Florence, the capital of Tuscany, is home to many masterpieces of Renaissance art and architecture. One of the most famous sites is the Duomo, the cathedral with a tiled dome designed by Brunelleschi and Giotto’s bell tower. The Accademia Gallery displays Michelangelo’s sculpture of David, while the Uffizi Gallery houses Botticelli’s Birth of Venus and Leonardo da Vinci’s Annunciation.
The heart of Florence is the Piazza della Signoria, with the majestic Palazzo Vecchio, with a gallery of sculptural masterpieces in the Loggia dei Lanzi and the nearby Galleria degli Uffizi, one of the most famous art museums in the world. Not far away is the religious centre of the cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, with the majestic dome (the largest ever built). At the time of the Grand Duchy, its shadow was said to cover the whole of Tuscany. The enormous Cathedral is magnificently accompanied by Giotto’s Bell Tower, one of the most beautiful in Italy, and by the Baptistery of San Giovanni, with the famous bronze doors including the golden door of Paradise. Florence is about 25 km away.