In The Very Heart Of Florence
The Location: Santa Croce
The Peruzzi Royal Suite is part of PALAZZO SALUTATI located in Piazza de' Peruzzi, a historical square in the heart of medieval Florence. It is just 1 min walk from Piazza Santa Croce. Within 5 min relaxed walk in the pedestrian area downtown Florence you can reach Piazza della Signoria and the Uffizi, 10 minutes to the Duomo with the Cupola of Brunelleschi and the Battistero with the bronze doors by Lorenzo Ghiberti, and close to the Uffizi you find Ponte Vecchio, the Old Bridge. From here you can cross the river Arno and get to Palazzo Pitti and the Boboli gardens, a breath-taking example of Italian style gardens.
PALAZZO SALUTATI
Built on the remainings of existing Peruzzi buildings, here lived Coluccio Salutati, one of the most famous and influencing literates and politicians of the Republic of Florence. He was pupil of Giovanni Boccaccio and was Chancellor of the Republic of Florence from 1375 to 1406, when he died. The building was fully refurbished in late '600.
PIAZZA DEI PERUZZI
The privilege of living in one of the most charming little squares in the historical center of Florence. Piazza dei Peruzzi is entirely surrounded by noble buildings built with stones during the years '300 and '400 by the Peruzzi family, a dynasty of bankers among the wealthiest and most influencing during Renaissance in Florence, rivaling with the Medici who ruled the city for centuries.
ROMAN AMPHITHEATER
The circular shape of Piazza Peruzzi was originated by the presence of the walls of the ancient Roman Amphitheater of Florentia, dated around the year 120 A.D., on which the Peruzzi buildings were built. If you want to visit the site and see the original roman walls of the Roman Theater, now below the street level, we have some good hints for you.
Piazza Peruzzi today ..... ..... and in the year 120 A.D.
SANTA CROCE
Designed by Arnolfo di Cambio who also designed Palazzo Vecchio and the Duomo, the church of Santa Croce is the principal Franciscan church in Florence and is eternal dimore of many famous men such as Michelangelo Buonarroti, Galileo Galilei, Niccolò Machiavelli and Gioacchino Rossini.
The building of this church began in 1294, in a marshland outside the city walls and it was funded by some of the wealthiest families like the Pazzi who have a dedicated Cappella designed by Filippo Brunelleschi, an early renaissance masterpiece.
After a heavy restoration you can now admire the original paintings of Giotto on the life of St. Francis discovered in the Cappella de' Bardi.
PALAZZO VECCHIO
Designed by Arnolfo di Cambio who began to build it in 1299 in the place where the ancient roman theatre existed, Palazzo Vecchio dominates Piazza della Signoria. His original name was Palazzo dei Priori because was the palace where the Majors (Priori) of Florence lived till 1565, when Cosimo I de' Medici moved to Palazzo Pitti and named his previous residence "old palace".
DUOMO
The church of Santa Maria del Fiore is the Cathedral of Florence, a name coming from "Fiore" (flower), then Fiorenza and today Firenze. Originally planned to be a larger version of the Santa Reparata main church of Florence, it finally replaced it when the population of Florence grew during the golden age of Renaissance. The "Cupola" was designed by Filippo Brunelleschi and erected under his supervision in the years 1420 to 1436. Today this is still the largest Cupola made with bricks ever built at global level.
Nobody really knows for sure when the first built is dated, but it's believed to exist since the ancient roman times. Old Bridge is the first bridge built over the river Arno, and it's been the only bridge till the year 1218 when the "new" bridge (today's Ponte alla Carraia) was built. The Old Bridge is cited since 996 and since then it was destroyed by floods (most destructive was the famous flood of 1333) and rebuilt a few times. The Ponte Vecchio is built with stones and it's the only bridge remained intact during WWII. The houses build on the bridge along the centuries, once occupied by butchers, farmers and tanners, are today occupied mostly by jewelers.
PONTE VECCHIO
UFFIZI
The Uffizi where built after the design of Giorgio Vasari between 1560 and 1580, under the rule of Cosimo I de' Medici, to accomodate the administrative offices of the Republic of Florence. It also began to contain the private art colection of the Medici family, and in 1765, thanks to the donation of Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici, last hairess of the dinasty, to the Florentines, it was opened to visitors. The painting here represents a view of the breath-taking Tribuna degli Uffizi how it looked to a visitor in 1778. Most paintings are now moved in other rooms of the Uffizi, but all the statues represented can still be found where they were 250 years ago, like the Venere dei Medici on the right, dated II century BC. Check it out!
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Note: this painting by Johann Zoffany is part of the Royal Collection, Windsor Castle, UK
PALAZZO PITTI &
GIARDINI DI BOBOLI
According to Giorgio Vasari, Palazzo Pitti (Pitti Palace) was designed by Brunelleschi. This imposing building, commissioned by the Florentine merchant Luca Pitti, friend and ally of Cosimo de Medici, was built during the second half of the 15th century and was completed with the Giardini di Boboli, a magnificent example of Italian style gardens. In 1565 it became the residence of the Medici till their extinction in XVIII century. During the period when Florence was the Capital of the Italian kingdom (1865-71) Palazzo Pitti was the Royal Palace.
Today it hosts several museums and exhibitions with unique masterpieces.
