2. INTRODUCTION
is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the
province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with
approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in
the metropolitan area.
3. HISTORY
Florence is famous for its history. A centre of medieval European
trade and finance and one of the wealthiest cities of the time, Florence is
considered the birthplace of the Renaissance, and has been called the
Athens of the Middle Ages. A turbulent political history includes periods
of rule by the powerful Medici family, and numerous religious and
republican revolutions. From 1865 to 1871 the city was also the capital of
the recently established Kingdom of Italy.
4. MAIN SIGHTS
Florence is known as the "cradle of the Renaissance" (la culla del
Rinascimento) for its monuments, churches and buildings. The best-
known site of Florence is the domed cathedral of the city, Santa
Maria del Fiore, known as The Duomo, whose dome was built by
Filippo Brunelleschi. In the city, we can see different churches, palaces
and squares.
5. MONUMENTS
Florence is an outdoor museum. It has many churches, but the
most important are: The Duomo and Santa Croce. You can visit them
when there aren’t any masses. You shouldn’t wear shorts or
inappropiate clothes. Palaces were built by the Médicis, the Strozzi
and the Rucellai. The most important squares are: the Gentleman
square and the Republic square.
6. FASHION
Florence has served as the home of the Italian fashion company Salvatore
Ferragamo since 1928. Gucci, Roberto Cavalli, and Emilio Pucci are also
headquartered in Florence. Other major players in the fashion industry such
as Prada andChanel have large offices and stores in Florence or its outskirts.
Florence's main upscale shopping street is Via de' Tornabuoni, where major luxury
fashion houses and jewelry labels, such as Armani and Bulgari, have their elegant
boutiques. Via del Parione and Via Roma are other streets that are also well known
for their high-end fashion stores.
