The green and white geometric marble facade of Santa Maria Novella dominates the piazza, standing as a crisp, rhythmic contrast to the surrounding terracotta rooftops of Florence. Dominican friars commissioned this church in the thirteenth…
Renaissance Science and Sundials
This walk tracks the astronomical, mathematical, and geometric instruments hidden on Florence's famous landmarks and museum facades. You'll learn how Renaissance artists and scientists collaborated to map the stars, calculate time, and unlock the cosmos.
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1. Basilica of Santa Maria Novella
2. Sagrestia Vecchia
The Sagrestia Vecchia is the oldest building within the Basilica of San Lorenzo, identified by its austere, white plaster walls outlined in gray pietra serena stone. Filippo Brunelleschi designed this square, domed chamber to function as…
3. Baptistery of St. John
The octagonal Baptistery of Saint John is clad in geometric panels of white Carrara and green Prato marble. It sits directly across from the Duomo, distinct for its squat, fortress-like proportions compared to the soaring cathedral. In…
4. Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore
The Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore dominates the Florence skyline with a massive, terracotta-tiled dome that stretches one hundred and forty-seven feet across. Filippo Brunelleschi engineered this structure in the early fifteen…
5. Palazzo Vecchio
The Palazzo Vecchio features a jagged, asymmetrical tower that rises nearly three hundred feet above the Piazza della Signoria. Florence commissioned this fortress in twelve ninety-nine to house the city's highest magistrates, the Priors.…
6. Monumental Sundial
A narrow brass strip snakes across the floor of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, stretching from the edge of a dark marble circle to the high altar. This is the gnomon, a solar observatory designed by Paolo dal Pozzo Toscanelli in…
7. Museo Galileo
The Museo Galileo sits in the Palazzo Castellani, distinguished by the weathered, monumental stone coat of arms fixed to its facade. It houses the Medici family’s collection of scientific instruments, anchored by the two telescopes Galileo…
8. Ponte Vecchio
The Ponte Vecchio spans the Arno River with three segmented stone arches that support rows of projecting shops. Originally, butchers occupied these stalls because the river washed their waste away, keeping the city streets clean. In…
9. Museum of Natural History, La Specola
The La Specola museum holds a massive collection of eighteenth-century wax anatomical models, housed inside a pale yellow building near the Pitti Palace. Grand Duke Peter Leopold opened these doors in seventeen seventy-five to make…