workshop of Santa Maria Novella (eu.smnovella.com/it/pages/story), in via della Scala 16, boasts 800 years of history. In 1847 the Chapel of San Niccolò was transformed into the current, spectacular, Great Sale Hall. The Gothic vault was decorated with frescoes by Paolino Sarti with the four continents and the wooden furnishings took up the fourteenth-century style, such as the long counter on which two bronze lamp holders have been placed since then. It’s not over: from the Green Room, once reserved for distinguished guests, you enter the magnificent Antica Spezieria (histouring.com/structures/antica-spezieria-santa-maria-novella), recently restored: this was the space dedicated to the sale from 1612 to 1848, and accessed from the large cloister of Santa Maria Novella. A riot of the senses, literally.
The Last Supper, before Leonardo
Before than Leonardo da Vinci painted his very famous Last Supper of Milan, some great artists such as Andrea del Sarto and Domenico Ghirlandaio they left their mark in Florence, inspiring the great master in the realization of his work. Some of the most beautiful can be visited for free: that of San Salvi by Andrea del Sarto (via di San Salvi, 16), the Cenacle of Sant’Apollonia (via XXVII Aprile, 1) and the Cenacolo del Ghirlandaio in Ognissanti (temporarily closed). A tip: before visiting, check the updated days and opening hours.
iO Donna © REPRODUCTION RESERVED