Palazzo Vecchio, means Old Palace. I know… all the palaces in Florence are quite ancient but this one has a special history behind it. I will let you know!

It is a medieval palace from 1290. It was build to hold the political administration of the city state and since its foundation it is still the government seat.

In 1540, the Grand Duke Cosimo I wanted to have extreme control of everything and decided to move with his wife and 11 kids to the Palace so it became also the royal residence, and since then the building went under restauration and a luxurious decoration.

All the rooms has a different cycle of frescoes dedicated to the battles faced by Florence and others cycles in honor of the important ancient members of the Medici family such as the philosopher Lorenzo the magnificent and the two Popes of the family - Leon X and Clemente VII.

We will have a special stop in the Hall of the 500 - famous for being scenery of the movie Inferno of Dan Brown and here you  will discover the real secrets of this place!

Palazzo Pitti was the royal palace of all the dynasties once reigned in Tuscany: the Medici, Lorraine and the Savoy. Elisa Baciocchi Bonaparte, sister of Napoleon Bonaparte, also lived in the palace when she ruled Tuscany during his unsuccessful empire of 8 years.

Today the Palace houses several museums divided by subject and a huge garden decorated in the Italian style - Boboli Garden.

The museums:

Galleria Palatina: The collection is displayed as Quadrerie - the manner in which collections were organized in Italy in the 18th and 19th Centuries. The paints are not displayed in chronological order, but according to similarity of the subjects, frames, size of the canvas or colors, in order to cover entire walls of the palaces. This criterion predates the modern picture gallery.  The rooms of this gallery are decorated in baroque style where there used to be rooms of audience for the Gran duke. In the collection we can admire Rafael, Caravaggio, Tiziano, Rubens. We can also visit the royal family accommodation room.

Galleria dell’Arte Moderna: This gallery displays works of modern art, precious work of art of 18th century

Tesouro dos grão-duques: Treasure of the Grand Dukes is a rich collection of jewels (gold, silver, gems, ivory, pearl, coral), accessories and precious objects. This collection belonged especially to the women of the Medice family – you will know the hard effort of the last member of the Medici family – Anna Maria Luisa di Medici - to protect this treasure and leave it as heritage to be admired by Florentines and visitors of the city.

  Museu della Moda e del Costume: Museum dedicated to the italian haute couture. It exhibits pieces that made the history of the fashion world. You’ll see pieces signed by designers such as Giorgio Armani, Fendi, Florentine Roberto Cavalli, Mila Schon and others.

Museo delle Porcellane: It is exposed set of porcelain kitchen utensils which served the banquets, events and weddings of the royal family. They are beautiful sets of dishes, cups, trays, they are all hand-painted. Porcelain and ceramics were very precious by that time, the technique was secretly custodied by China and was considered as luxurious objects.

The Museum Opificio Delle Pietre Dure dates back to 1588, founded by the Granduke Ferdinando I di Medici, it was a workshop dedicated to supply the stone decoration of the mausoleum of the family.

The place was specialized in Commesso Fiorentino which is a type of mosaic genuinely Florentine made with precious or semiprecious stones. It is a sort of Puzzle, the stones are cut according to its colorations to compose the art. The mosaic can represent from natural landscape scenes to portraits.

This handcraft requires a high specialized craftsman, it was exclusively made for wealthy Florentine families to decorate their houses, chapels or mausoleums.

These rare pieces of Commesso Fioentino are spread through all the museums of the world.

In this museum you can admire an exclusive collection of this handcraft, the museum carries the original machinery used to cut the stones since 16^th century, you will understand the process of production and a portfolio of precious stones used to compose this art.

A literal translation - the Museum of  the innocent child. It was the first orphanage of the world, building made by Brunelleschi in 1419, a notable example of early Italian Renaissance architecture.

The orphanage was commissioned by the wealthiest guild of the city “Arte della seta”, who was responsible for the care of abandoned children and for teaching them some ability to rejoin the society, you will understand what is behind the actions of philanthropy by that time and why so many children was abandoned.

The Museum is located in a beautiful square and houses the moving relics and stories of the abandoned children and the wet-nurses of this place.

You can also enjoy a beautiful panoramic view of Florence in the coffee bar, located on the top floor of the building.

Have you seen a 4 thousand year old mummy?

It is a museum dedicated to the collection of the archaeological finds of the Etruscans - civilization that lived in Tuscany centuries before Christ, until the Romans dominated their territory

The Museum also hosts a collection of archaeological finds from Egypt's ancient civilization, where we can see carts, canopic vases and millennial mummies.

