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Ponte Vecchio
If you are a guest at our Hotel Ville Sull'Arno, of course you will enjoy a front seat view of the River Arno and when taking a leisurely stroll into Florence, just turn left when exiting the Hotel and go straight on to Ponte Vecchio on the River.
The Arno River runs approximately 240 kilometers long through various provinces of Tuscany, being the largest river in the region. In the past, the city of Florence was regularly flooded by the water from this river even as recent as the famous flood of 1966. Since then new dams have been built which have greatly alleviated the risk of floods.
The original old bridge "Ponte Vecchio", which connects the right and left river banks of Florence, dates back to the Roman era and was originally done in wood built on stone piers. The medieval bridge we see today was however, done after a great flood in 1333 which destroyed the original. Rebuilt over a span of over 200 years, much of it is accredited to the Florentine architect Taddeo Gaddi.
Ponte Vecchio consists of three segmental arches with the main arch having spanning at 30 meters and the two side arches spanning at 27 meters each.
Today the bridge is characterized also by the many shops, primarily jewelry shops, that line it. This is not new though for it has been since medieval times that blacksmiths, butchers, and tanners set up shop here, catering mostly to the many soldiers who crossed it.
Commerce on the bridge took a change when the Medici family moved into the area in the later half of the 1300's not long after the devastating black plague of 1348, which radically decreased the population. For the next century, things began to change drastically due to the wealth and influence of the Medici's and by the late 1500's, the butcher shops, which led to an acceptable polluting of the river, where forced out and instead replaced by new shops consisting of primarily goldsmiths and artists. The shops and prestige of Ponte Vecchio increased continuously and around the same time, in 1565, Cosimo I de Medici had the monumental " Vasari Corridor" built by the great Florentine architect Giorgio Vasari. The corridor runs one kilometre in length above the Arno River and connects Palazzo Pitti to Palazzo Vecchio. The private and exclusive corridor, which contains an exquisite collection of art, allowed members of the Medici family to move freely between their private residence in Pitti Palace to Palazzo Vecchio.
Uffizi Palace and Gallery
The Uffizi Palace dates back to 1560, when Cosimo I of the Medici Family was in full reign in Florence. This palace, as well as many others in Florence from the same period, was done by the famous Florentine architect Giorgio Vasari and carried on by Buontalenti who designed the Tribune.
The horse shoe structure, that makes up the Uffizi, stretches from Piazza della Signoria to the Arno and is connected by a passageway to Palazzo Vecchio, also in the same Piazza. It is then connected to Pitti Palace by the Vasari Corridor which passes above the Arno River.
The word Uffizi means offices and in fact, the palace was built to house the offices of the judges who administered government in Florence. The offices are found all above ground level on a second floor whereas on the first floor ground level, art workshops and studios were created for local artisans who worked with materials in glass, ceramics, metals and stones.
The Uffizi Palace also hosts an art Gallery that was originally created to gather the numerous paintings, mostly accumulated by the Medici family found, around the palace. The Uffizi Gallery, opened to the public in the 16th century, is now one of the most famous, and oldest, art museums in the world. Its creation began with Francesco I of the Medici's when he enclosed the Gallery on the second floor, with huge windows and began the arrangement of the collection, acquired over the years by the Grand Ducal, which included statues, paintings, jewelry, weapons, medals, and instruments.
World renowned artists like Cimabue, Giotto, Caravaggio, Raphael, Botticelli, and Michelangelo have their painting exhibited here.
Palazzo Vecchio
Set in Piazza della Signoria in the historical center of Florence, the Gothic Palazzo Vecchio is one of the most admired municipal buildings in all of Tuscany. Once called Palazzo Signoria, as like the piazza it sits in, Palazzo Vecchio has also been called by other names throughout the times including Palazzo del Popolo (People's palace), Palazzo dei Priori ( Priors Palace), and Palazzo Ducale (Ducal Palace).
Its role, however, has always been that of a government building serving as a seat for numerous leaders.
The plan of Palazzo Vecchio was designed in 1299 by Arnolfo di Cambio, noted Florentine architect and sculptor and designer of the famous Florence Dome, but carried out and finished by other architects and artists after his death in 1310.
It was originally built on the ruins of two other palaces found in the piazza, Palazzo dei Fanti and Palazzo dell'Esecutore di Giustizia owned by the Florentine Uberti family.
An ancient bell tower that existed as well, was built into the facade of Arnolfo's plan and accordingly named Torre d'Arnolfo after the architect himself.
After its beginning, Palazzo Vecchio also saw its share of major renovations throughout the years the first being in 1440 under Cosimo I of the Medici's adding renaissance decorations to one of the halls and the first courtyard designed by Michelozzo. During the Republic era under the Savonarola, the Hall of Five Hundred was put in.
When Cosimo I decided to take up residence here between 1540 and 1550, he had the artist Giorgio Vasari enlarge the palace almost doubling it in size with the new addition in the back. When Cosimo moved to the grander Pitti Palace, he officially changed the name to Palazzo Vecchio (meaning old palace). The palace also includes an over hanging walkway which leads to the Uffizi, going over Ponte Vecchio and to Pitti Palace.
