Firenze Type Specimen

designed by sydney geller

Firenze

typeface specimen

�renze

Michelangelo’s David, found in The Accademia

Firenze is

The type is welcoming and mature, but still holds unique elements and details, similar to the city it is named after. Many of the curves in the typeface allude to renaissance architecture.

introduction

a modern renaissance typeface, intended for display in both large and small formats.

Numbers

Ligatures

012345 6789

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Aa Hh Oo Uu

Bb Cc Dd Ii Jj Kk Ll Pp Qq Rr Vv Ww Xx

View of Florence from the top of the Duomo

�renze

Punctuation

Ee Ff Gg Mm Nn Ss Tt Yy Zz

characters

(‘-’–“—”) /;&,!•?.@:…\

History of Florence

Florence is a major historical city in Italy, distinguished as one of the most outstanding economic, social, cultural, political and artistic centres in the Italian peninsula from the Late Middle Ages to the Renaissance. Florence in the 1400s adopted art, sculpting and science into its culture. This era was called the renaissance. It was founded by the Medici family who started to use interest on their banking.

Of a population estimated at 80,000 before the Black Death of 1349, about 25,000 are estimated to have been engaged in the city’s wool industry. Cosimo de’ Medici (1389-1464) was the first Medici family member to govern the city from behind the scenes. Although the city was technically a democracy of sorts, his power came from a vast network of patronage and a political alliance to new immigrants to the city, the gente nuova. The fact that the Medici were bankers to the pope also contributed to their prominence. Cosimo was succeeded by his son Piero di Cosimo de’ Medici (1416-1469), who was shortly thereafter succeeded by Cosimo’s grandson, Lorenzo in 1469. Lorenzo was a great patron of the arts who commissioned works

by Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and Sandro Botticelli.

(Italian: Firenze)

Florence skyline from Piazzale Michelangelo

The surge in artistic, literary, and scientific investigation that occurred in Florence in the 14th-16th centuries was facilitated by Florentines’ strong economy, based on money, banking, trade, and with the display of wealth and leisure.

This renaissance thrived locally from about 1434 to 1534. It halted amid social, moral, and political upheaval. By then, the inspiration it had created had set the rest of Western Europe ablaze with new ideas.

Florence benefited materially and culturally from this sea-change in social consciousness. In the arts, the creations of Florentine artists, architects, and musicians were influential in many parts of Europe. The culmination of certain speculations into the nature of ancient Greek drama by humanist scholars led to the birth of opera in the 1590s.

Mamma Mia!

Santa Maria Novella

Ciao, allora Galleria dell’Accademia

Non parlo inglese

Andiamo Piazza del Duomo

Mi piace il gelato Andiamo ai giardini di Boboli

Ponte Vecchio

72 pt.

48 pt.

36 pt.

18 pt.

Firenze

24 pt.

Firenze

30 pt.

Firenze

Firenze

�renze

12 pt.

14 pt.

Firenze

size variation

60 pt.

Firenze

Firenze

Firenze

Firenze

D

Duomo

unique swashes contrasting angled strokes

Piazza

Repub angled counters

�renze

a della high contrast curves

rounded serifs

footed serifs

bblica characteristics

�ared terminals

About the Duomo Santa Maria del Fiore, designed by Arnolfo di Cambio, is the third largest church in the world (after St. Peter’s in Rome and St. Paul’s in London) and was the largest church in Europe when it was completed in the 15th century. It is 153 metres long, 90 metres wide at the crossing, and 90 metres high from the floor to the bottom of the lantern. The third and last cathedral of Florence, it was dedicated to Santa Maria del Fiore, the Virgin of the Flower, in 1412, a clear allusion to the lily, the symbol of the city of Florence.

Florence’s largest cathedral, Santa Maria del Fiore, also known as the Duomo

ligature spotlight

fi �renze

Italiano English Ciao, come ti chiami?

Hi, what is your name?

Mi chiamo Fabio.

Di dove sei?

My name is Fabio.

Where are you from?

Sono di �renze. E tu?

I am from Florence. And you?

Sono di milano.

Cosa studi a milano?

I am from Milan.

What do you study in Milan?

Sono studente a comunicazioni.

I am a student of communications.

Fabio, posso fare una domanda?

Fabio, can I ask a question?

Si, dimmi la tua domanda.

Yes, tell me your question.

Quanti anni hai?

How old are you?

Ho trenta anni.

I have thirty years.

dialogue

�renze

Buongiorno!

Good Day! Buona Notte.

Good Night.

Florence: The Modern Renaissance

A street in Florence, decorated with graffiti and Vespas

Although Florence is the hub for renaissance history, the city today is quite modern. The same streets where the Medici family would once roam are now home to well-known brands such as Gucci and Ferragamo.

A

Arno River

P

Ponte Vecchio

o

sg