Italian art has engendered great
public interest and involvement, resulting
in the consistent production of monumental
and spectacular works. In addition, Italian
art has nearly always been closely allied
with the intellectual and/or religious currents
of its day while retaining its own remarkable
past as a continual source of inspiration.
Florence is called the capital of
arts.
From the 13th to the 16th
century it was a seemingly endless source
of creative masterpieces and Italian genius.
Both Dante and Michelangelo
were born here. Boccaccio wrote his 'Decameron'
in Florence. The Italian Renaissance, Europe's
richest cultural period, began in Florence
when the artist Brunelleschi finished the
Duomo, with the huge dome.
During the Italian
Renaissance Florence acquired its
renaissance palaces and squares, turning it
into a living museum. Many squares, such as
Piazza della Signoria exhibit famous statues
and fountains. Florence is also a city of
incomparable indoor pleasures. Its chapels,
galleries and museums are an inexhaustible
treasure, capturing the complex, often elusive
spirit of the Renaissance more fully than
any other place in the country. The most famous
museum in Florence is the Uffizi
which houses works by Botticelli,
Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo,
Titian and Rubens. Other great art museums
include the Pitti Palace, Galleria dell'Accademia
and Palazzo Vecchio. Florence is also home
to some of the biggest churches in Italy,
including the famous Duomo of Florence, San
Lorenzo, Santa Maria Novella and Santa Croce.
 |
Florence attracts a high
proportion of international travelers to Italy.
The city is an active centre of art and culture,
and organizes periodical exhibitions and art
festivals. Take for example the summer, when
music, cinema, dance and theatre pour out
onto the streets and into the squares. There
are several outdoor cinemas to be found in
Florence, one in the grounds of an old villa
where the film is projected onto a screen
on the facade of the villa. Nearly all the
squares are open in the summer months providing
entertainment every evening along with refreshment
and spectacular views of the surrounding buildings.
The other seasons areno exception however
as Florence's theatres draw in the crowds
with the operas, ballets and special guests,
the many venues that Florence is blessed with
host exhibitions, concerts, shows and rare
collections of paintings. Florence's blends
its art and culture in such a way that you'll
find there's always something new to see,
do or experience, as it offers endless opportunities
to become intimately acquainted with the artistic,
architectural, literary, and cultural achievements
of Italy's past.
