FLORENCE
OUTLINE. The origin of Florence is very ancient.
First foundation goes back to the 8th century BC, when on the bank
of the Arno a flourishing Etruscan civilization is formed. Then
the roman colony of Florentia was founded during
the 1st century BC over the earlier Etruscan settlement, and preserved
till the Middle Age its ancient urban plane, made up of squared-off
and uniform lines. Florence becomes a free commune in 1115, and
due to its growing importance the city walls will be extended three
times to include the Oltrarno area.
After the first churches and the Baptistery (faced in polycrome
marble according the dictates of the Romanesque style), a large
number of tower-houses and palaces were built, symbols of the power
of the florentine families such as the Medici family, under the
long supremacy of which the city continued flourishing in many fields. |
In
architecture, we see jewels of incomparable beauty (13th-16th century):
Palazzo Vecchio, the Duomo, the Bargello, the Campanile of Giotto
were built following the Gothic style as well as numerous palaces.
The churches of Santa Croce and Santa Maria Novella. Monuments are
inspired by classical art, geometric laws and perspective. Brunelleschi's
genius created the magnificent Cupola (dome) of the Duomo, Santo
Spirito, San Lorenzo, the Pazzi Chapel. Florence was the capital
af Renaissance, rich in artworks. The 16th-17th century was the
period of Leonardo, Michelangelo, Caravaggio, and later, of the
baroque style. Many great artists lived in Florence whose genius
can be found in literature, architecture, sculpture and painting:
Cimabue (1240-1302), Dante (1265-1321), Giotto (1266-1337), Brunelleschi
(1377-1446), Donatello (1386-1466), Masaccio (1401-1428), Botticelli
(1445-1510), Vasari, Leonardo (1452-1519), Michelangelo (1475-1564)
and many others ... |
