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…
The Great Flood Marks
This walk traces the devastating path of the 1966 Arno River flood through the historic streets of Florence. You will find high-water marks on ancient stone walls and learn how the city united with volunteers from around the world to salvage its endangered cultural heritage.
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1. Baptistery of St. John
2. Opera del Duomo Museum
The Opera del Duomo Museum holds the massive, unfinished Pietà carved by Michelangelo in his old age. His hammer marks still pit the marble where he flew into a rage and smashed the sculpture, frustrated by a flawed block and his own…
3. Piazza di Santa Croce
The Basilica of Santa Croce is recognizable by the striking, jagged pattern of its white, green, and red marble facade. Franciscan friars started building this church in twelve ninety-four on a muddy marsh outside the city walls. While the…
4. Florence National Central Library
The Florence National Central Library features a massive neoclassical facade overlooking the Arno River, marked by a rhythmic series of tall, arched windows and heavy stone pillars. It holds over seven million volumes, born from the…
5. Chiesa di San Remigio
The Chiesa di San Remigio is marked by a plain, severe stone facade that stands apart from the decorative marble fronts common to many Florentine churches. Founded in the eleventh century, it served as a spiritual home for French residents…
6. Piazza del Limbo
The Piazza del Limbo holds a slab of marble from the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. A twelfth-century crusade leader named Pazzino de Pazzi brought the stones home, and they remain embedded in the floor of the nearby church, Santi Apostoli.…