FLORENCE city guide

Florence (Italian: Firenze) is the capital city of the region of Tuscany, Italy.

From 1865 to 1870 the city was also the capital of the Kingdom of Italy. Florence lies on the Arno River and has a population of around 400,000 people, plus a suburban population in excess of 200,000 persons. The greater area has some 956,000 people. A center of medieval European trade and finance, the city is often considered the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance and was long ruled by the Medici family. Florence is also famous for its magnificent art and architecture. It is said that, of the 1,000 most important European artists of the second millennium, 350 lived or worked in Florence. The city has also been called the Athens of the Middle Ages.

The historic Center of Florence was declared a World Heritage Site by the UNESCO in 1982.

• Rome City Guide - (Roma):
  The capital, both of Italy and of the ancient Roman Empire; center of the Roman Catholic Church (the Vatican).
• Bologna City Guide
  A major trade fair city.
• Florence City Guide - (Firenze):
  History, art, architecture. Uffizi gallery, David of Michelangelo Buonarroti.
• Genoa City Guide - (Genova)
  A vibrant and historical port city, birth place of Columbus.
• Milan City Guide - (Milano)
  Shares with Paris the title of fashion capital of the world and is the main financial and business center in the country.
• Naples City Guide - (Napoli)
  With its famous gulf and Vesuvius volcano, including Herculaneum and Pompeii.
• Pisa City Guide
  Home of the famous Leaning Tower.
• Venice City Guide - (Venezia)
  History, art. Saint Mark's Square. The city is built on a lagoon, filled with canals, with no roads for cars. Very poetic and romantic.
• Verona City Guide
  A restored Roman coliseum is the stage for modern opera productions. Verona is the city where Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet is based.