City: Tuscany
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Things to do in Tuscany, Italy: The Best Historic Walking Areas
Tuscany (/ˈtʌskəni/ TUSK-ə-nee; Italian: Toscana, pronounced [toˈskaːna]) is a region in central Italy with an area of about 23,000 square kilometres (8,900 square miles) and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants (2013). The regional capital is Florence (Firenze).
Restaurants in Tuscany
1. Ex Stazione di Fornello
2. Sillico
3. Borgo Medioevale di Monticchiello
4. Svizzera Pesciatina
5. Piazza del Duomo
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 22,224 reviews
This large city square contains the Basilica of Santa Maria del Fiore, the third largest cathedral in the world after St. Peter's in Rome and St. Paul's in London.
Reviewed By andrewjA7047IT - Newark, United States
This was a simply breathtaking stop on our tour of northern Italy. I had seen pictures of the cathedral of Florence and knew a bit of the history, but nothing could have prepared me for seeing it in person. The structure is simply massive and incredibly ornate. The detail of marble on the outside is magnificent and the fresco on the grand dome on the inside is awe-inspiring. This is a must see!
6. Knights’ Square
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 1,770 reviews
Walking around this central square, one can find the Palace of the Scuola Normale of Pisa, the Church of S. Stefano and the Palace of the Orologio, where Count Ugolino della Gherardesca was imprisoned and condemned to die, as narrated by Dante in the Divine Comedy.
Reviewed By travelsafer
This is the second most beautiful Piazza in Pisa, after the Piazza dei Miracoli, in my opinion. The shape of this square is that of a trapezoid. The main building is the Palazzo della Carovana, now Scuola Normale Superiore founded by Napoleon, which currently serves as extension of the local university. There are 2 churches and other historic buildings that beautifully sorround the square.
7. Porta all'Arco
8. Piazza della Signoria
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 16,857 reviews
Since its beginning during the Middle Ages, the Piazza della Signoria has been the political heart of the city.
Reviewed By asiyahnoemik - Pula, Croatia
The Piazza della Signoria is the main political center of the former Florence Republic, and today one of the two most famous squares in Florence. It is surrounded by sights such as Palazzo Vecchio, Uffizi Gallery, Loggia dei Lanzi, which houses a statue of Perseus holding Medusa's head in his hand, and several city palaces like the Palace of the Tribunale della Mercanzia (1359) (now the Bureau of Agriculture), and the Palazzo Uguccioni (1550, with a facade attributed to Raphael). The Piazza della Signoria was the scene of great triumphs, such as the return of the Medici in 1530 as well as the Bonfire of the Vanities instigated by Savonarola, who was then himself burned at the stake here in 1498 after he was denounced by the Inquisition as a heretic. A marble circle inscription on the piazza shows the location where he was burned. There is also a monument to the Duke of Florence, Cosimo I.(Giambologna's equestrian statue of Duke Cosimo I (1595) is an elegant portrait of the man who brought all of Tuscany under Medici military rule), the Neptune Fountain, and a magnificent sculpture of Michelangelo's David (which is become one of the most recognized works of Renaissance sculpture, a symbol of strength and youthful beauty), which is actually a copy, while the original is kept in the Academy (Galleria dell'Accademia), Bandinelli's sculptures of Hercules and Cacus (1534) to the right of the David was appropriated by the Medici to show their physical power after their return from exile. The square is named after the Palazzo della Signoria, which is another name for the Palazzo Vecchio, the 'old palace', which is also the city hall. The construction of the palace began at the end of the 13th century, and was adorned with the shape of a real fortress with a prominent tower, which wanted to show the importance and power of the then Republic. In the past, the bell inside the tower called for citizens to gather when threatened by fire, flood or enemy attack. The feeling is wonderful when we look at these wonderful palaces, sculptures and when we know the history of this beautiful square.
9. San Gimignano 1300
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 703 reviews
This is the town of San Gimignano, re-created in miniature, as it appeared in medieval times. It is accompanied by historical dioramas and a fascinaating timeline of the town's history.A new and exciting activity through the streets of the medieval town, solving puzzles, riddles and pitfalls.The protagonists will receive a kit that includes a map of the city as it was in the 1300s, a pen and a 14 page booklet where they will find not only the riddles for the hunt but also detailed explanations on all the towers that still exist today,on the 4 “Contrade” or neighborhoods and the most important families of that period.The treasure hunt is available in Italian, English and French.
Reviewed By dantefortysix - Cleveland, United States
This exhibit was clearly made with love and historical expertise. Today San Gimignano, said to be Italy's most perfectly preserved medieval hill town, has only 14 of its original 75 family towers built in the 13th and 14th centuries. This exhibit, based on some of the city's oldest records, is a model reconstruction of what the city was like around the year 1300. Just fascinating!
10. Centro Storico
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 5,165 reviews
That part of Florence situated between Piazza San Marco, Piazza Santa Maria Novella, Santa Croce, and Santo Spirito, filled with up-scale and expensive shops.
Reviewed By asiyahnoemik - Pula, Croatia
Dante Alighieri's fantastic verses describe all the beauty of Florence. “E come l’volger del ciel della luna / cuopre e riscopre i liti sanza posa, / così fa di Fiorenza la Fortuna: / per che non dee parer mirabil cosa / ciò ch’io dirò delli alti Fiorentini / onde è la fama nel tempo nascosa.” (Dante Alighieri). "And as he loved the moonlit sky / covering and rediscovering it, he doesn't argue / so does Fortune's Fiorenza: / for which it doesn't seem miraculous / what shall I say about the high Florentines / waves of hidden time." (Dante Alighieri). The fantastic Florence was built at an Etruscan settlement and at the subsequent ancient Roman colony, Florentia (founded in 59 BC). This Tuscan city became one of the symbols of the Renaissance during the early Medici period (between the 15th and 16th centuries), reaching extraordinary levels of economic and cultural development. The Historic Center of Florence brings an exceptional testimony, both as a merchant city of the Middle Ages and as a Renaissance city. The 700 years of extraordinary cultural and artistic flourishing in Florence are clearly visible in the fourteenth-century cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, in the Church of Santa Croce, in the Palazzo Vecchio, the Uffizi Gallery and the Pitti Palace.The history of the city is even more evident in the works of art of great masters such as Giotto, Brunelleschi, Botticelli and Michelangelo. The historic center of Florence can be perceived as a center of singular social and urban relevance, the result of a persistent and lasting creativity that affects museums, churches, palaces and works of art of immeasurable value. Florence has preserved intact streets, fortified buildings ( Palazzo Strozzi, Palazzo Spini, Palazzo del Podestà, Palazzo della Signoria), loggias (Loggia del Bigallo, Loggia dei Lanzi, Loggia degli Innocenti and Mercato Nuovo), fountains and Ponte Vecchio, the wonderful 14th century bridge century lined with shops. The trades, organized in guilds, have left exceptional monuments such as Orsanmichele. From the fourteenth to the seventeenth century Florence exercised strong economic and political power in Europe. During this period, prestigious buildings were built that testify to the magnificence of its bankers and its principles: Palazzo Rucellai, Palazzo Strozzi, Palazzo Gondi, Palazzo Medici-Riccardi, Palazzo Pandolfini, Palazzo Pitti and the Boboli Gardens, not to mention the Sacristy of San Lorenzo, the Medici funeral chapels, the Laurentian Library and others.
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