Later, when Florence had become the capital of the kingdom of Italy, Palazzo Vecchio regained importance. Today it remains a symbol of local government and still houses the office of the mayor and the City Council.
Much of the building today is a museum which can be visited by the public. A replica of Michelangelo's David stands outside the entrance. The original was moved to the Academia Gallery in the late 1800's. Next to the David find the statue of Hercules and Cacus done by Baccio Bandinelli.
The first floor is composed of 3 courtyards, with the monumental stairs among them done by Vasari to sustain the second floor. The most imposing chamber in Palazzo Vecchio is the Salone dei Cinquecento, decorated with exquisite frescoes depicting battles of Florence over Siena and Pisa and ceilings painted by Vasari and his pupils. The studiolo is also found on the first floor along with the "Quartieri monumentali" (monumental quarters) These rooms are used by the mayor and his staff and are not accessible to the public.
The second floor contains the Apartments of the Elements, Terrace of Saturn, The Hercules Room, the room of Jupiter, the Room of Cybele, The Ceres Room, the Sala Verde (green room) called so because of the color of the walls, the Room of the Sabines, called so because of the ceiling decoration, the Dining Room, the Room of Penelope, the Private Chambers of Eleanor, the Sala dell'Udienza (Audience chamber), the Chapel of the Signoria, dedicated to Saint Bernard, the Sala dell'Orologio, the Stanza del Guardarobe known as the Hall of Wardrobe and Geographical maps where the Grand Dukes kept their precious belongings and the walls are decorated with maps of esteemed value and scientific interest, the Old Chancellery, and the Study used by Cellini for restoration work on the treasures of the Medici princes.
Piazza della Signoria
Piazza della Signoria is found in the heart of the historical center of Florence and id one of the most visited piazzas of the city by both tourists and locals alike. The creation of this L-shaped square dates back to 1268 when the Guelph party gained control again over the Ghilbelines who dominated Florence up until 1250. The two parties, which divided Florence, had been fighting for power since 1215. Before then, in the original Roman town called Florentia, the square was already popular and included a theater, roman baths, and various workshops discovered from excavations in the 1980's.
So, in 1268, the Guelphs tore down all property of their rivals on the site including the towers which belonged to the Foraboschi and Uberti familes, and the land remained neglected up until 1385 when it was paved for the first time.
The piazza gets its name from the dominating palace found there; Palazzo della Signoria, now called Palazzo Vecchio. The palace was designed by Arnolfo Di Cambio at the turn of the 1300th century for government offices. The piazza is also noted for the famous Bonfire of the Vanities, not the film by Brian De Palma, but the burning of what were considered vanities like books, fine clothing, art and poetry in 1497 by the Dominican priest Girolamo Savonarola and his followers. The priest, who ruled Florence from 1452 to 1498 was later burned in the same spot where he held the fire marked in front of the fountain of Neptune by a marble plaque.
The L-shaped square hosts other famous buildings including the Uffizi and Loggia dei Lanzi with 15 gothic statues lining the roof, the most noted being that of Benvenuto Cellini's Perseus with the head of Medusa in hand.
Other statues worth noting in Piazza della Signoria include a replica of David by Michelangelo (the original was moved to the Academia Gallery in 1873), and the equestrian statue of Cosimo I de'Medici.
Florence Dome and Cathedral
The picture perfect symbol of Florence, the Cupola of the Cathedral of Florence, Santa Maria del Fiore, is without a doubt the most noted monument in Florence.
The Cathedral we see today, is the third cathedral built on the same sight of the original two, dedicated to Santa Reparata which remained active in Florence for nine centuries, until orders were given to demolish it in 1375 because, although it was big, it was too small for the population of what the city had become.
Designed by the architect Arnolfo Di Cambio in 1296, the dome was not entirely completed until 1462 due to problems with the original plan by Di Cambio. The original cupola that he had designed was not able to sustain the enormous cathedral, with its 45 meter roof space, with the usual method of permanent scaffolding. The problem was resolved by Brunelleschi in 1418, when he had already been working on the project for nearly 9 years, after winning a competition with his shrewd expertise in construction techniques used by the ancient Romans. His final inspiration came from his study of the cupola on the Pantheon which was also carried out with a double wall without scaffolding. The requisites were that it had to be octagonal, measure 46 metres in diameter at the base, built without scaffolding and appear to be at least double in size.
In 1423, when he was 46 yrs. old, his design won and he was given complete charge of finishing it.
The task, which formed the basis of Renaissance architecture, was carried out by Brunelleschi and was finished in 1434, later completed by the lantern in 1436 and the four tribunes in the apse shortly after in 1438. Applications on the lantern were made in 1461 and the great copper sphere, cast in the workshop of renown Florentine sculptor Andrea Verriocchio, was placed on the top in 1474.
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