Florence is the capital city of the region of Tuscany, Italy. From 1865 to 1870 the city was also the capital of the Kingdom of Italy. The city is often considered the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance and was long ruled by the Medici family. Florence came under the sway of the Albizzi family, bitter rivals of the Medici. The fact that the Medici were bankers to the pope also contributed to their rise. Lorenzo Medici was a great patron of the arts, commissioning works by Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and Botticelli and art created by such sculptors as Donatello, Giambologna. The burial place of Leonardo’s Mona Lisa has been located in her home town, Florence.
Florence is also famous for its magnificent art and architecture. The city has also been called the Athens of the Middle Ages. Florence’s recorded history began with the establishment in 59 BC of a settlement for Roman former soldiers, with the name Florentia. They built a castrum in a chessboard pattern of an army camp, with the main streets, the cardo and the decumanus, intersecting at the present Piazza della Repubblica. This pattern can still be found in the city center. A very important roule is played in that years by the famous cafe of Florence from its’ foundation until the present day. Architectural jewel of Florence is the domed cathedral of the city, Santa Maria del Fiore, known as “The Duomo”. The magnificent dome was built by Filippo Brunelleschi. At the heart of the city in Piazza della Signoria is Bartolomme Ammanati’s Fountain of Neptune, which is a masterpiece of marble sculpture at the terminus of a still functioning Roman aqueduct. The Arno river, which cuts through the old part of the city, is as much a character in Florentine history as many of the men who lived there. The River Arno burst its banks, flooded the city and claimed 29 lives.
Mud and water swamped the museums, churches and libraries of the birthplace of the Renaissance, ruining many great works.
The damage caused was incalculable.But it was a fraction of the devastation the city would have suffered without the efforts of thousands of young volunteers who came from all over Italy and from abroad to save the art treasures and help Florence off its knees. Historically, the locals have had a love-hate relationship with the Arno — which alternated from nourishing the city with commerce, and destroying it by flood.

Florence has what is classified as a warm temperate continental climate. It consists of hot, dry summers and cool, damp winters. Tourism is unquestionably the most significant industry within the center of Florence. The Uffizi and Accademia museums are regularly sold out of tickets, and large groups regularly fill the basilicas of Santa Croce and Santa Maria Novella, both of which charge for entry. The centre of the city is closed to through-traffic, although buses, taxis and residents with appropriate permits are allowed in. In Florence there are the fifteenth-century shops on the Ponte Vecchio. A holiday immersed in the natural beauty of the countryside, with the possibility of taking advantage of the many services that makes a vacation more enjoyable and permits complete enjoyment of the beautiful surroundings. Within the city walls most places can easily be reached by foot. The city’s principal football team Fiorentina. Florence is also home to the legendary Italian fashion establishment Salvator Ferragamo, notable as one of the oldest and most famous Italian fashion houses not located in Milan. Gucci, Prada, and Roberto Cavalli also have large offices and stores in Florence or its outskirts. The most famous main course is the bistecca alla fiorentina! Soon-to-be-weds are heading to Florence this week to check out the latest Italian nuptial fashions at the 14th edition of the Tutto Sposi fair.Leopoldo, Giuseppe and Romualdo Alinari are considered the fathers of Italian photography. In 1852 they set up a small photography studio in Florence. It took off quickly, enabling the brothers to specialize in photographing monuments and landscapes, undertaking commissions for Britain’s Prince Albert and many other famous people. The Florence show follows in the tracks of a recent exhibition in the northern city of Bergamo, which enabled blind and sighted art lovers to enjoy modern Italian sculpture .

The historic center of Florence was declared a World Heritage Site by the UNESCO in 1982.