Florence: proud city, city of enterprising merchants, birthplace of the Renaissance. Wandering through its streets you will find monuments that bear witness both to the exceptional cultural and artistic achievements of the fifteenth century and to the period immediately prior to it, when Florence, along with its eternal rival Siena, became one of the main centers of commerce and banking in Europe. A climb up to Piazzale Michelangelo will reward you with an extraordinary panorama: domes, campaniles, towers, walls and roofs, all jumbled up together in a small space as if to offer a concentrated digest of its history. Comune di Firenze

The Cathedral Work on the construction of Florence Cathedral commenced in 1296, under the supervision of Arnolfo di Cambio. Notwithstanding the ambitious enlargement carried out in the middle of the fourteenth century by Francesco Talenti, the building still reflects Arnolfo's design, to which subsequent architects remained essentially faithful. The marble facing of the outside walls also derives from a substantial attachment to the tradition of Florentine Romanesque. The construction of the adjacent campanile was entrusted in 1334 to Giotto, who was responsible for the overall design and for the base of the tower with the first row of carved panels. But the height of daring was reached in the middle of the fifteenth century, when Brunelleschi found a way to build the biggest dome seen since the time of the Roman empire. This was the work that brought Filippo di Ser Brunellesco - his name in full - undying fame and gave Florence an inimitable skyline. The cathedral was inaugurated by Pope Eugenius IV, in Florence for the Council held to ratify the reunion of the Western and Eastern Churches. The pope donated a golden rose to the new church, and this is why the cathedral was named Santa Maria del Fiore (St. Mary of the Flower). Duomo di Firenze

Palazzo Vecchio When the Commune of Florence decided to reform its own political system and entrusted the leadership of the city to officials known as Priors, the decision was also taken to construct a new building to house the whole of the city's government. Thus Arnolfo di Cambio was commissioned to build the City Hall or Palazzo Pubblico, also known as the Palazzo dei Priori, Palazzo della Signoria, or Palazzo Vecchio (Old Palace), in recognition of the building's long history, always at the heart of Florentine affairs. The latter, begun in 1299 by Arnolfo di Cambio, is an imposing cubic mass, looking almost like a fortress, whose severe profile is accentuated by the use of rustication and by the overhang of the battlemented top story. The only breaks in the solid masonry are the windows with two lights on the second and third floor, along with a few smaller openings on the ground floor. Above the battlements rises the tower, erected in the early years of the fourteenth century, after Arnolfo's death: it was intended to house the city bells and its projecting crown is crenelated like the palace. Palazzo Vecchio