One of Michelangelo’s least known inventions is the polyhedron, which shows the link Michelangelo had with Leonardo da Vinci. It is an object made of two hemispheres faceted in 60 small triangles, and it was planned to top the lantern in the New Sacristy of San Lorenzo. The polyhedron was read more
Ten years after the flood, in 1975, the Medici Chapels were restored. After the restoration works, a concealed corridor of 7 meters by 2 was found below the New Sacristy (Sagrestia Nuova). In this corridor, the humidity caused by the flood made some charcoal drawings re-emerge. Those drawing depict various read more
The tomb of Gian Gastone is right behind the altar in the Medici Chapels. Gian Gastone was the last Gran Duke of the ‘de Medici family. What is interesting about the tomb is that the burial niche with the corpse of the Gran Duke was not inside of it. It read more
The beauty of Ponte Vecchio is undeniable. It is so beautiful that even Hitler himself was enchanted by it when he visited Florence with Mussolini in 1938. For their visit, the windows of the Vasari Corridor were widened in order to have a better panoramic view of the city. It read more
Go and See a Calcio Storico Fiorentino Match Soccer (for the Americans), or football (for the rest of the world) has ancient origins, spreading over many times and places. As early as the eleventh century BC, Japan and China developed many games similar to football. The Greeks started playing a read more
The Loggia del Mercato Nuovo hosts a bicolored marble piece of work that reproduces one of the wheels of Carroccio, which was the symbol of the Florentine Republic. In the past, this spot was called “pietra dell’acculata”, meaning “the stone of the bum punishment”. It was the place where defrauders read more
The Loggia dei Lanzi houses a famous bronze statue depicting Perseus while holding Medusa’s head in one hand, and a sword in the other. What is interesting about the statue is that on the back of it, we can see that there is a face carved where the helmet should read more
The XV century’s mathematician and cartographer Paolo Toscanelli made a 4-centimeter-wide hole on the cupola of the Cathedral, through which he could observe the sun. The small hole channeled the beams of the sun that entered from the ceiling and formed a sort of sundial on the floor. However, this read more
“If you know where to look, Florence is paradise” cit. Itinerary: PORTA ROMANA (Roman Gate) GIARDINO DI BOBOLI (Boboli Gardens) CORRIDOIO VASARIANO (Vasari Corridor) PALAZZO VECCHIO PIAZZA SIGNORIA CASA DI DANTE (Dante’s House) BATTISTERO (Batptistry)
On the façade of Palazzo Vecchio, left of the entrance, behind the statues of Hercules and Cacus, there is a face carved in stone. It is not easy to spot. It is thought to be a work by one of the greatest Tuscan artists of all times, Michelangelo Bonarroti. We read more