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Art, Architecture & Design City trips Classics

Florence: following in the footsteps of Leonardo da Vinci

Florence is wonderful, if you like to stroll as much as you like art and architecture. The Piazzale Michelangelo rises above the city and from there you enjoy a wonderful view of the entire old town.

In Florence you can actually explore everything by walking. The rise of Florence began in the 12th century when Florence became an autonomous city republic. The city’s wealth was based on the processing of wool and silk and above all, on the banking business, which connected the powerful Florentines with the whole of Europe. Artisans, merchants and bankers grew in power within the city walls and the wealthiest families in Florence, the Strozzi, Pitti and Medici, competed with each other for power and influence. Beautiful buildings and streets are todays witnesses of this glorious past.

If you would to expand your scientific knowledge with a fantastic daytour you should visit Vinci.It is famous for being the birthplace of LEONARDO DA VINCI, the greatest genius of the Italian Renaissance, Vinci is a perfect place to spend a day full of culture and to explore endless Tuscan vineyards and olive groves, pretty much the same as in Leonardo’s time.

Vinci is situated in the hills of Montalbano, a green area divided between Pistoia, Prato and Florence area. The town offers plenty of things to see and many of them are related to Leonardo’s life: the house where he was born, just 3 kilometres from Vinci in the middle of the countryside. In the town centre you’ll find the Guidi castle, also known as the “castle of the ship” because of its elongated shape and the tower seems like a sailing vessel.

Since 1953 it holds the second part of the Museo Leonardiano with one of the largest collections in the world of Leonardo’s models, reconstructed on the basis of his precious drawings. More than 300 works and objects are on display including his war machines and flying artifacts.

Not far from the church is Piazza dei Guidi, a square designed by the artist Mimmo Paladino, who was inspired both by Leonardo as a scientist as well as an artist to create a new urban space. You’ll find drawings, statues, works of art… explore it for yourself: it’s hard to explain!

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