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
in the 1st century BC the Roman colony of Florentia
was founded 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. |
Over
the centuries the city will be enriched by architectural and artistic
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 ... |
