2 minute read
PANORAMA
PIAZZA SANTA CROCE
ETERNAL FASCINATION
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−The large Piazza Santa Croce is one of the main squares of the historic centre of Florence and over time it has become one of the nerve centres of Florentine cultural and commercial life. It has long been the theatre for the city’s festivals, meetings and celebrations, and in the 15th century it hosted jousts and tournaments on horseback.
−Facing onto it are the splendid Basilica of Santa Croce and a number of prestigious residences, including Palazzo Cocchi Serristori and Palazzo dell’Antella.
−Completed in 1320, the Franciscan church quickly became the sacred place that noble and illustrious Florentines yearned to have as their final resting place: Dante Alighieri, Galileo Galilei, Michelangelo Buonarroti, Niccolò Macchiavelli, Ugo Foscolo and Vittorio Alfieri, to mention just a few.
−Don’t miss a visit to the Bell Tower, the Sacristy with the famous Crucifix of Cimabue and the Medici Chapel, the Cloisters, the Pazzi Chapel, the Museum and the Basement (www.santacroceopera.it).
−Since the end of the 15th century, the matches of Calcio Storico Fiorentino have been held in the square and a marble circle has been placed on both Palazzo dell’Antella and the building opposite to indicate the half-way line of the pitch.
−On 14 May 1865, on the occasion of the fifth centenary of poet Dante Alighieri’s birth, a monument dedicated to him was positioned in the centre of the square, but the monument has been removed and moved to its current position on the parvis of the church to enable the Calcio in Costume matches to take place.
PALAZZO PITTI MUSEUMS
A RENAISSANCE MASTERPIECE
A palace for three dynasties, this extraordinary building is located in the Oltrarno, at the foot of Boboli Hill. The famous Boboli Gardens, which are the park of the palace, a genuine open-air museum, take their name from this hill. Palazzo Pitti currently contains four different museums.
Treasures of the Grand Dukes (ground floor and mezzanine) Conserved in what were the summer apartments of the Medici family are the precious “Treasures of the Medici”: vases made of semi-precious stones, rock crystals, ambers and ivories, the exceptional collection of Oriental porcelains; there is also the silverware of the so-called “Treasure of Salzburg”, an important collection of jewels created between the 17th and 20th centuries, and a significant section dedicated to contemporary jewellery.
Palatine Gallery and Monumental Apartments (noble floor) The 14 sumptuously furnished rooms of the Royal Apartments offer a fascinating blend of styles. The “Quadreria”, the Picture Gallery, established between the 18th and 19th centuries by the Lorena family, includes the world’s largest concentration of works by Raphael, as well as paintings by Titian, Tintoretto, Caravaggio and Rubens.
Gallery of Modern Art (second floor) It houses masterpieces from Neoclassicism to the 1930s, with an important group of paintings by the Macchiaioli school.
Museum of Fashion and Costume (Palazzina della Meridiana) This museum possesses a stock of six thousand items, including ancient clothing, theatrical costumes and fashion accessories from the 18th century to today, in addition to underwear, jewels and costume jewellery. Included among the costumes are the 16th-century burial clothes of Cosimo I de’ Medici, Eleonor of Toledo and their son.
