10 Must-See Places in Florence, Italy

Can you name at least 5 Top Cities in the World for travelling? For sure you will consider Paris, New York City, Rome, Sydney, Hong Kong?

According to Travel + Leisure World's Best Awards - 2012,  here's the readers' Top 10 Cities: #1 Bangkok, #2  is Florence, #3 is Istanbul, #4 Cape Town and #5 is Sydney, #6 Rome, #7 New York City, #8 is Hong Kong , #9 is Kyoto, Japan and #10 is Paris. So how many of these cities have you visited so far?

For this post I will introduce you to Florence, one of the most beautiful cities in the world, it is the capital of Tuscany and the center of Renaissance in Italy. Florence has been the #2 Best City in the World since 2011, it is home to greatest artistic treasures in the world.

Let me share my 10 must-see places in Florence:

1) Piazza della Signoria - the political hub of Florence, the meeting place of Florentines located in front of Palazzo Vecchio.

at the back is Loggia dei Lanzi , the free open-air sculpture exhibit /art museum located at the corner of Piazza della Signoria
.

Some of the artworks at Loggia Dei Lanzi:

Left: The Rape of the Sabine Women.

Right: Benvenuto Cellini's Perseus with the Head of Medusa.

This Fountain of Neptune (1563-1565) by Bartolomeo Ammannati was commissioned on the occasion of the wedding of Francesco I de Medici (whose face served as Neptune's model) with the grand duchess Johanna of Austria in 1565.  This fountain is located beside Palacio Vecchio at Piazza della Signoria, Neptune is the Roman god of the sea, the fountain was meant to symbolize Florence’s dominion over the water. 

the most famous statue of course is a copy of Michelangelo's David, located near the main entrance to the Palazzo Vecchio.

The "bronze equestrian statue of Cosimo I" by Giambologna (1594) located near The Fountain of Neptune

2)  Palazzo Vecchio - also known as  the Old Palace,  is the town hall of the city and one of the most impressive town halls of Tuscany.

at the entrance of Palazzo Vecchio is a copy of Michelangelo's David and Bartolommeo Bandinelli's Hercules and Cacus

3) Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore / The Duomo -  the main church of Florence. The dome of the Basilica is the largest brick dome in the world. The Basilica is dedicated to Madonna or the Virgin Mary.

Giotto's Campanile / Bell Tower

4) Florence Baptistry -  also called Baptistero di San Giovanni (Baptistry of St. John) is located across the Duomo and the Campanile. It is one of the oldest building in the city.

check the intricate design of the Baptistery's main door

we were not allowed to go inside, but we had a glimpse of the interior wall design 

5) The Uffizi Gallery - is a museum in Florence, Italy. It is one of the oldest and most famous art museums of the Western world. In here you will find the paintings of Leonardo da Vinci, Sandro Botticelli, Giotto, Titan, Michaelangelo, Raphael, Hugo Van Der Goes to name a few..

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