City guide · Firenze
Florence
Cradle of the Renaissance: the Duomo, the Ponte Vecchio and the Medici city of art
Florence is the capital of Tuscany, Italy, and the birthplace of the Renaissance. As you stroll along the Arno, you can look up and see the dome of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore; the workshops on the street corners, the goldsmith shops on the Ponte Vecchio, and the masterpieces in the Uffizi still tell the story of seven hundred years of art in this city. The old town is small, and two or three days on foot is a good pace for exploring it. Also worth visiting in the city: Giotto's Campanile, Ponte Vecchio, Palazzo Vecchio, Basilica of Santa Croce, Pitti Palace, Boboli Gardens, Piazzale Michelangelo, Basilica of Santa Maria Novella, Basilica of San Lorenzo, Medici Riccardi Palace, Convent of San Marco, Bargello Museum and Ponte Santa Trinita.
History
How the city came to be
Florence was built on the site of an Etruscan settlement and later became the Roman colony of Florentia, founded in 59 BC. In the Middle Ages, it became one of the wealthiest cities in Europe through trade and finance. During the Medici period in the 15th to 16th centuries, the city reached the peak of its economic and cultural development, and the very concept of the Renaissance took shape in the Florentine context. From 1865 to 1871, Florence was the capital of the newly unified Kingdom of Italy, before the capital moved to Rome. In 1982, the historic centre of Florence was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
- 59 BCthe Roman colony of Florentia is founded.
- Middle AgesFlorence becomes one of the trade and finance centres of Europe.
- 15th to 16th centuriesthe Medici period, when the Renaissance reaches its peak and masters such as Brunelleschi, Donatello, Botticelli, and Michelangelo emerge.
- 1865 to 1871Florence is the capital of the Kingdom of Italy.
- 1982the historic centre of Florence is inscribed on the World Heritage List.
Stories
Stories of the city
The Last of the Medici
History · Uffizi Galleries
After the Medici dynasty died out, the last heir, Anna Maria Luisa, handed the art collection built up by generations of the family to the city of Florence through the Family Pact. That collection became the core of the museum that is open to the public today.
Surviving Disaster
History · Uffizi Galleries
The building has survived several disasters: the 1966 Florence flood severely damaged the collection, and the 1993 mafia car bombing in Via dei Georgofili damaged parts of the building and exhibits. Restored, the Uffizi remains a symbol of Renaissance art.
Stories of Florence Cathedral
Legend · Florence Cathedral
In 1420 Florence set a problem that baffled all Europe: the crossing of its cathedral spanned 42 metres, and everyone knew a dome was needed, but nobody knew how to build one more than 90 metres up without ground-based scaffolding. The man who stepped forward was Filippo Brunelleschi, a goldsmith by training — and the very man who had just lost the Baptistery bronze-door competition to Ghiberti. Legend has it that he demonstrated to the judges by cracking one end of an egg and standing it on the table, implying "whoever can stand an egg upright understands the dome" (a later anecdote of doubtful authenticity). His real solution was engineering genius: a double-shell dome, herringbone brickwork and a specially built ox-powered hoist, so the dome supported itself as it rose. Work began in 1420, and the dome was completed in 1436, when Pope Eugenius IV consecrated the cathedral — historians regard this as the opening event of the Renaissance, the first time human reason and mathematics conquered a height the Gothic age had not dared to touch. Across the square, the Baptistery's east door — Ghiberti's *Gates of Paradise*, 27 years in the casting — was praised by Michelangelo as "worthy to be the gates of Paradise"; and the young Michelangelo grew up gazing at Brunelleschi's dome, so that when he later designed the dome of St Peter's he said: "I can build one bigger, but not more beautiful."
History of Florence Cathedral
History · Florence Cathedral
Florence Cathedral was begun in 1296 to designs by Arnolfo di Cambio, replacing the old church of Santa Reparata on the site, and was carried forward over a century and a half by successive architects including Giotto (who designed the bell tower, begun 1334) and Talenti. The façade outside the dome was only completed in the 19th century in Gothic Revival style by Emilio De Fabris (unveiled in 1887) — the pink, green and white marble exterior seen today. The bell tower is 84.7 metres high, with 414 steps to the top; the Baptistery of San Giovanni is an 11th–12th-century Romanesque building, and the originals of its three bronze doors (the north and east doors from Ghiberti's workshop) are now in the cathedral museum, with replicas in situ. The Historic Centre of Florence was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1982.
Must see
Places you shouldn’t miss
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Uffizi Galleries
The Uffizi building is itself a Renaissance work, and inside it gathers masterpieces such as Botticelli's Primavera and The Birth of Venus, maki…
Florence Cathedral
Brunelleschi raised the world's largest masonry dome without a centring scaffold: the first declaration of the Renaissance, still dominating Flo…
Local life
Food and local daily life
Florence Cathedral
Must-try
- Florentine T-bone steak
Florentine T-bone steak (bistecca alla fiorentina, charged by the kilo and served rare only — smaller portions are available at old restaurants around the cathedral); a lampredotto tripe sandwich (from the Central Market and street carts, Florence's soul snack); Tuscan white-bean and bread soup (ribollita); Chianti Classico red wine; and for dessert, cantucci almond biscuits dipped in vin santo
| Where to eat | The San Lorenzo Central Market (Mercato Centrale), a 5-minute walk away, is the most convenient — ingredients on the ground floor, a food court upstairs for lampredotto and steak; the little restaurants of the Santa Maria Novella and Santa Croce quarters are more popular with locals |
|---|---|
| Dining etiquette | T-bone steak is ordered by weight (usually from 1 kilo, shared by two), and the chef will politely refuse to cook it well done; the coperto bread charge on Italian bills is standard practice; at market stalls, weigh and pay first, then collect your food |
| Typical price per person | The Central Market food court €12–22 per person, roughly RMB 95–170; a full old-town meal with steak €35–55 per person, roughly RMB 275–430 (reference prices, estimated at €1 ≈ RMB 7.8) |
| Tips | Book the climb for the earliest morning slot — the steps are out of the sun, crowds are thin, and you avoid clashing with crowds when the bell tower rings at noon; gelato around the cathedral square is pricey, and the lanes of the San Lorenzo quarter offer better quality |
Prices are typical rates as of October 2026, not exact quotes; CNY equivalents are approximate where exchange rates fluctuate.
Before you go
Rules to know in Florence
Rome's Spanish Steps: no sitting, eating or drinking
Do
- Walk up the steps and keep moving after your photo
Don’t
- Sitting, resting, eating or drinking on the steps
Banned by Rome's urban police regulations since 2019; media report fines of €250, rising to €400 for dirtying or damaging the steps.
Verified Oct 19, 2026Source: ANSA: Rome bans sitting on the Spanish Steps (2019)
Trips beyond the city
These places can be explored from this city but lie outside it. See each place for transport and visiting guidance.
Siena
The fan-shaped Piazza del Campo is the heart of the city, and together with the Palazzo Pubblico, its Torre del Mangia and Siena Cathedral it fo…
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Leaning Tower of Pisa
A soft foundation let the bell tower lean for eight hundred years: Galileo (in legend) dropped iron balls from it, and engineers spent eleven ye…
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