The Uffizi Gallery was the first museum in the world and you can still admire the original collection of ancient pieces of art – dating back to as far as the XVI century. You will also be surprised by the particular history of the origin of the Museo and why it is called Uffizi! The origin of the museum and its collection is closely connected to the history of the most powerful family of Tuscany – the Medici Family - who ruled the state for almost 400 years.

The museum is listed between the most famous and visited museums in the world and that is not by chance! It houses the biggest collection of Renaissance paintings and a rare collection of ancestral sculptures - Greek and Roman productions.

The collection of paintings is organized chronologically, which allows us to understand the pictorial evolution of the artists throughout the centuries. It displays painters of the thirteenth century - of the byzantine style – such as Alighieri (the official painter of St. Francis XIII) up till   modern painters.

The museum gives a particular attention to the Renaissance collection and works of art of Florentine painters who were responsible for this revolutionary moment in the history of Florence. You will definitely understand the importance of the Renaissance and why this cultural movement was crucial to transforming the society in which we live today.

Among other artists, the museum exhibits Caravaggio, Titian, Michelangelo, Leonardo, Raphael and the splendid rooms of Botticelli.

The first church of Florence was dedicated to San Lorenzo and was built in 393!

San Lorenzo is a Complex of museums, it takes the name of the ancient church previously existent there, today supplanted by the first church made according to the Renaissance architecture - 1421 - the Church San Lorenzo and the old sacristy was made by Brunelleschi (the same architect of the sumptuous domo of the cathedral).

The church has always been connected with the Medici family, therefore their mausoleum was built in this complex. It is a rich place entirely decorated with Commesso Fiorentino – exclusive Florentine handicraft technique which uses semi-precious stones (see museum Opificio Delle Pietre Dure); you can also visit the Library projected by Michelangelo and the new sacristy which is another place in Florence where greats admires of Michelangelo are obliged to visit, the master practically lived in this place for over 10 years, you will know why the he considered the sculptures of this place, the high point of his perfection as sculptor and the intriguing stories behind his perfection.

It is the house of Michelangelo and his family – Buonarroti!

Obligatory stop for fans and great admirers of Michelangelo.

In this Museum you can see works made when he started his carrier, when he was only a child of 12 years old. Seeing his arts in young age makes us understand that he was already born with an artistic perfection

Visitors can admire sculptures of the master, preparatory drawings of his works, drawings made when he used to dissect corpses to study anatomy – don’t be shocked.. Leonardo used to do the same!

The museum carries personal objects and letters that he sent to the family while living in Rome and a beautiful unfinished/ work in process sculpture of the artist.

The Bargello is a medieval palace made to host the ruler of the city. Shortly after, it became a prison, for torture and capital punishments. You will hear thrilling tales about that time period. Since 1880, the Bargello became a museum dedicated to sculptures; the majority of the pieces exhibited here are made by great Florentine artists such as Michelangelo, Donatello, Cellini and Verrocchio (teacher of Leonardo da Vinci).

If you are a great admirer of Michelangelo, in this museum you will find the first renaissance sculpture made by the master - even this statue had been rejected by the customer, it was the sculpture that paved the way for him in the restricted world of arts.

In the Museum you will also see the first nude sculpture of the Renaissance, for many centuries this type of artistic expression was prohibited by the church, but Donatello - with audacity - casted this beautiful bronze sculpture around 1440! Looking at this revolutionary piece of art, you will learn about the social significance of the sculpture for the city and will be amazed with his elegance.

The museum has a collection of weapons, shields and armor and a magnificent collection of old jewels- part of the patrimony belonged to the Dukes of Florence.

The Accademia delle Belle Arti is a traditional museum in Florence which houses Michelangelo’s original David  – while looking at David you will understand the political meaning of this piece of art for Florence and why it caused so much disagreement between him and Leonardo da Vinci!

The museum also holds semi-finished sculptures of the genius Michelangelo. In front of them you have the opportunity to understand the sculptural working techniques of this great artist, his process of creation and the mystery behind the sculptures that he left in stage of work in process.

The museum also houses the beautiful sculpture of the Rape of the Sabines by Gianbologna, a room of musical instruments - where you will learn which musical instrument was invented in Florence! You can also visit the beautiful Gypsoteca and rooms dedicated to Gothic painting.