CSC · Florence Walking Tour including Academy of Fine Arts

Enjoy history admiring the religious center of Florence, Piazza del Duomo, where the Duomo, Giotto’s Bell Tower and the Baptistery form an admirable group of colored marble monuments, each of which demonstrate the traditions of Florentine art from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance.

The Duomo (Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore), one of the largest gothic cathedrals, is a symbol of the city’s power and wealth from 1200-1300 and is an outstanding example of Florentine architecture. Giotto’s Bell Tower, slender and tall, is the perfect complement to Brunelleschi’s dome. The Baptistery, encased in white and green marble, is designed in a well-balanced Romanesque style. From Piazza del Duomo you will proceed to Piazza della Signoria (Signoria Square) which was, and still is, the political stage of Florence, a few steps from the celebrated Ponte Vecchio (Old Bridge). The many sculptures make it virtually an open-air museum.

The Academy of Fine Arts houses some of Michelangelo’s masterpieces including the powerful figures of the Unfinished Prisoners and the original statue of David. The walking tour ends at Santa Croce Square, one of Florence’s oldest squares, where Santa Croce Church is located.