Florence first attracts with its beauty and comfort, then penetrates deep into the soul, and then arrives in memories and dreams, magically appearing before our eyes. The facades of buildings, the smells and sounds of cobblestone streets, the friendly faces of the indigenous people and the surprised eyes of tourists – everything penetrates our consciousness and leaves a “half-flavor”. Travelers and guests of Florence have time to see its colorful, eventful life.
History
Florence (“blooming”) got its name in ancient times when a settlement for Roman legionaries-veterans was founded. The city, located among the fertile plains, has experienced the full burden of historical events and political unrest that have ever touched the Italian land. Having given humanity Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, Galileo and Dante, Florence has earned a special status in the history of world civilization. The Italian literary language originates in the Florentine dialect, the gold florin became the model for minting European coins, the discovery of the law of perspective is associated with the names of Florentine artists, and the Renaissance owes its origin to the thinkers of Florence.
A city-museum, a city of monuments. There are really a lot of them here. Every step you take is another masterpiece. The ancient domes of cathedrals, majestic facades of buildings, amazingly beautiful sculptures will not fully reveal their depth by accident, they require leisurely approach and do not tolerate fuss. It is a must to walk the cozy streets of Florence: walk in the same places several times, give the city enough time, as much as it is allowed.
When making a walking route through the streets of Florence, it is difficult to immediately set aside some time to see the historical masterpieces. Somewhere, merging with the crowd of onlookers, you can manage to walk at a leisurely pace, without stopping. But at most monuments, you want to linger, look at the details, enjoy the bells and plunge into the unique atmosphere of antiquity. Despite the fact that Florence is very convenient for a short trip, you want to either return here repeatedly or stay for several days. A win-win option for getting to know the city is a walk through the ancient streets, looped in the central, historic part of the city. It is quite possible to do it in one day. But in this case, you will need to exclude visiting museum interiors and expositions. If you distribute this route over two or three days,
Florence welcomes visitors at all times of the year, and there is practically no non-tourist season. The first impressions are mixed: medieval streets with cramped building facades, but every private house is loudly called a “palazzo”; unrealistically blue sky on a sunny day, but motionless ash dusk in bad weather; endless crowds of tourists and, it seems, no less than a number of art and souvenir sellers. But, most importantly, the amount of cultural treasures exceeds all expectations. A walk through the old quarters of the city is best started from the administrative center of Florence.