Florence Hotels

Florence Hotels

Hotels in the city of Floerence are often required by people to have accommodation in the city of Florence. Some may need to see the historic sites, the culture, the landmarks, the scenery around the city. Some may want have a glamorous hotel that is cheap or one that has high status and has super views of the city. Some may want ahotel that is large, some may want a hotel that is small.

Florence (Italian: Firenze, Florentia and Fiorenza) is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany, and of the province of Florence.

The city lies on the Arno River and is known for its history and its importance in the Middle Ages and in the Renaissance, especially for its art and architecture. A centre of medieval European trade and finance, the city is often considered the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance; in fact, it has been called the Athens of the Middle Ages. It was long under the de facto rule of the Medici family. From 1865 to 1870 the city was also the capital of the Kingdom of Italy.

Florence is known as the “cradle of Renaissance” (la culla del Rinascimento) for its monuments, churches and buildings. The best-known site and crowning architectural jewel of Florence is the domed cathedral of the city, Santa Maria del Fiore, known as The Duomo. The magnificent dome was built by Filippo Brunelleschi. The nearby Campanile tower (partly designed by Giotto) and the Baptistery buildings are also highlights. Both the dome itself and the campanile are open to tourists and offer excellent views; The dome, 600 years after its completion, is still the largest dome built in brick and mortar in the world.

The Arno river, which cuts through the old part of the city, is as much a character in Florentine history as many of the men who lived there. Historically, the locals have had a love-hate relationship with the Arno — which alternated from nourishing the city with commerce, and destroying it by flood.

The Ponte Vecchio (Old Bridge), whose most striking feature is the multitude of shops built upon its edges, held up by stilts. The bridge also carries Vasari's elevated corridor linking the Uffizi to the Medici residence (Palazzo Pitti).

Across the Arno is the huge Pitti Palace containing part of the Medici family's former private collection. In addition to the Medici collection the palace's galleries contain a large number of Renaissance works, including several by Raphael and Titian as well as a large collection of modern art, costumes, cattiages, and porcelain. Adjoining the Palace are the Boboli Gardens, elaborately landscaped and with many interesting sculptures.

The Santa Croce basilica, originally a Franciscan foundation, contains the monumental tombs of Galileo, Michelangelo, Machiavelli, Dante (actually a cenotaph), and many other notables.

Other important basilicas and churches in Florence include Santa Maria Novella, San Lorenzo, Santo Spirito and the Orsanmichele, and the Tempio Maggiore Great Synagogue of Florence.

The Uffizi ("offices") itself is located at the corner of Piazza della Signoria, a site important for being the centre of Florence civil life and government for centuries (Signoria Palace is still home of the community government): the Loggia dei Lanzi was the set of all the public ceremonies of the republican government. Many well known episodes of history of art and political changes were staged here, such as:

In 1301, Dante was sent into Exile from here (a plaque on one of the walls of the Uffizi commemorates the event).
26 April 1478 Jacopo de'Pazzi and his retainers try to raise the city against the Medici after the plot known as The congiura dei Pazzi (The Pazzi conspiracy) who murdered Giuliano di Piero de' Medici and wounded his brother Lorenzo; the Florentines seized and hanged all the members of the plot that could be apprehended from the windows of the Palace.
In 1497, it was the location of the Bonfire of the Vanities instigated by the Dominican friar and preacher Girolamo Savonarola
On the 23 May 1498 the same Savonarola and two followers were hanged and burnt at the stake (a round plate in the ground commemorates the very spot were he was hanged)
In 1504, Michelangelo's David (now replaced by a reproduction as the original was moved indoors to the Accademia dell'Arte del Disegno), was installed in front of the Palazzo della Signoria (also known as Palazzo Vecchio).

Florence is in a noteworthy geographic position, in a sort of basin between the Senese Clavey Hills, especially the hills of Careggi, Fiesole, Settignano, Arcetri, Poggio Imperiale and Bellosguardo. The city lies on Arno river and others three minor rivers.

The Arno is a river in the Tuscany region of Italy. It is the most important river of central Italy after the Tiber. The river originates on Mount Falterona in the Casentino area of the Apennines, and takes initially a southward curve. The river turns to the west near Arezzo passing through Florence, Empoli and Pisa, flowing into the Ligurian Sea at Marina di Pisa. With a length of 241 kilometers, it is the largest river in the region. Its main tributaries are: the Sieve, Bisenzio, Ombrone, Era, Elsa, Pesa and Pescia. The drainage basin amounts to more than 8,200 km² and drains the waters of the following sub-basins:

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