Florence

Florence has an exceptional cultural heritage, a glorious testimony of its secular history. Here lived Cimabue and Giotto, the fathers of Italian painting, as well as Arnolfo and Pisano - who reformed architecture and sculpture; Masaccio, Donatello and Brunelleschi, founders of the Renaissance; Filippo Lippi and Fra Angelico; Botticelli, and Paolo Uccello; Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo.
Their works, and those of generations of artists after them, are collected in the city's museums.

Thanks to Dante, the Italian language was born in Florence, and studies of the works of Petrarch and Boccacio were written there; the ideals of Humanism, as well as philosophy and the values of the Classical era, were renewed with Machiavelli, Guicciardini, and Galileo. Since the days of Charlemagne, Florence has had one of the best universities in the country, and the accademies, art schools, science institutes and cultural centres contribute greatly to the city's intense activity.
You can find out about some of the city's most famous artists of the time.

You will find a wealth of architectural marvels dispersed in the whole city centre, like the Duomo, the Ponte Vecchio, the church of Santa Maria Novella, and the Palazzo della Signoria.

Festivals end events are an integral part of the Florentine culture: the Viareggio Carnival in February, the “Explosion of the Cart” in April or the Cricket Festival in May. However events,
shows and street performing are present all year long.

The city is a great place to have a good time, whether you want to have a relaxing drink in one of its numerous cafés and restaurants; or whether you want to enjoy its animated night life at the bars, taverns and nightclubs in the major squares and streets.