Your Way To Florence Blog

When traveling to Florence there are plenty of sites to see, but there are four that you should pay special attention to…unless they are not your cup of tea, but they are hard to not visit.

Here are those sites:

• The Duomo – You will find the Duomo in the Piazza Dumono. This is an area that is younger than some of the other areas of Florence because it was founded in 1891. You’ll be able to come to the Duomo and see the many changes that the city has gone through throughout the years. The changes are quite vast in some areas but not so much in others. These are portrayed in the way of sculptures. You may find that this is quite fascinating because that is the point when you really realize what sort of city you are visiting.

• The Ponte Vecchio – This medieval bridge can be found expanding over the Arno River. A lot of activities take place along the river and around this bridge. You can find gardens where you can picnic, as well as other activities. You’ll also find shops built into the bridge. This is something that was common in the old days. The bridge also has an interesting history that starts in 1117 and consists of rebuilds in 1333 and the last rebuild being in 1345.

• The Uffizi gallery – The Uffizi is the most popular gallery in Florence and is one that comes with long lines. It is best that you make reservations in advance so that you can see the great works by Michelangelo and many other Renaissance artists.

• The Palazzo Pitti – The Medici family once lived in this giant home. It is now the entrance to the Boboli Gardens and has give museums within it. You’ll find that many of the rooms have the original furniture owned by the Medici family. This is fascinating, considering the Medicis are responsible for a lot of things that occurred during the Renaissance era.

Planning on visiting Florence? Or maybe you have thought about it and you’re not so sure about seeing the Renaissance capital of Italy.

Either way, the Uffizi Gallery enables you to travel back to the 13th century to see artwork done by the masters of Italy. You can stand within the auras of works created by Michelangelo, Raphael, Giotto, and Bernini. It is literally like traveling through time. It is very gothic and very medieval all at the same time, which is great. This just shows how Florence has stayed with its roots.

So what can you expect?

Expect to get up early. You may want to be at the gallery at around 8:30 on your first day in Florence. However, make sure you make a reservation because if you don’t you will not see what the gallery has to hold. You can expect the line to get into the Uffizi gallery to be a mile long and not everyone gets to go in. Without a reservation, being in the line can consume 2 to 3 hours of your day. With a reservation, you don’t have to mess with all of that. You could find yourself inside in less than 5 minutes.

So what makes the Uffizi Gallery special, other than the artwork? Well, this is a gallery that was established by the Medici in 1581. However, it was originally commissioned in 1560 by Cosimo I. The design was by Georgio Vasari. However, despite all of this, it wasn’t until 1765 that the gallery was opened to the public.

So when you step inside, you have to climb three staircases where you are greeted by the busts of the prominent members of the Medici family. This is your first taste of how influential the Medicis were in the Tuscan region. From there, you will begin your tour and your breath will be taken away. Even if you don’t have an appreciation for art, you will be amazed at how well this place takes you back in time and educates you on how incredibly amazing it is that you are there.