Monuments Orcagna Hotel

When the Cathedral was completed, it was the largest in Europe and remains still today, one of the five largest churches in Italy and it took over one hundred years to see its completion.

Arnolfo di Cambio died in 1302 and Giotto was appointed to continue Arnolfo's work, but Giotto died in 1337 and in 1357 the works continued again by Francesco Talenti. Most of the church was completed by the beginning of 1400 leaving only the dome to be completed by Filippo Brunelleschi.
Brunelleschi's architectural solutions were ingenious and without precedence. More than 4 million bricks were used for the dome which weighs nearly 41 tons and to fulfill his creation Brunelleschi had to design machines and new masonry techniques which were in themselves a spectacular contribution to architecture.
In 1412 the name of the church was changed in Santa Maria del Fiore and in 1436 it was consecrated by Pope Eugene IV.

The inside of Santa Maria del Fiore corresponds to the austere spiritual ideal of the Middle Age and the first Renaissance in Florence. The two sacristies, the floor in marble and the frescos by Paolo Uccello and Andrea del Castagno were added in a second time and they contributed to enrich the history of the Cathedral in Florence, as the “Deposizione” by Michelangelo placed in the Apse chapel.
The splendid windows were realized among 1434 and 1445 on project of artists as well as Donatello and Paolo Uccello.

It construction starts in 1268, year in which the Guelphs decided to demolish the houses of their rivals the Ghibellines: the Foraboschi’s and the Uberti’s towers were the first ones to be demolished.
The demolished houses, at the end of this operation, amounted to 36 and for this reason the square has the buildings not lined up on it.

The piazza in fact holds many important buildings, including Palazzo Vecchio dating back to the 13th century and accredited to Arnolfo di Cambio.
The most visited building in the square is the Uffizi Palace, which holds the Uffizi Gallery, originally created in 1581 for Francesco de' Medici, one of the most admired art galleries in the world, exhibiting works by world renowned artists like Michelangelo, Leonardo, Giotto, Raphael, Cimabue, Botticelli and Caravaggio.

An exquisite copy of the Fountain of Neptune done by Bartolomeo Ammannati in 1565 and the world renown David by Michelangelo, placed in front of Palazzo Vecchio: these are excellent examples of copies but the original have been moved to the Gallery of the Academy of Fine Arts for security purposes.

Other sights to be admired in Piazza Signoria include the Loggia della Signoria and Loggia dei Lonzi which holds a gallery housing numerous works of art like the statue of Perseus by Benvenuto Cellini.
A visit to Piazza della Signoria is sure to keep its visitors occupied with its important history combined with modern day shops and cafés.

Several of the great Florentine families, including the Bardi, the Peruzzi, the Alberti, the Pulci, the Tosinghi and the Rinuccini, acquired the patronage of chapels in Santa Croce, thereby assuming the honour of decorating and furnishing them.

From the mid-14th century the walls of the aisles and the Sacristy were frescoed by Andrea Orcagna and Agnolo Gaddi.
In the following century Santa Croce received some important architectural additions. In 1429 Andrea de’ Pazzi undertook the construction of the Pazzi Chapel, which was designed and begun by Filippo Brunelleschi, but not completed until long after his death. It is one of the most harmonious buildings of the Florentine Renaissance, and is decorated not by frescoes but by glazed terracotta roundels, made by Luca della Robbia and his followers.

The Chapel of the Noviciate, which Michelozzo built around 1445 for Cosimo de’ Medici, has a glazed terracotta altarpiece by Andrea della Robbia.
It is significant that Santa Croce, which was to become the resting-place of so many great Italians, has the first truly renaissance funerary monument.
Michelangelo, who died in Rome in 1564, was buried here beneath a monument designed by Giorgio Vasari. Michelangelo’s tomb served as the model for others, such as the tomb of Galileo, died in 1642, which monument was made by Giovanni Battista Foggini.

The present version of Palazzo Pitti is larger than its original smaller body dimensions which consisted of two floors covered with rustic stone ashlars. The Doric, Ionic and Corinthian orders all helped to enrich this architectural Renaissance style of austere and balance.

In 1550 the Palazzo was purchased by Cosimo of the Medici family with intention of a new residence, and in 1558 he commissioned Bartolomeo Ammannati to do work on refining aspects which also included the addition of large windows in the facade called inginocchiate, and the creation of the courtyard.

The creation and construction of the Great Garden Boboli, named for by the homonymous hill, was commissioned out to Niccolò Tribolo. The addition of a vast corridor for the family, so as to be able to walk from the Palazzo to the Piazza Signoria protected from the dangers of an attack, was built in 1565 by Vasari.
In 1618, under the direction of Giulio da Paragi, the works continued.
The Palazzo was extended with an addition of two other buildings with two floors each. The Palazzo’s present length is due to the adjustments done by Alfonso da Parigi in 1640.

The halls of entertainment in the summertime residence on the ground floor were decorated during the period of Grand Duke Ferdinando II, for the event of his wedding with Vittoria della Rovere, which was to take place in his winter residence.
Great artists such as Giovanni da Sangiovanni and Pietro da Cortona were summoned to render the palace breathtakingly royal with their extraordinary works.
At the end of the 18th century, the final addition was made to the building which was the Palazzina della Meridiana, commissioned by Pietro Leopoldi to Gaspare Maria Paoletti and Pasquale Poccianti and done in neo-classical style.

Today the seat of important museums, Palazzo Pitti through time has assumed different functions.
With expositions of Silver, China wares, Costumes, Carriages, a Modern Art Gallery and the Garden of Boboli, it is possible to visit the splendour of a long ago epoch which has managed to stay alive through history for us to admire today.

The Palace was built with the intention of hosting the thirteen administrative Uffizi, meaning judicial magistrate, and therefore is derived its name. Vasari died before the completion of the Palace and the job was given to Buontalenti and Alfonso Parigi. In 1586, the Teatro Mediceo was projected by Buontalenti at the will of Francesco I, the son of Cosimo I.

This theater also served as the seat of the senate while Florence was the capital of Italy. The building is U shaped or "horseshoe" has two floors and opens up towards the Arno River.

A large corridor with six high arched windows overlooking the courtyard and the Arno conjoins the two bodies of the building which are parallel.
In the portico which runs along the whole length of the Palace and sustained by pillars, you can find statues of famous Florentines in all the niches, representing the time period from the Middle Ages up to the 19th century.

The Uffizi Gallery, the famous museum hosted inside the Palace is one of the most admired and visited museums in the world housing great works of art and history from the 13th to the 18th centuries.
In 1993 the Accademia dei Georgofili in the Palazzo was involved in a terrorist bombing attack undergoing damage and losses of inestimable value. After long hours of restoration work, the Palazzo was returned to its original splendor.