For such a small city center, Florence really packs in a number of sites. The best place to take them all in is from Piazza Michelangelo.
Spanning the Arno River is the Ponte Vecchio, a stone arched bridge lined with jewelry shops. Hundreds of years ago, the bridge hosted butchers but the leaders of the day apparently didn't care much for the smell of all that meat in the sun, so a decree came down that only jewelers and other similar professions could set up shop here.
Dominating Florence's skyline is the Florence Cathedral, which often is referred to simply by its most distinguishing feature, the Duomo (dome). This Renaissance church was completed in 1436 and boasts a facade of multi colored marble panels. The dome itself remains the largest brick dome ever built.
Not to be outshined by the Duomo is Santa Croche, completed 51 years earlier. Michelangelo and Galileo are among the famous Italians buried inside.
Lining the entryway to the Uffizi museum are sculptures of famous Italians, including Amerigo Vespucci, for whom the USA was named. I like to wonder how things might be different had the country been named for his surname rather than his first name. The United States of Vespucci, anyone?
In my book, the indisputable highlight of Florence is seeing Michelangelo's celebrated sculpture, David. Towering over 5 meters above admirers, David is still stunning half a millennium after his completion. But his size is not his only claim to fame. David is from the biblical story of David and Goliath and his pose is a uniquely contemplative one, rather than the far more common triumphant one. Young Michelangelo, then in his mid 20s, spent over 2 years carefully sculpting David, making the eyes especially thoughtful and the hands dramatically large. Visiting David in his home at the Accademia is almost certain to involve queueing up amongst the thousands of tourists who come daily to see the 360 degree view of the statue looming on a massive pedestal. As no pictures are allowed inside the Accademia, photos of the ersatz sculpture in front of the Palazzo Vecchio will have to suffice.
